Phd Onyia; "The Beautification of an Area Boy."

PhD OnyiaThe Beautification of an Area BoySomeone said, if you're a boy in this world, you are already 1 - 0 handicapped, and if you are a boy from a poor home, you are handicapped by 3 odds. I wouldn't call my family poor because honor is a thing in our house; rather, I would say we place more priority on surviving than we do on finding love. We never had to search for love because there was no need to; we had more depth in love than in liquidity.My story started as a corner boy at the grinding section of Ekeani Market, Ngwo. It was our hometown market and a host for lots of area boys. The grinding section was a space known for hustling of petty cash, a black market for revaluation and re-sale of all stolen items within the market. It harbored a mixture of genuine teenage boys who are hustling for contented cash and some other stronghead area boys who came for fast money.Most families never wanted their children to associate with the grinding boys; it was seen as a below par craft. Most people see the grinding boys at Ekeani market as low life boys, although they never said it, but it was indirectly made reference to.My local grinding engine was the first empowerment program that I received from my late Father, Eze Nwa Agbo (Late Patrick Onyia). He already knew that the journey ahead was rough and he had less, so he placed his children at various spots to earn from a skill. He did this on the account of “Ụchụ Agba Onye jị Ọgu.” It was there and then my pursuit for money started, to make ends meet. Every day after school, I was there with my manual grinder, grinding melon seed, pepper, crayfish, and lots more for buyers. Beyond the negative sides of the grinding space, it was an expository space to learn the need to get money, hold money, manage money, and lots more. This I later learned in my Economics class about the speculative, transactional, and precautionary motive to hold money, at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It was there I learned how to approach a customer, how to identify a potential lead by body language, how to stand up for myself, also how to approach a beautiful girl and all the things I ever wanted. I would rush to a customer there and then convince him or her that I was a better pepper grinder than the rest of 20 grinding boys. It was also there I learned my sales strategy, presenting a hook to a customer to get their attention, and for once, it has always been instrumental in what I’ve grown to be today.It was from there I made my little pocket money, supported my school tuition fees most times, and sorted my basic needs. I continued grinding till the last days of my secondary school at COSCO varsity until I bid it goodbye. I made friends along the way, and after many years, I gained admission into the University of Nigeria Nsukka to study Agric economics. It was never an easy-going journey, but I kept trusting God and the process. God gave me friends for every milestone, and from them, I learned that we are not only our brother's keeper in countless large and small ways but we are also our brother's maker. There were days I had a lot of complaints, but I kept calm and continued to let my grinding carry me through. I finished top of my class, and by God's grace, I got a retainer job in my department as a lecturer. Today, I bagged a doctorate in my discipline and can boldly proud myself as PHD Onyia, a famous academic fellow from the hill with pedigree in both hustlerology and Educational. Life is one big mighty ocean; we are the fleet of boats. Small boats only keep the shores while the bigger boats venture more. In your time on the stage, you have a choice to pick the big boat and fight for big things or pick the small boats to keep the shores and fight for little things. They said, wherever you find yourself, it is your friends who make your world. I eventually got married to a brown-skinned girl, a dearest friend of mine. She was melanin popping, and in the fullness of her grace, she was sculptured with the tailored perfection of a Mathset compass. I adore her elegance, the way a gentleman should adore his jewel, and one day we would tag our story, what the collarless professor called “The lion and Jewel,” and my own personal story as the beautification of an area boy. These story hasn’t ended, but I choose to punctuate it here. It continues here after without being scripted. Every aspect of life is about learning; most people know these while others choose to ignore it. Learning, unlearning, and relearning is a greater part of life, and one must pay attention to the details because in everything, there's something to learn. Never be afraid of this journey called life; it’s a bag of surprises. You could be struggling by morning and pick a luxury life ticket by evening. Never stop showing up; don’t let where you are today define you because you could be pricing a 1000 naira fish at Ekeani market today and be in London smiling to the camera in front of Buckingham palace. Life is a pot of beans but also full of overcoming.