We just gained admission into college, and moving into the school hostel, I came to meet quite a lot of amazing people: people with online skills, people who dived into tech at an early age, and those with offline skills as well who can craft anything once the materials are available, and then there is me with none. I grew up within the four walls of a military base with little or no opportunity to get myself a skill; we did not really rate it back then because we had not seen the outside world and did not know the importance of having a skill.
Now I am in college and feeling left out because when others get to work during our free time, I will just be there to offer helping hands, but deep down it hurts to be the only one offering helping hands here and there, whereas these guys are making some money for themselves, also realizing the importance of a skill at such a time was bad for me because combining learning a skill and school would stress me out, but I was willing to give it a go if only any of them would be willing to teach me.
I have always loved the idea of going into tech, and I had a roommate who was a graphics designer. One afternoon, jovial, I asked him to put me through. I did it jovially because these days it takes someone that really loves you or wants to see you grow to give you the gift of time; no one wants to spend their time teaching you anything, and most of all for free.
"So Victor, how about I become your boy and you teach me even if it is the basics that I need to know about graphic design?" I said, laughing, expecting him to decline.
"No problem, just get a laptop and a mouse, then leave the rest to me." Victor responded as he continued working on a design.
"I am serious; this is no joke, bro. I really want to learn but don't have anyone to tutor me." I said with a straight face so he knows I am not joking.
"So is it me that looks like I was joking when I said get a laptop?" Victor asked, making a face showing I was distracting him from getting his job done.
I left the room, thinking about how I can get a laptop since a portal had opened for me to finally get a skill and not just any skill but a tech skill. I had to start calling home to see how they can help. "Hello, Mom, I hope you guys are fine?" I asked Mom over the phone.
"Yes, we are fine. I am left wondering why you called at this hour of the night; you kind of scared me." Mom said
"It is kind of an emergency, and I could not wait until tomorrow. I need to get a laptop as soon as possible because if I miss this chance, I might not get it again." I responded, sounding all worried.
"Call your father; he should be able to help." Mom said
"How about you tell him what I just told you?" I asked as she was about to hang up.
"I will tell him, but it will be better if he hears it from you." Mom said as she hung
A few days later they sent me the money, and I rushed to get a laptop and all that I needed to start my journey. On reaching my hostel, I presented it to him, showing him I was serious and was hell-bent on getting a skill even if he does not teach me to perfection; just the basics, and I can do more from there. "I thought you might back off after I asked you to buy a laptop." Victor said with a smile on his face.
"You thought I was joking? Well, I am not; I feel bad that you guys have something to do, and I am just here." I responded.
He collected the laptop, plugged it in, and allowed it to charge for a while; afterwards, he turned it on and installed all the software applications I will need for my journey as well as all that I will need to make my laptop useful. He gave me a gift of time; from his tight schedules, he took time to carry me along. He introduced me to Photoshop, and he mentored me on how to use it, and to this day, knowing how to use Photoshop is all thanks to him.
Note: All images are mine and taken by me.