Moment of Truth

Any situation that forces you to come face to face with your ‘true’ self, where there is no one to judge your opinion and no walls are in the way of you and your thoughts is a moment of truth. It’s a situation that leaves you pondering on the decisions you’ve made and the person you’ve become.

It’s funny how everyone thinks that they are unique in their own personal way. One of the most comments people seem to take offensively is when you say that they are ‘the same as everyone else.’ I should know- it drives me crazy when people say that to me, so just as I completely understand why it’s important for people to view me as ‘different’, I can’t deny the level of comfort there is in knowing that I’m ‘the same to everyone else.’

Everyone in my circle is always going on and on about the importance of honesty. Whenever I ask what they look for in a healthy relationship (whatever the nature of the relationship is) they say loyalty and honesty. But let’s take a reality check here, who really wants to hear about some of the traits that others find lacking in you? Most importantly how would you handle this ‘constructive criticism?’ I’ve lost some friends because of those ‘truthful’ moments and personally I find the truth over-rated. It’s much easier to keep in mind that there are three versions to any story, person one’s perception, person two’s perception and the true version of whatever really happened. Let’s not over stress everything.

A few days ago as I was standing in a forgotten classroom in Tanzania, I came face to face with children who squash themselves on a bench that is meant for a lesser amount of pupils. Despite the limited facilities in the school and the obvious poverty, the pride by which they carry themselves in their washed out and stitched uniform brought tears to my eyes.

Third world leaders seem to think that by opening more schools they are fulfilling their obligation towards achieving universal education for their citizens. But as usual, the concept of proper monitoring, reporting and follow-up remains unknown to the developing world. Who monitors the quality of education that these children are receiving? What competent body is in charge of supervising the content of the curriculum, that teachers are being continuously trained and that the method of teaching is up to date with the world today?

I have come across intelligent minds that lack the proper resources to properly develop their skills in order to grow into productive human beings. The most common method of teaching in Africa is basically where the students are the passive recipients of knowledge. And although many countries are trying to ban corporal punishment from schools, it is still widely practiced and has in some cases been the cause of many student deaths. We teach our children to be submissive by beating them and diminishing their self-esteem.

Then the world wonders why Africans are not taking control of their continent and gearing it towards the right direction. I wish I had an answer- it’s so easy to blame all our tragedies on colonization, much easier than taking responsibility on our lack of commitment towards this continent. How can we advance when Africans are the ones holding Africans back?

It’s so easy to point out all the faults, much harder to come up with a concrete plan on how to make things right. A question that plagues me everyday is what will I be able to do to make a difference? And that was my moment of truth.