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DO NOT LET EDUCATION WAIT.

“Why are you studying at your age?” is a question I always receive.

While others intentionally discontinue their education, I had never thought of studying in my later years, except because of the circumstances I faced. I am an education enthusiast and enjoy learning new things and reading books. I have a strong ambition for my people and my country. To date, I have not reached that level because of interruptions in my education. I was forced to attend a high school where I failed to redefine my career; all that happened because of the terms and conditions of my sponsorship. Those who have grown up without fathers and have lived as refugees can attest to what I mean. All that you get on your plate is food, so you ought to eat without complaints.

I do regret studying at this age, given the workload and mental strain. But I am now moving toward what I had dreamed of several years ago. I am glad that I reconnected with the chain and will surely be enmeshed in it. If you ask me, I would not advise you to take full-time courses at forty or above in any school. Ideally, by the age of forty, one should be a consultant or a specialist in one's profession. That explains the value of education. However, if you do face hardships as I did, you do not need an excuse not to rejoin school when an opportunity becomes available.

Many young people today abandon school and pursue businesses that deliberately strangle their ambitions. Teenagers feel that education is expensive, although they have full support from their parents. This is a deception. The expensive part of life is idleness and indulgence in social disorders. It becomes real when you get married! Sometimes opportunities present themselves only to find you in an incapable state. Must you be a liability or an asset to your own life?

Yes, I am in school because I have a serious ambition to achieve. I will definitely make it within the next ten years. In the next six years, I am working to obtain a doctorate in a field I promised to pursue thirty years ago. That would find me in my late forties. Do not let education wait if you have full support from your parents or well-wishers. Otherwise, it will cost you your mental health, family relationships, and professional career. Avoid being a liability!

End 

Sir, Abunerry 

Writer, Critic, and Poet

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