My Valid Dreams: A child's struggle

Part 2

Among some things that changed was Mwaura's his sitting position in class. Earlier, Mwaura preferred to stay in the middle or at the back of the class. When Mwaura learned that he could change things by trying, he decided to start by changing where he sat in class. If he wanted to be an international author, he could not do this by being in the middle or at the back of the class. He had to be in front. One early Monday morning, Mwaura decided to sit at the front of the class. Many pupils avoided sitting at the front. They were afraid that they could be asked many questions and get noted by the teachers when they were absent. There was no competition for a desk at the front. When Mrs. Mugambi, the class teacher came to class that day, she realized that Mwaura had changed his position. Mrs. Mugambi was a very good teacher. She was always keen to help pupils to learn.

After the lesson that day Mrs. Mugambi called Mwaura to the staffroom and offered him a cup of tea and an Andazi. Mwaura was very grateful to her. It had been long since he had taken an Andazi. He was used to porridge and sweet potatoes. After Mwaura had finished eating, Mrs. Mugambi drew her chair next to him and put her arms on his shoulder. "Mwaura", began Mrs. Mugambi. "Today you have done a very important thing in your life. I am happy that you have decided to do it on your own. I always felt the need to bring you at the front but I knew you would not be willing."

Mwaura's heart skipped a beat when Mrs. Mugambi mentioned that he had done a very important thing by deciding to sit at the front of the class. Mwaura was all the while quite. Mrs. Mugambi continued, "Why did you decide to sit at the front today?" asked Mrs. Mugambi curiously. "I decided that I wanted to change so I started by changing where I sit." Mwaura replied softly. "Your change has already begun, Mwaura" Mrs. Mugambi exclaimed. "Great accomplishments begin with small steady changes. You become great by starting with small things. From today onwards, I want you to always sit at the front. Will you promise me that?" Mwaura nodded and Mrs. Mugambi offered to be Mwaura's personal mentor. The next class was about to begin. Mrs. Mugambi allowed Mwaura to join the other pupils.

After Mwaura had left the staffroom, the other pupils gathered around him. They wanted to know why Mwaura was called to the staffroom and why he had stayed there for so long. Many pupils feared going to the staffroom because it was a place where pupils would get disciplined. Even school prefects did not find the staffroom an enjoyable place to go. Mwaura did not look sad as the pupils would expect. They kept wondering why Mwaura was still happy despite being in the staffroom for so long. Mwaura on his part refused to reveal the reason. He just informed the other pupils that he was given some task to do and that was the reason he had stayed for long.

The second thing that Mwaura decided to change was the time he arrived at school. From that day on, Mwaura begun going to school earlier than most pupils. Mwaura's school was three kilometers away from their home. Whenever he arrived at school he would usually take his seat and start reading. Mwaura really enjoyed reading storybooks. He was very strict on how to handle his books or those given to him by Mrs. Mugambi or other teachers. His books were always kept neat and well-sealed. Other teachers noticed Mwaura's change and began to support him. Mrs. Mugambi still knew that Mwaura needed time to improve on his studies. She did not prefer to ask Mwaura questions first because she wanted Mwaura to develop self-confidence. Whenever she had a question, she would ask the other pupils to answer. Mrs. Mugambi had the habit of not revealing the correct answer until a good number of pupils had answered. She would then write all the answers on the chalkboard and then tick the correct answer. By doing this, Mrs. Mugambi would ensure that pupils did not get embarrassed. Mwaura realized that he was answering more and more questions correctly and his confidence rose.

Mrs. Mugambi sacrificed money from her salary to buy one storybook for Mwaura. The title of the story book was, "Who says I can't?" Mwaura loved the book dearly. The book was about one orphan who people thought would never succeed in his life. He was being raised by his uncle among his other children. This boy did all the fetching of water while the other children played. He was also the one who washed the dishes after the family had supper. The boy was never bought new clothes. He had to get the old clothes the other children wore. After sitting their primary school exam, this boy was ranked among the top ten candidates countrywide. The boy got a scholarship to study abroad. Due to his intelligence, he continued his education and finally became a professor of Harvard University. Mwaura read it over and over for more than seven times. Every time Mwaura read that book, it reminded him about his father's precious words that "it is better to die trying than not to try at all." The author of the book had the same background as Mwaura. He was from a very poor family. Mwaura knew from that moment on that he had a second mentor.

Mrs. Mugambi was always punctual in class. Whenever she got to class, she would find Mwaura reading something. By the end of that term, Mwaura's vocabulary had improved greatly. He had added so many new words to his exercise book. It was Mwaura's habit to write every new word and its meaning on an exercise book that had been donated to him by his elder sister, Nyambura. Mwaura was among the best pupils in English composition. That day as his composition was being read, Mwaura felt as happy as a lark. He could not wait to get home and show his dad how much he had improved in English composition. Mwaura knew that his dream was on the right track.

The third thing that Mwaura decided to change was his organization. Mwaura knew that he could save much time by keeping everything at the right place. With this in mind, he got a box where he kept his books, pencils, sharpeners and erasers. It became easier for Mwaura to pick anything he wanted for his studies. This saved him a lot of time. Mwaura also decided that he had to have his school uniforms in a clean place. Whenever he washed the uniforms, he would fold them nicely and keep them in a manner that it would be so easy to pick them up and wear them. This impressed his mother and father greatly.