NB: The story is based on a true story but have been altered to protect the identity of the person who this story is about.
“Shut up,” our teacher shouted. A deafening
silence followed. “Anything is possible, if you believe you can achieve it.
There is no need for you to laugh at Mike. He can be a doctor if he believe and
work hard to achieve it,” he continued. The teacher had asked a routine
question, “When you grow up, what do you want be?” Mike (not real name), my
close friend, had said he wanted to become a doctor. It was particularly fun
considering that Mike was just an average student and even though at primary
level everyone knew or thought average students don’t become doctors. Most of
the people we knew who had become doctors were very intelligent and it made
sense to think Mike was just fantasizing.
Although I did not laugh because Mike was
my friend, I did not believe he would be eventually become a doctor. Firstly
Mike’s parents were poor and did not afford to send him to a good school with a
strong science background. Also Mike’s grades were just not good enough to earn
him a place at such a school. Given all this, it was a good bet he was not
going to become a doctor considering the type of secondary school that he will
eventually go, without even mentioning his unimpressive performance in school.
“Munyuki, what is so funny about me wanting
to become a doctor,” Mike quizzed me at break-time.”Don’t mind them, losers,” I
offered him words of encouragement; even though deep down I didn’t think he
would. “I will show them one day,” he finally said after a moment of silence.
We just left it there and continued to enjoy our break-time, which was soon
interrupted by the bell signaling the beginning of classes.
Time passed on and Mike would occasional
fantasize about being a doctor; telling me how he would perform complex
operations and how he would help save lives. I would listen attentively to him
while he spoke his dreams and hearsay stories about medicine. I started to buy
into his dreams even though I didn’t know how it would be possible.
We eventually wrote our grade seven exams.
I passed with exceptional results, one of the best results around. Mike passed
too, but his results were just average. He was a bit disappointed but still
optimistic of his dreams. He enrolled at a local community secondary school. I
went to a catholic mission school, St Anthony’s Musiso High School. Even if I
hadn’t passed exceptionally well, I would still have gone to a better school
than Mike. My father was and still a teacher; he afforded to send me to a good
school. Mike’s parents didn’t work and the little they could get from
subsistence farming was hardly enough to pay the fees at a local secondary,
heavily subsidized by the government, he was attending. Time came for us to attend our new schools
and it was very hard as we had to separate for the first time since childhood.
Mike’s school didn’t have science
laboratories and even a library. In addition to that their pupil per- book
ratio was very high, sometimes 1 book per class on important ones. At my school
all these things were no problem; it was just there. First term holidays soon
arrived and we finally could exchange stories and play together. I had passed
well but it was just average compared to other top students at my school; I
really wanted to use the holiday to improve my grades. Mike had worked very
hard and came out surprisingly the top student at his school. He still wanted
to be a doctor and he told me that’s what drove him to work extra hard. We had
a good time and the holiday wounded up with Mike being the one assisting me
with the studies.
Years passed by and Mike consistently
improved to a level where everyone was now regarding him as a genius. I also
improved greatly but not like him. We soon approached ordinary level and Mike
wasn’t slowing down. He took physics and chemistry on his own; his school did
not offer those subjects. I would offer him my notes and help him understand
these subjects, but most of the time he would be on his own. We eventually set
for our o-level exams and the results would come after a couple of months. Mike
had passed beyond anyone’s wildest expectations; he even set a record for the
school. He had straight As including physics and chemistry save for English
which he had a B. Myself, I did good, had a couple of As and Bs.
News traveled fast and he soon became
everyone’s hero. Everywhere you go you would hear people, the young and old,
talking of his achievements. Those who didn’t believe he would become a doctor
were the one now wishing him to become one. He still wanted to become a doctor
and unfortunately he couldn’t continue at his school, they did not afford
science subjects at A-level, necessary for one to enroll into a medical school.
All hope seemed lost and Mike was very
troubled and sad. For the first time, he felt like giving up and pursue
something within his reach. He couldn’t ask his parents to send him to a
boarding school; he knew they did not afford to do so. He had given up hope on
his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Just a few weeks before Form Five
opening, his mother unexpectedly told him to go look for a place at a boarding
school. He told me he even protested on how they were going to afford the feed
but his mother just told him to worry about getting a place.
Together we embarked on a search for a
school; I no longer wanted to go back to my previous school. I wanted a change
of environment. We both got accepted at the same school. His mother had to brew
and sell traditional beer in order to afford the fees. It was hard times for
her but she couldn’t watch her son’s dream go up in a smoke.
He worked very very hard to excel in his
studies; he didn’t want to disappoint his mother. He chose Mathematics, Physics
and Chemistry; I chose Mathematics, Economics and Management of Business. We
both did well in our studies and I must admit he was a driving force in my need
to do well. We would compete for the top spot in Mathematics, which I must
admit ended being an even battle with both of us taking turns to be the best
Math student.
Our A-level continued smoothly, save for
few struggles Mike faced in paying fees. Time for our final exams and soon the
results would come out after a few months. I disappointed a bit, had 3 Bs. Mike
was at it again, this time 2As and B. He was on the verge of realizing his
dreams; these results were good enough for the University of Zimbabwe Medical
School. He was very happy and again news of academic conquests traveled fast.
Personally I was not enthused by my own
results but I was happy with Mike’s achievements. With both applied for
university places and got accepted at different universities Mike got accepted
at the University of Zimbabwe to study medicine. I went Midlands State
University of Zimbabwe to study Information Systems. Mike’s dream was just now
half-way and almost certain to be fulfilled. We would see little of each other
after that except for the occasional moments were we would happen to be both on
holiday.
Our respective degree programmes progressed
well and from what I heard he was doing fine.
He no longer had problem with fees, government paid them at university
level. I finished my degree in 2010 with flying colors. A year later, Mike
fulfilled his dream of being a medical doctor. He had overcome all the odds, he
had dared dream and he had set an example for all to see. As I looked at his
photos, in a white coat at work, I couldn’t help but smile at him and I just
thought about that moment when everyone had laughed at his dreams. Indeed Mike
had aimed and hit the moon , not the stars.
