I had heard the story of Walter Carr, the man who walked 20 miles to get to work on his first day, but never reflected upon it. Fast forward to two nights ago when I am watching his interview with Steve Harvey, and I begin to think of this story in a different light. Steve Harvey insists that there is something peculiar about Carr’s story and tells the young man that he is on a path. He tells the man:“You could be a poor kid from nothing but because of God’s Grace and Mercy, He could put you in places you never thought you’d be.” Walter Carr’s story reminded me of one of my personal mantras in life, “believe in the impossible”, and why I have that mantra.

Aside from God’s favour, one thing that has always worked for me is the fact that I aim high. I have always aimed for and prayed for what others may consider impossible, and many times, I get what I aim for. When I do not get it, I get a close second. I remember when I was finalising my list of unis for my UCAS application ( a system for applications to British universities), and I spoke to the educator in charge of UCAS applications concerning my list. In summary, I had put two schools on the list which had higher requirement grades than my predicted grades. He very kindly implied that there was a slim chance that I would get into the two schools but I could try. I eventually eliminated one of the schools from my list of choices, but I was very adamant to retain the other. I had a picture of the bible verse, Luke 1:37 (“For with God nothing shall be impossible”), on the pin board in my room and that was generally my mood for the second year of my A-levels. That mood worked for me. This same educator happily congratulated me on getting into all my five uni options telling me that what I (by God’s Grace and Mercy) had achieved was difficult, especially considering the universities I applied to, and the course I applied for.

I am not telling you this story so that you would think that I am intelligent or blessed or whatever, but I want to encourage you to believe in the impossible. Do not let anyone tell you that you are incapable of achieving greatness; that is the greatest lie anyone can ever tell you. If you want to get all As in a particular class, believe it can happen. If you want to graduate with a first class, tell yourself that it is possible. I think the one thing that hinders people from achieving their potential is fear. Choose faith over fear for a change. Obviously, there are many other factors that come into play in achieving success including Grace (if you are a believer) and hard work, but firstly, believe that it can happen, and you will already be on a path to success.

QUOTES

“People are just afraid of things too much. Afraid of things that don’t necessarily merit fear”-Frank Ocean

“In life, there is no such thing as impossible; it’s always possible”- Venus Williams

“It always seems impossible until it’s done”-Nelson Mandela

P.S Goodluck to everyone writing exams/finals at the end of this term/semester. You are capable, and I believe in you xx.
Twitter: @mycandleculture (so you’ll know when a new post is up!!)