Everyone of us has a turning point in life where our paths are divided and we need to choose just one. A turning point is a critical time in your life where big decisions could lead to big change, both at work and in life.
My first turning point was when I was in my 1st year of high school. I was addicted to playing computer games. Every day, I looked forward to the end of classes so I could head straight to the computer shop. I didn't even bother changing out of my school uniform at times. When I had assignments, I asked my mom to do them for me. It was a norm for us since grade school. Somehow she was okay with this and didn't scold me for asking her to do so. During exams, I would hardly or never study at all. Nevertheless, I was blessed to still be the top 4 in my class (but the credit goes to my mom). I was pretty content with this and didn't think much about it.
One day, one of our teachers asked us to submit an assignment. I wasn't worried because my mom had already completed it. After my teacher collected all the assignments, she sat down at her desk and checked them one by one. A few minutes later, she called my name and I headed over to her desk. These are not the exact words but this was how I remembered the conversation went:
"Yes, Miss Connie?"
"Dominic, did you do/write this?"
It was pretty obvious it wasn't my handwriting even if I lied.
"No, miss…" 😔
"It's done by your mom right?" I nodded.
"You know Dom, you are already in high school. You can't ask your mom to do your assignments anymore. Your mom has other things to worry about. You should instead help her by doing it yourself. I know you can. Next time please do it yourself." 😠
Those words might sound simple to others but it hit me pretty hard. I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I had a realization that she was right and that I should be doing my own assignments. And so I did (turning point!). I wanted to prove myself so I also studied hard for all the quizzes and exams. When the quarterly results were out, everyone was surprised (even myself) when our adviser announced that I jumped from being top 4 to top 1. 😮
That moment in my life was pretty meaningful and memorable because it taught me to take my studies seriously. I learned that I can achieve and accomplish if I work hard and dedicate myself to it. I thought doing okay was fine but Miss Connie believed that I could do better (or maybe she really just scolded me for asking my mom to do my assignments 🤔). But still, I'm really grateful to her. My high school years passed by as I maintained being top 1 and graduated Valedictorian. 🙏🏻
PS. I didn't stop playing computer games after that. I just managed my time better. Playing computer games was still an important part of my life as it sparked my interest to take up an IT-related degree and now, I am a web developer. 😂
What's YOUR turning point?