MILDSTONE TO MILESTONE - by Catalyst ✍️

Looking great is easy. Becoming great? That requires... "I need to boost my CGPA." A simple sentence, yet it weighed heavily on my heart. It sounded calm, but it stirred something deep within me. I found myself worrying over a result many students wished they had. What others celebrated as a milestone became a mild-stone to me. Funny how comparison can make you feel poor in the middle of abundance. I was never the best student. Not in secondary school, not in the university. I have always been what people call average, only with your account the appearance of someone who should be doing far better. Maybe it was the glasses, maybe it was how quiet I was, or how I always seemed to know something. People started calling me "the silent scholar." I won't lie, I smile every time I heard it, but deep down, I never believed it. It felt more like sarcasm than a compliment. It became difficult to wear a title my results could not defend. But there was Lizzy, a four pointer. She do come to me whenever she have questions, and somehow, I always have the answers. That was the irony. I could explain difficult concepts with ease, yet when the results came out, they hardly reflected what people saw in me. People's expectations of me were strong, but my GPA was weak. I loved the image they had of me, I won't lie, but loving the image did not improve the reality. Life was busy too. I worked part time. I handled assignments for people, not because they could not do them, but because they simply would not. While I was helping others meet deadlines, mine kept slipping away. Whenever anyone asked why my grades were not better, I always had a reason. I had built an archive of excuses, neatly arranged and convincing enough for anyone to believe. The only problem was that I believed them too. Every excuse became another reason to remain where I was. One Sunday, the sun was unforgiving. It felt like the whole earth had been placed inside an oven. I sat at the feet of my pastor as he preached. "Stop working in faith. Start working in the reality of the faith you've built." Those words refused to leave me. They kept echoing i n my heart long after the service had ended. It was uncomfortable. It felt like someone had switched on the light in a room I had spent years keeping dark. At that moment, I realized I had been believing for greatness without living like someone preparing for it. That was where the change began. Not overnight. Not with one miracle. Just one decision after another. I stopped chasing the image of looking smart and started chasing the discipline of becoming better. I held on to the grades that used to slip through my fingers like sand. I challenged the limits I had placed on my own mind and slowly began replacing excuses with effort. I have come to realize that knowledge alone does not guarantee success. Neither does wishing for a better result. You have to live in the reality of the person you want to become. Faith gives direction, but discipline carries your feet there. Today, I am still quiet. Still learning. Still striving. But I am no longer hiding behind potential or the praises of people. I would rather have results that speak than compliments that comfort. Looking great is easy.Becoming great is different.

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