9^th grade my goal in life was to be a popular kid. I wanted to dress like a cool kid (I still can’t manage to do so), walk like I was important, more than anything I wanted to be important. My definition of important at the time was that people knew me. Let’s just say I was a very selfish 9^th grader. The world had to revolve around me. Well, not to my surprise, it didn’t. I was still a regular high schooler.

10^th grade I wanted to be a pilot more than anything. I started paying attention in my Geography and Chemistry classes, which I was told is what most people needed to be a pilot. What most people don’t realize are the impact parents in a typical African home have on their children. That, however, is a story for another day. Back to my story, my mum popped my bubble of glee when she told me she wouldn’t let me become a pilot. Her only reason being she didn’t want to worry about my wellbeing while I was in the air. I guess I can’t really blame her for that, as much as it pained me.

11^th grade my plans had changed, I now wanted to be a lawyer. I was on my school’s debate team; I developed a passion for proving to people that they were wrong and I was right. I also fell deeply in love with formal attire. I was also part of my high school’s Model United Nations (MUN) team. I still continue to participate in MUN at Manchester.

Back home we really didn’t have 12^th grade—it was more of AS level and A level classes, or IB1 and IB2 classes. So I went for my AS level classes and didn’t bother with A level. In AS level my goal in life became clear. I wanted to be a diplomat. I wanted to support anything concerning human rights. I wanted to go for conferences and meetings to discuss thing that would actually make a difference in the world today. It was then that I realized that I wanted to work for an international organization.

Now I am in college. Here I have a different mindset. Instead of thinking about what I want to be, I find myself thinking about how I am going to get there. I guess the difference is that when I thought of my many career choices I never really thought of the process it would take to get there. Here, however, everything and everyone plays a part in getting you to a certain place along your path. In high school my mindset was “I want to be ____, once I finish school I will start working.” Then, in college you realize you have to think of grad school, internships, experience. There are so many things that employers look for today because of the increase in work force. Right now my goal at Manchester is get as much experience I can get and to have fun doing it. Another one of my goals is to make it to every single one of my 8 am classes on time (It is a struggle). Winter will be my worst enemy. Wish me luck!