THE POWER OF A DREAM –CC1 SPEECH By Jesse Ainebyoona
It was Carl Sandburg who said that nothing happens unless
first a dream.
I am going to share
with you today about the power of a dream. I truly believe that dreams come
true.
Born 31years ago in the beautiful Switzerland of
Uganda, I Jesse Ainebyoona, a 4th born in a family of 5 boys and 1 girl, had no
idea what great adventure lay ahead of me as I began my life in the beautiful
land of Kabale.
I started school at Kabale Primary School. I can remember
the cold mornings as I walked to school through the town streets. I would see
buses loading passengers going to Kampala and I would wonder if I would one day
get an opportunity to travel to Kampala. I had seen pictures of the city in our
text books and I longed to go there one day but I had never got an opportunity
to do so.
When I got to Primary 4, my dad who was an established
business man in Kampala, invited us to visit him. I packed my bag 5 days to the
trip and i was so thrilled that I hardly slept the night before. I couldn't
wait for the morning to come. Excitement filled my heart as I boarded the bus
to go to Kampala for the first time. I was amazed at the number of cars on the
streets, the tall buildings and many people. That was my first journey to
Kampala. My father promised that if I went back to Kabale and passed my
promotional exams to Primary 5, I would go to study in Kampala. Indeed I went
back and studied very hard and was promoted to Primary 5 & then moved to
Kampala where I enrolled at Kampala Parents. It was a dream come true.
It was such a new experience! I could hear children talking
about cartoon network and superman but I had no idea what they were talking
about because I had never experienced that. My childhood in Kabale was spent
fetching water, doing house chores and playing out in the fields with my
friends. I somehow felt left out but I chose to focus on my studies.
When I got to Primary 7, I put my first choice at St Mary's
College Kisubi and with aggregate 5 in my PLE, I made it on merit. It was a
dream come true.
When I got to Form 2, I suffered the adolescent disease and
one day when I was suspended for stealing school bans due to peer pressure.
This badly affected my self esteem and my performance in class soon began to
decline. My position in class shifted to the bottom 5. I was the shadow of
myself and i was a disappointment to my parents and those who looked up to me.
I was asked to repeat Form 3 but at the headmaster's mercy, I was promoted to
Form 4 on probation. I had a dream to make good grades, regain my lost
reputation and make it to the University on Government Sponsorship but I felt
this dream was slowly flipping through my fingers.
I challenged myself
to improve my grades but things only seemed to go from bad to worse. In Form 4
first term exams, I got 31 aggregates in 8 subjects. In second term, I vowed to
come back stronger and perform better
but i only improved by -1 and got 32 in 8 in mock exams. With sheer
determination, intense hard work and constant encouragement from my mother, I
got 14 aggregates in the best 8 subjects. It was a dream come true. I desired
to change the school environment so I
went to Kibuli Secondary School for my High School.
Here I got to discover the other side of me that I had never
known before. I participated in debating competitions and emerged the best debater overall, an award that I esteem so
highly to this date.
I was able to go to the university on Government scholarship
to study Mechanical Engineering. This was another dream come true.
While at the university, a friend shared with me a business
idea. I saw it as something I would do to occupy me in my free time and make
some pocket money while on campus. By the time I got to second year, I was earning
close to a million shillings and I have never looked back. By the time I got to
3rd year, I had bought my first car and by the time of my graduation, the
income I was earning was much more than I would get paid on a job. This was yet
another experience that made me realize that dreams come true.
One day I escorted a friend who was traveling abroad to the
airport. When I saw him board the aeroplane, I was mesmerized by the experience
and I desired to travel by plane one day but every time I thought about it, my
mind would go racing with endless questions such as where would I go, to see
who, to do what and who would pay?
At the time, the company I was working with would be
celebrating a golden jubilee in a year's time and this was to take place in London.
The company set an incentive that whoever would achieve a certain sales target
would get the opportunity to travel to London for the golden jubilee
celebration.
I got a picture of a plane and put it at the back of my
diary and I looked at it all the time as I went about my business activities.
It became such a consuming obsession that one day I dreamt
that I was on a plane only to wake up to find myself in my bed. I wished I had
stayed in the dream!
Finally I achieved the sales target and received the invitation
letter to attend the golden jubilee celebration in London.
The day finally came for me to travel to London. I was
dressed so smartly in a dark blue suit that one of my friends who had escorted
me to the airport remarked that if I there was a free seat in the First class
section, they would give it to me.
What amazed me also was that the aircraft I had on the
picture in my diary is the same one I used to travel that day.
At home, i set a record by becoming the first person in my
family and entire clan to board a plane! Indeed dreams come true.
Sometimes we set out to achieve something but we often get
overwhelmed with some many obstacles and challenges.
It reminds me of this poem:
The road to success is never straight.
There's a curb called failure,
a loop of confusion,
speed bumps called friends,
red lights called enemies,
caution lights called family,
flat tyres called jobs, but if you have a spare tyre called
determination,
an engine called faith,
insurance called perseverance,
a vehicle called Opportunity and
a driver called Jesus,
you will make it to a Destination called success.
Thank you
Bukoto Toastmaster s Club meets every first Tuesday of the month at
Alliance Francaise. We’re soon moving to our new premises.
'Where the brave speak'
Twitter: @BukotoTM1
Tel: +256 751 703226
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