MY JOURNEY FROM A MESS TO A SAGE.

 

"Today's mess is tomorrow's message." – Mr. Pojo

One of my favorite sayings is that failure and success are merely feedback in our journey through life. What we aren't told often enough is that it’s okay to fail, it’s okay not to get it right the first time—because failure is simply feedback. It doesn’t validate or invalidate us.

So yes, failing repeatedly is a necessary ingredient for becoming or emerging into whatever we aspire to be.

I still remember how I was when I first sought mentorship. My journey with my coach is one I’ll never get tired of recounting. It may seem like magic now, but both of us know that it wasn’t magic; it was hard work!

I didn’t get it right at once. I had to try over and over. I failed, I backslid, and I emerged.

I was, honestly, a mess—emotionally and mentally. That’s why I’ll always recommend that young people find mentors. Being a teenager in this generation isn’t easy. If you find yourself struggling with depression or confusion, get someone who’s gone ahead of you to guide you through. Like it or not, we can’t do life alone.

I don’t think anyone has suffered an identity crisis quite as I have. At every stage, something made me doubt or question who I was.

I was 16 when I met my coach. With a distorted, messy mind, I began a journey. From my end, the goal seemed simple: Be Able To Write Anything. But my coach had a different goal. To help me, he had to make me the kind of person who could write anything. So I was trained to become a sage, no ordinary person.

It feels like yesterday when we started, but it’s been two years and counting. We’re not there yet, but we’re not where we began.

To become a sage, my coach drilled me. I’d be lying if I said it was seamless; I know the number of times I cried and told myself I’d given up. “Las las, I cannot come and kill myself!”

In my journey, I’ve learned so much. But one lesson stands out: you can’t be too damaged for redemption. No one is too messy to be realigned. What matters is acknowledging that you’re a mess and reaching out for help. As my coach puts it simply, “A mess plus a sage equals a message.”

Mess + Sage = Message.

You wouldn’t make sense if you weren’t flawed. Your flaws, fault lines, and scars are what make you unique.

As long as we make intentional progress, it doesn’t matter if we’re a mess or not. We’ll get better, becoming better each day. The beauty isn’t in the “better” but in the journey that leads to it.

Dearest reader, the point—or rather, the message—is this: it takes a mess to emerge as a sage. If you’re not flawed, what’s there to journey through? Embrace all that you are, and as much as possible, seek help!

@favvy_Okwans🖤.