Back home, I was impatient to show the results to my parents. They had gone out and weren’t back. It was 7pm, then 8…9pm, still they weren’t in.

Where could they be? Everyday they were always at home by this time. Today that I had something important to share, they were no where to be found.

During that time, the daughter of a former landlord of ours had come to visit us. Frankly, I thought we could have made her stay much more comfortable and interesting.

I learnt many things observing my parents. When you find yourself in a higher place, top position and financially stable, you ought to use your position to help young people, by opening your house and arms to them.

When young people are growing up, they face many challenges. Sometimes they have constant quarrels with their parents and need a place to move to for a while to avoid the tension between them and their parents exploding into something else.

Sometimes it’s counseling on some addiction they’re involved in that they need. Other times too, it’s financial assistance, especially with regards to their schooling.

Of course, there will be the ingrates. But out of every hundred people you help, there will always be one who remembers your kindness and shows gratitude. God always has a way of rewarding efforts.

The tiny young people you see today who seem to have no future are the very people who grow up to become powerful and influential people in society. The ugly grow pretty with time, and the poor grow wealthy, though there may be one or two exceptions.

I feel my parents have been kind to many people. I just don’t know why I feel they could have done better, especially when it comes to helping people now starting out in life. And so, I’ve made it a commitment to help many young people with whatever resources I’ve got.

Back to my story. So, our former landlord’s daughter who came to visit us was called “Angela”. And while I waited for my parents to break the good news to them, I showed Angela my results. She was so shocked to see the sterling performance. She knew I was academically good, but she didn’t know I was that good.

I overheard her later on the phone, breaking the news to her cousin who lived with her dad and her cousin in turn informed Angela’s dad. I felt so important.

Then came the moment I had been waiting for. The honking of a car at the gates. My parents were finally in. My brother wouldn’t wait for me to do the introductions and the announcement. He narrated everything to my parents before they even alighted from the car to step into the living room.

All the same, I too gave them my version of the evening’s happenings.

“Congrats!! “ my mom and dad said almost simultaneously.

They now seemed to look at me in a different light and I felt proud that as the first born of the family, I had set the standard and raised the bar.

A part of my brothers rejoiced with me, while a certain part of them eyed me from the corners of their eyes.

I made it, and now, they had no excuse to not replicate the feat. And that was a worry to many of them.