Adeniji, Toluwalope lives in Abeokuta, Ogun. TYWA stories may be slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. - TYWA 2025
Miracle sat in her so-silent-as-a-graveyard room staring into space. One could easily hear the sound of a pin if one dropped, and the least lackadaisical individual could tell she was bothered. Intermittently, she sighed and would even pace up and down the room.
Growing up, she had always been a victim of failure and stigmatization in every aspect of her life—at home, at school. Hardly could she keep any relationship without being plagued by the thought of how worthless she was. Miracle, age nineteen, born into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, was the second of four children.
“Why do I feel so rejected? Why do people hate me?” she questioned. She had recently suffered another public embarrassment for her repetitive failure in school, and this explained her sorrow and grief. As a result, she began to lose confidence and concluded it was her fate to fail.
Once in a while, a confidant friend’s words echoed in her mind, “You’re not exempted from greatness; don’t allow your failure to define you.” This never really conquered the self-demeaning thoughts that often occupied her mind.
Today, everything seemed different. Suddenly, she closed the curtains and sat before the mirror in her room, and began to speak positive things to herself, focusing on her strengths, abilities, and talents rather than on her weaknesses.
What began in her room extended to her daily life. The next day, she got ready for school with an unusual confidence which amazed everyone. She began to do the little she could, hoping to achieve something great through relentless effort. One thing that interested her was writing, and she focused on improving her writing skills.
As time went by, she made a living through her writings. Fortune soon smiled at her when an N.G.O. established to support young teenagers with special skills offered her a scholarship.
This was the beginning of great accomplishment in the life of Miracle, as she later became a spotlight in her school and family as well. Her success story made a lot of her mates who still felt rejected embrace themselves and feel a BEACON OF HOPE in realizing the importance of persistence, hard work, and moving forward despite all obstacles that come their way.
Slow and rough as Miracle’s journey began, there was a joyous ending only the mindset could unleash.