Avoid the path of least resistance; Humble beginnings

From humble beginnings, JK  slept on the floor for a couples of days

I rarely write about my friends. Today is an exception. I am going to share with you here my friend’s story. Let’s call him JK. 

Like many of us, JK completed university. He is from an average home. Not really poor but again not so stinking rich. I got to know him while he was still at university doing an IT course. I was already working and he was doing part time work in the company that I worked for then. He was being paid peanuts – but he worked anyway and gave it his whole heart.  He was so basic in his knowledge of computing and computer systems but had this passion for learning. He was never afraid to ask. I recall him asking me a lot of things – even those I thought he knew. And every time I would tell him that I expected him to know a thing he had  asked, he would reply and say, man, I just wanted to confirm – no room for errors on live systems. And so he learnt. And he became good at computers and computer systems. 

But that’s not the story about him that I want to share with you. No. That is just the background. You see when JK completed university; he chose to leave home immediately. Unlike many graduates that stay home and first get some basics, JK decided to leave home immediately. He chose to go for humble beginnings and hence avoided taking the path of least resistance. On his tiny salary (approximately 5 USD per month – yes per month), he rented a room.  He never took anything from his home except his clothes.  Definitely on that tiny salary, he could not afford the rent alone, so he got a friend whom I will call KK (I know I also use KK as my initials for Kazooba Kaheru but I am not the KK in this story).

JK and KK started off with nothing. By the way, KK is from a traditionally rich family. Like JK, KK chose the humble beginnings too. Both JK and KK could have stayed home and their families would have shelted them. Or they would have moved in with one of their older siblings as they wait to stabilize. But they chose to follow their own star. They did not follow the path of least resistance. They chose the road less travelled. 

When I completed university in 2006, I could not afford rent. I stayed with my sister (May God Bless her) for almost 2 years. It is what most people do. But for JK, that was out. He rented and slept on the floor for a couple of days. This was because after paying rent, the reminder of the salary was for purely food and transport and hence could not afford a bed. Recall he could have stayed home where there was food, free shelter, free transport from his parents and definitely a bed. But he avoided that path of least resistance. He chose humble beginnings. 

I recall a scenario where life got tough on these two friends of mine. One weekend found them too broke. They never had any food in the house and they were too broke. They sat down and thought of a solution. They decided to go down town in Kampala city (Kiikubo) and carry goods for a fee. They carried goods for people in the market for a small fee for a whole day on an empty stomach. By the end of the day, they had earned enough money to buy them food. They never went to the restaurant or fast foods to spend it. No. They went to the market, bought raw food and went back to their rented house and cooked the food. That way, they saved lots of money and had enough food for the remaining days of the month. Recall these are university graduates who decided to do odd jobs to get money for food. They could have gone back to their homes and had decent food; they could have called one of their friends to lend them money and they pay back; they could have asked for an advance from their employers; they had many options but they always avoided the path of least resistance. They faced their challenges in the face. In fact to avoid such a scenario happening again, JK opted to look for second job. He worked two jobs Monday to Monday – day and night to try and make ends meet. He always had less than 4 hours of sleep. He did that until he landed a better job offer with an international NGO.

As I write this blog, JK works for an international NGO and has completed his MS certification (by saving part of his salary to fund his education) and rents his own apartment. His friend KK also rents a separate apartment.

I don’t know how the future is going to roll out for JK. But this I know for sure. He never takes the path of least resistance.