The rain fell in crazy chaotic drops that night, the wind went wild and one moment the cardboards and mother’s wrapper that served as curtains were dripping.
It was like the rain was determined to wash away her family from the uncompleted building that night.
Mercy sat at the corner, shivering as her parents and older siblings struggled with the makeshift coverings, the rain pierced her skin, her clothes soaked, and tears streaming down her face as she watched them.
Soon, their home became a disorientated chaos.
Mercy remembered when they first moved into the uncompleted building, it was nothing like the barracks she was used too. It was obvious and she was stepping into a whole new world of uncertainties.
They had no doors, no windows and Mercy’s mum had to use her wrapper to cover the windows so that outsiders won’t see through.
Lizards, wall gecko played hide and seek through the cracks on the wall and many times Mercy fell while playing and had bruises because the floor wasn’t cemented. Mercy had to start acting to roof the uncompleted building
Her brother had to do menial jobs as a bricklayer so that their situation could be better but that wasn’t enough for a large family of nine. Mercy herself hawked water and several food items.
She dropped out of school many times and failed many exams due to her inconsistency in school due to inability to pay school fees. At a point, she had to work as a maid in order to survive.
Mercy wrote JAMB and failed woefully too; she stopped trying to gain admission and decided to face her acting career squarely.
Today, Mercy Johnson doggedness has paid off; she has acted in over 150 movies and has many awards to her name. She is one of the very successful Nollywood actresses in Nigeria.
Despite what life threw at her, she responded to adversity with a steely resistance.
No matter how you feel this morning, it takes a little courage and some grim determination to reach your goal.
Obstacles don’t have to stop you.
If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
May the odds always work in your favour this week!
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