Have you ever admired somebody so much that you want to meet them? Have you ever wanted to listen to their story? Perhaps you are young and leading a normal life doing what young people do like watching movies, partying and making new friends the list can go on and on. Suddenly you feel like you just want to lead an extraordinary life making an impact in society. You know you want to be successful, but you have no idea where to begin.
You are not alone currently I am going through the same thing but I have learned that success is a journey, take it slow and don’t forget to be young because growth is a process. When I was in high school our deputy principal gave me a book called ” Life Journeys”. She kept telling me to read the book and find out which of the women in the book inspired me.
When I was younger I used to see Julie Gichuru, a journalist reading the news. I didn’t know anything about her except that she had nice hair. I always forgot her name and I kept referring to her as ” the lady with nice hair.”When I remember this I just laugh. When I started reading the book years later, I came across her story and up to now I find it hard to understand how her story struck me. Every time I would read the stories of the high-achieving women I would go back to hers and read again and again.
One day I just told myself I was going to meet her but not with much belief. I think some people are just blessed by God with the gift of making an impact.After I cleared high school and was just at home for a while, I would wait for the Sunday evening news to see ” the lady with nice hair.”All of a sudden the desire to meet her came back and there was no turning back. I don’t understand how it happened all I knew was I wanted to hear her story not from the news or google or newspapers but from her. This was not easy for me to handle.
One day I used her photo as my profile picture on whatsapp. I did not think that it was a big deal. Little did I know that it was going to be quite a test. For a long time, I kept using her photo as my profile picture and some people began making fun of me. I was told I was obsessed, that it was too much. It was not true because I was never obsessed it was just honest admiration. The kind of admiration that flows from the heart. I was in a whats app group where people would ask me why I admired Julie so much and explaining was not easy because some people actually thought I was crazy to have a role model. One day people made fun and it got to me that after a few days of thinking I left the group. I cried because at that moment I thought that people had to understand me, that they had to love what I did but now I know better.
Validation from people is parking so if you admire somebody as much as I did look for them. You better try and fail. I had emailed Julie a lot of times about wanting to meet her but because of her busy schedule I had to wait for about 3 months before I did. These months felt like an eternity but I am grateful that she never shunned me away and she wanted to meet me too.One thing that I have learnt is that God does not plant a dream in your heart that he does not intend to fulfill. He never sleeps he never slumbers and he never tires of hearing our prayers. Recently I received an email of when and where I would meet her. It caught me by surprise and I wanted to scream but at the same time I could not. I don’t know how to explain the joy I was feeling but I was bubbling inside. When the day to meet her came I was extremely nervous but when I saw her I suddenly became calm. The moment I shook her hand was such a huge achievement for me. When she saw me she was like” Finally, what a pretty girl.” It was a wow moment for me hehe. Up to now I still feel emotional about the whole day. She is so nice and friendly it even shocked me. We got along so well so I am looking forward to meeting her again and again.
Getting to hear her success story was amazing. Even though people had made fun of me I still had friends who had supported me all the way and I am grateful to God for them. God lifts us up beyond our imaginations. In High School, I was not the type to stand up and lead so some people had despised me for this. I remember one day coming from the Deputy’s office and I passed by the washroom. I bumped into a classmate and when she asked me where I had come from I told her. I have no hard feelings, but I remember her saying ” You are so naive, you trust everybody who comes your way.” Julie told me sometimes it’s good to be naive. I may be naive, but I am also very intelligent. I only trust people I know can take me places and now I know that it works. Our deputy always told me I was going to meet the women in the book and I met my greatest inspiration. God lifted me up beyond what I ever imagined. I previously shared my journey of how I joined Alliance Girls High School. I did not join the school because my parents have connections, in fact, my parents are just simple people and I love them so much. They may not be powerful, but I know that God’s favor rests upon me. When I was told I joined the school from the back door it really hurt me but now I know that God had a purpose for it.
When people got to know I had met her they could not believe it. They kept asking how I did. Did it happen just like that? It was God’s grace. I thank God for fulfilling my dream and I know he will help me discover what I want for my life. Thank you so much Julie Gichuru for making that day happen. I pray that God will continue blessing you.
Never be afraid of reaching for the stars. People will always say things that hurt you but God’s grace is sufficient and it is the anchor we can hold on to. If you really want to meet somebody too go for it no matter what.
Warm blessings,
Cynthia