Hey Reader
Love was the only thing she had in abundance.
She grew up in a house where dinner was often just bread and prayers, with her mother working extra shifts washing clothes until her hands cracked and bled, and her father staying late at construction sites, his back aching. All so she could sit in a classroom.
She finally made it to university, but still there was no allowance, no backup plan. Just her and the hustle. She took on domestic jobs to get by; she cleaned offices before dawn, waited tables till past midnight, and carried other people's problems to pay for her own dreams.
But she had something else - looks that turned heads wherever she went. People noticed, and with that attention came opportunities she wasn't sure she wanted.
Around her, classmates lived differently. New phones appeared overnight. Designer bags, fancy dinners, easy money. All it took was a smile, a photo, a compromise.
"You're wasting your looks," they said. "Good girl no dey pay." "Why struggle when you could have it all?"
Some nights, exhausted and hungry, she almost caved. Almost believed that maybe her parents' love wasn't worth more than comfort. But then she'd remember her mother's quiet tears over unpaid bills. Her father's hands shaking with pride at her high school graduation. And the words that kept her steady:
"Don't let your beauty silence your values."
So she chose the hard way. The long way. The way without shortcuts. It wasn't easy. But she made it through with her soul intact.
Degree in hand. Integrity intact. A job offer followed, then another. And soon, she was able to bring her family out of poverty. She lifted them not by bending, but by standing tall, not by trading her worth, but by proving it.
Today, she stands tall, not just as a success story, but as a reminder. That in a world full of noise, speed, and temptation, there’s still power in patience. Still strength in taking the high road, even when no one’s clapping. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel.
In a world that forgot how to wait, she remembered.
Josh 🙏🏼
