The choice to focus on getting an education is very personal. I know what schooling has done for me. As a little boy growing up in my village, I was budding with hope and full of laughter, conviction and constant smiles. Underneath it all, however, I struggled to conceal just how nervous and insecure I was. Beneath the smiles and joyful façade, there was a “child” deep within me who had trouble dealing with the outside world—the world beyond my immediate vicinity. No one knew this, except me. I was timid, nervous and shy at heart. I had yet to discover the “real” me. This continued until I studied Philosophy.

This quote has always inspired me: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” (Marrianne Williamson, Author & Lecturer).

(To be continued…)