About Me

By Barigye Doreen

Listening to her… TELL A SIMPLE STORY

Remembering vividly where she was sitting the first time she wrote a composition: on a second front desk in a semi-permanent structure in her primary four in South Isingiro, a place unknown to many but thank God for Google maps. This wasn`t her hometown but a place of her initial formation. The memories go deep down. Her English teacher, now resting well with his forefathers, is worthy to be remembered for the guidance he gave on the subject so foreign and hardly used in everyday life. The English language has currently proven itself a language of the world and she says, she knows better now than then. She said that she was always made to jot half-page exercise book composition. That was always her chance to put her fears on paper, not really meaning to pen a composition. She at the time, innocently, and mundanely just let the words ooze out of her pen held by her little feeble wobbly hand.

 

The teacher would collect the write-ups early morning the next day. She was always surprised when he loved it; scoring seven points out of ten. She couldn’t by any chance think that it would really be anything close to incredible. Remember, in that part of the world, English was only a classroom thing and never used for anything else after school. Her teacher's cheer gave her the backing she desired to keep trying to put her imaginations and convictions in writing. She began to read elementary English and Runyankole books in their small school library. Along the way, she came to learn that on her journey to improve, she had to write whether she was given a home assignment or not, whether she felt inspired or not. By the end of her primary seven, she had jotted quite a number of compositions, poems and memorable events than she could count or remember. A lot of them, she honestly says, were really bad. They weren't all really exceptional. A few stood out, though. And many reflected young African Child struggles. Her relentless efforts helped her to get a little more polished at writing. For shyness` sake, never at the top list of debater’s club, only a member. Never extraordinary, just a team player.  Only her best friend tested the freshness of her pieces. She wrote them with love. Unfortunately, she said, her childhood suitcase with all memories got mishandled by a non-Family member who had no idea of what was inside, till now she says she is looking for that person with a knife.

 

High school times brought along `all-time selling` books like Things Fall Apart, The Concubine, The River Between, Tom Sawyer, and many others. It was a good blend of interest, a scientist in formation, sold out to read and write. She recounts that the difficult times are not a worthy mention for the good times outweigh them. Life set out on a trajectory where quitting wasn`t an option. But wait, who would quit when success was recounted as a family success. Who then wanted to let down their family. She said in those days some failures wouldn`t be tolerated at family level especially in prime subjects as English and Mathematics. Good pressure, right? This has changed over time. Well, things are bound to change.

 

University pushed her to purely science side however she would at times use her small critical thought life to write and deliver short sermons at prayer assemblies. Fast-forward, she doesn't believe to have written well enough but she strains forward towards a better writer. However, it doesn't matter how little you can write, as long as you just write it. In the face of discouragement, remind yourself what you would benefit from a whole lot of effort you had already put in something. And so, you know what?  you can join straight talk, environmental & writers club and improve your skills. Writing your viewpoint can only be underestimated before you publish it. But after it being published, it is a different story. Anyway, what more did she rather say? That often, when she just wrote about her viewpoint and tried to impart it in a way that moved other people, she zeroed it around her own experience. She believed her experience was original and full of inspiring stories; about school, the world, and the beauty of natural surroundings.

Now, adult life approaches with no publication even once. Does this depict failure? Ahem! She seems certain that she wants to pursue a solid career in education and career mentorship. Consulting as a passion has persisted. To be able to help more others get a solid foothold on developing their mastery of personal career and jobs. She at times doubts if she would be able to write formidably and contribute to the world think tank. She fears if she would write creatively. Along the way, she has learned that there's so much to learn about words and the stunning ways they can be utilized. She strives to learn every bit of it! Someday, she would like to mentor and support others who write too, just as her cheering teachers pricelessly and relentlessly held her hand through it.

 

It requires more than natural talent to become good at something. Because you have to simply do it. Anyone`s journey as a thought leader and writer teaches a lot of things. The most significant thing is that one should never give up. At the time of discouragement, that’s the same time to get hold of a pen and diary. Sometimes, writing a blog brings doubt about whether anybody might read it. Persistence keeps one going. Especially knowing that there has been a lot of effort invested. Satisfaction comes by knowing that you have not held back anything to somebody`s benefit.

 

The drive is fueled by the passion and understanding the shades of cross-cultural career and education systems and dynamics. We put our minds to learning and thus sharing new things every day. What we can take away from her today is that she regards herself as a forever student. And knows that her hunger for knowledge and continued growth will birth one of the world’s most strategic career and education consulting vault.

 

She is always interested in a thought challenge along these lines.

 

Please reach out to Barigye Doreen Lynn on lynnkyarisiima@gmail.com!