Lost and Left Behind
At 25, I already felt like a failure. Not just a small, fixable mistake, but a colossal disappointment.
Everywhere I looked, my mates were moving forward—graduating with top honors, securing high-paying jobs, traveling abroad for their master’s degrees. Some were buying cars, others posting airport selfies with captions like “On to greater things!” Meanwhile, I was still in my father’s house, stuck in the same small town where nothing ever changed.
Worse, the girl I loved—Sandra—had left me. She didn’t even pretend it was about anything other than money. She had found someone richer, someone who could offer her a lifestyle I couldn’t. And now, the wedding invitations were everywhere. I hadn’t even received one, but social media made sure I saw every glittering detail. Her fiancé had just bought her a car. A brand-new one.
Me? All I had was a third-class degree and a growing sense of hopelessness.
Dreams That Never Took Off
I wasn’t always like this. In university, I had dreams—big, bright ones. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, a businessman who would change the world. But reality hit hard. With a third-class degree, my job applications were met with rejection after rejection. Employers didn’t care about my ideas or my drive. They only saw my grades and dismissed me.
I tried everything. Small hustles, side gigs, anything to make money. But nothing ever took off. And now, at 25, I was back at home, under the roof of a man who had worked his whole life to see his son succeed. My father never said it outright, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes. My mother tried to comfort me, telling me God’s time was the best. But even her faith seemed weaker now.
Then came the worst day of all.
The Wedding Announcement
I was scrolling through my phone when I saw it. Sandra’s engagement photos.
She was glowing in a beautiful dress, standing next to a man who looked like everything I was not—rich, successful, and confident. The caption read: “Forever with the love of my life. God did it!”
I felt like….
