About a year ago, my friend was employed as an operator in one of the largest companies in Ghana. When she told me about it, I felt like she deserved more, so I confronted her about whether she was okay with the position being given to her. She told me she didn’t like it, but she was going to turn those lemons into lemonade. I didn’t really understand what she meant, and I didn’t want her to feel like I was doubting her, so I just kept supporting her through her journey.
I always say that I’ve never met someone as hardworking as this friend of mine, but at a point, she started complaining of being tired every day. She even lost weight. Our everyday conversations faded into weeks. But I made sure to always make sure she was okay.
Not long ago, she told me she was made the leader of her team, which didn’t really come with any incentives, so I wasn’t happy about it. Well, she also wasn’t happy about it, but she kept going. There were days she would call me and complain for hours and still dress up to work the next day.
Just today, I received a screenshot from her, and it was her offer letter to become a manager. When I saw it, I screamed because she was just an operator, and to become a whole manager, that was huge. She was very emotional when she called me, so I just reminded her of how hard she had been working all this while.
In fact, left to me alone, she should even become CEO because she has worked so hard. There were days I asked her if maybe the company was secretly hers, and she wasn’t telling me. But everything aside, I think that was some serious display of resilience, and I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy she’s been able to work her way from the bottom to the top.
When I saw the offer letter, one thing ran through my mind: what would have happened if she had left? Because she was a fresh graduate and had no experience.
So in a way, everything that she went through was a blessing in disguise. It feels like she had to go through refinement to get to a position where she could see things differently.
Most often when we face challenges in life, we either face them or run away or let them exist until they don’t. If you’re part of the people who run away, this is your cue to learn resilience. Of course, not all issues in life have to be dealt with, but some of them are things we have to go through just for one good. And whenever you are faced by such, don't run away. Just allow yourself to be refined.
Images are mine
