SEC-S30W1: Anecdotes that teach: Not Every Success is Gold without Balance.

The title of this story may shock you a bit, but it's something that happened to me. It's not every success that's worth it when there's no balance in life. The writer of this story had a dream of bagging a first class in the university in a professional course. Little did I know that life had other plans for me. It made me realize that for one to be successful in life and be happy as well, a balance is needed.

Most first-class graduates in the university depended on white-collar jobs as the end product. Little did they know their certificate would be useless, and they'd end up doing menial jobs just to survive. I'll tell you my own story. I traded being successful academically to be successful my whole life.

My trials in this admission into a tertiary institution were enough to break me down. Everything ended up in my chasing after the wind.

I also had the vision of becoming a lecturer in the university, aside from bagging a first class in the university. This required a lot of sacrifice on my part. At what cost or gain? The educational system in Nigeria is undervalued. This I knew. Even to get certain jobs is based on connections, as it's not that easy even with your degree.

I had to make my mama proud. I had to stay away from home to be focused. But before that, I had to try schooling from home, as I had other responsibilities to handle. Schooling from home was difficult. I had to wake up by 5am and leave the house by 6am to attend a 7am lecture. To broaden my understanding of certain courses taught, I'll attend tutorials after lectures from 5pm till 9pm and then retire home by 10pm because my distance is far from school.

I did this every day, and my parents weren't comfortable with my coming home late because of the insecurity level. My friends and relatives told me that I read too much and that I should calm down. I received the position of director of academics in my department because of my intelligence and my determination to be the best.

I later got a space in the hostel after seeing that it was difficult to study from home, and as God could have it, my roommates were all medical students. What a motivation to even boost my seriousness, academically.

I had a 5.0 CGPA in my first year because of how I was serious, but certain things were missing in my life. I didn't have time to check my health, my spiritual life, my social life, or responsibilities at home, and worse of it all, I was broke.

All these were sacrificed to bag a first class. I didn't really see anything wrong with this. Everyone would want to sit with me during exams, and I became famous in school. Then came the turning point. It's funny to say that nobody advised me other than the advice I received concerning my getting good grades.

My cravings for success were greedy in the sense that I barely had time for things I used to have time for, important things, to be specific. I know to attain success, one must cut down certain things, but I didn't balance my life. Like I said, education in Nigeria is as valid as it is done in other countries.

My ambition was to become a lecturer after my master's, but what if this doesn't happen even after being determined? Jobs in Nigeria aren't gotten on merit any longer. They are gotten based on connections and experience.

I asked myself the following questions....

• Why first class? Is second class upper not good enough for me with limited stress?

• I keep asking my parents for money at this adult stage. Will I ever grow over this?

• What if I attach a side hustle to help me with little income to support myself? Won't it be a barrier to my getting first class?

• What will I achieve if I aim for this, knowing fully well that getting a first class needs everything in me?

• What if I end up like those jobless first-class students who are settling for a menial job?

• My mates are making money and will still get a good degree; I'm chasing a first class.

I thought of all these questions and asked myself why I'm greedy. Even with a second class, it's still possible to get other jobs when the need arises. **I read books, watched motivational videos, and came up with a conclusion that I didn't want my parents to know. It was then I joined Steemit. I attached a side hustle to my school life and didn't battle as much as I did. Steemit helped me a lot in school financially. I no longer asked my parents for funds, including school fees.

	Joined steemit

Though the thought of graduating with a first class was erased, I still had intentions of being a good student with good grades. I dropped the position of director of academics. I stopped attending night classes. I stopped driving that desire to be the greatest. I had time to do other things, and my life was a little bit more balanced than before. Was it that easy to make this decision?

Let's leave the fact that I was self-motivated, but I thought of the sufferings of my parents; I thought of all they've spent educationally and all that. I never knew what would have become of me if I had made this decision. A lot of thoughts came in for me. What if I'm wrong?

What if I'm changing what God wants me to do because I love teaching people and it did become a part of me...?

The thought of finishing with a first class, broke, and stupid was the greatest fear. People would definitely talk. At such a point, am I still relying on my parents for daily needs? Then came the toughest decision I had to make in my life. I had to let the greedy success and my reliance on white-collar jobs as the only hope for graduates when they graduate go.

Chasing first class	Dropping the pursuit

When I added Steemit into my life to fill up the financial aspect of my life, I didn't allow it to take my time for other activities. I balanced it, and Steemit helped me academically because I usually post my school life and experience on the platform. I also brought people in. At least I'll still get a good degree with money in my account, as I see Steemit and crypto, which I later learned as a lifetime opportunity after school.

People were shocked by how I chose money over my academics. I told them their first class is for those who have sponsors, and their sponsors just want them to read. After the degree, they'll get them a job. I told people why they shouldn't depend on white-collar jobs or the job of teaching after school. Nigerian teachers are poorly paid, especially those in private schools. Just imagine earning 30k monthly with 24 days of stress and expenses. That's bad. Even 50k doesn't compensate for the stress.

While on Steemit, I learned photography, which I added to my side hustle, and still didn't allow that to eat my time for workouts, personal Bible reading, congregation meetings, and some responsibilities. I had time for these activities and still put pressure on my academics, but not as much as I did in my first and second year.

I have money; I have the degree; I've learned 13 digital and physical skills, and I taught 6 people the Bible on a weekly basis. As for workouts, I never missed workout programs every week. I began to establish my health by staying fit, and I saw major improvement in my physical body. I now have a happy and satisfying life with most aspects of my life on a balanced scale.

My achievements are so numerous, and I don't feel any measure of regret doing what I did. I know I let a lot of people down, but I had to face my life, as the regrets would only be faced by me. I'm not a broke graduate. I won't go hunting for jobs with my certificate, jobs of minimal salary. I'm in control of my time, and I'm the one who can make a decision about working under someone or being my own boss.

Success can be very greedy, trying to make us sacrifice a lot of things, including things we know shouldn't be sacrificed in order to get it done. I learned that not every success is gold in the sense that most people are successful with the achievement of a degree in the university, but life after school is not something they can relate to. Their certificate can't save them.

Also, if you think you can be greedy with success, just make sure your life is balanced. Make sure you have money or generational wealth and you're not having the thought of depending on others in the future before you can achieve what you want.

Life is too short. Live it without regrets. Not even your pursuit of success should make you sacrifice the most important things to you.

• Can I ask a question? If you were me, what would you have done? Can you sacrifice the most important thing to you just to be successful?

• What's the best part of my story that touched you?