Member-only story
Suck it up!
A Short Story of Expectations and How They Can Ruin Your Relationships
Once upon 2008, I got a provisional admission to study Real Estate at the University of Reading in England. The terms of the offer required paying 50% of my tuition fees before a specified date and failure to do so meant losing the admission. I had applied to this university because my mentor (and boss at the time) was an alumnus of the school and he was my biggest inspiration. He ran a multimillion naira real estate company, and he was everything I wanted to be.
At the time, my meagre savings didn’t scratch the surface of the £13,000 the school was asking for and there were no government-backed student loans that could bridge the gap for me. So, I summoned courage to go to my boss for a loan to make my dreams come true and his response was:
“The organisation doesn’t have enough money to support your request.”
His response stunned me. I knew how wealthy he was and how the company was doing and how much of my time and resources I had put into growing the organisation as their first hire. I couldn’t hide my anger at this let down from someone I considered my hero. In defiance, I started acting up until one day at an office meeting, I made an offhand remark that almost got me fired.
