Turning your lemons into lemonade

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" 

The average Nigerian has heard this saying before as a means of encouragement whenever things do not work out the way they expected them to or whenever they do not get what they want. 

It is quite amusing when you even get to know what a lemonade is. A lemonade is a drink made from a mixture of lemon, water and a sweetener. Sounds nice, right? Imagine sucking on lemons like that. I can already feel the slaps the taste on your tongue sends to your cheeks. 

Making lemonade out of lemons is just a way of advising one to make the best out of unfavourable situations. It is not enough to complain about how bad things turn out. Working a way out of undesirable situations is what separates winners from losers. Taking advantage of a terrible situation you find yourself in and making the best of it is what you need to do when things do not turn out as you wish.

In Nigeria, there are so many ways that the system can throw you off guard. There are so many ways in which you could be frustrated. The government does not care about the conditions in which the citizens are living. The citizens too do not care about how much their evil actions would cost other citizens. 

However, instead of complaining all day long, why not find a way to make your life better? I know you read that and said "even when you try, the government makes your life harder" *laughs*

I agree with you, but there is absolutely no harm in trying.

My focus for this topic would be on Nigerian students and unemployed graduates. 

Dear Nigerian student plagued by ASUU strike, I implore you to make the best out of the several months which the union would waste from your life. If they are making you spend longer time in the university, does that mean you should remain stagnant? Absolutely not. 

During the pandemic in 2020, I realized that being a student is not enough. You need to do more than being enrolled in a federal university and tossed around like a ball by the wind.

Acquire a skill while in school. This is one of the best advice anyone has ever given me and I am glad I took it. Thriving as a young individual in the world today requires that you have an employable skill. You do not want to graduate from school and be on the streets searching for a job that either does not exist or you are not qualified for. 

These days, people earn from working remotely. They do not earn by just being able to present a certificate from a university. They earn from working with skills which they have honed for as long as they have been acquiring them. I have seen people who have never presented their certificates at work but have secure jobs that pay them well. 

Disclaimer: This is not in any way discouraging anyone from being an excellent student in school. If that is what you can deduce from this article, then I am sorry for you.

The key to your future is in your hands. Think of that skill which you believe would be beneficial to you now and in the future. Proceed to learn more about it. If you have to pay to acquire that skill, please do. Take online courses to acquire those skills. There are thousands of free courses online to help you on your path to creating a great career for yourself. 

The world we live in now is an amazing one that lets us be what we want to be just by having a phone and internet connection. Do not use your data solely for the purpose of posting memes and having meaningless conversations. Acquire a skill today! Yesterday was the best time for you to begin the process of acquiring a skill, however, it is gone. Today is another day. Tomorrow is not certain, so take the bold step today.

To the unemployed graduates, I am so sorry that Nigeria has put you in such a situation that you find your degree useless. You are probably facing the issue of rejection letters, not getting hired due to being above the specified age gap, etc.

Well, one thing I know for sure is that good things do not come to you by just sitting idle and doing nothing.

If you do not have a skill, take the advice up there and acquire one as soon as possible. It is difficult to get a job these days without having an employable skill. Your certification is valid but your skill is vital.

If you have a skill but do not have a job due to having no experience, then I have a solution for you. It is common for employers to require that you must have amassed a reasonable number of years of experience. However, people are not able to meet up with this as a result of being unemployed after school.

If this is your case, then you should consider applying for internship roles in organizations that meet your career needs. Being an intern helps you to gather working experience, learn more on the field and build relationships with people. Who knows, you might just be retained to work on a long term basis if luck smiles at you. Being an intern does not guarantee employment though, I am just saying.

A stitch in time saves nine. This is not a time for you to wallow in regrets for not getting this information early enough. It is a time for you to reorganize your life and make meaning out of it. Whatever skill it is you choose to take up, there are a lot of resources to help you pull through. If you set your mind to it, then you can do it. Do not let anything limit you from making progress. If you do not have enough resources to learn and practice, then make do with the one you have till you are able to afford the one you desire.

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