Is the grass greener on the other side?

I have wanted to write about this for a long time but today I got the push.

So many people feel the grass is always greener on the other side but is it so?

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I remember when I was much younger I felt anyone who managed to travel overseas has made it in life. I am a Nigerian, and truly the economy here is nothing to write home about, but then as I started to grow older I began to see that to be successful in life, one must put in the effort, be determined, and be consistent.

When my uncle left the country, everybody felt he would no longer have problems(financially) and even my relatives started to depend primarily on him even on things they could afford, after all, what are the perks of having a relative overseas?

Whenever he tells them he has so many financial challenges they begin to bad mouth him, saying he is stingy and doesn't want to help, he does his best to assist us here, but most of my relatives feel his best isn't enough.

The narrative changed when a cousin of mine was able to secure his visa too and finally left, before leaving he promised to do "heaven and earth" when he gets there but is that the case today? No oooooh. We hardly hear from him, whenever he calls home too, he starts to narrate how life isn't a bed of roses there and how hard he had to work to make ends meet, initially, he thinks leaving the country automatically makes him a millionaire, (i laugh in Swahili) some times he keeps saying there's money there, but one needs to put in more effort than you would in your motherland, running shifts, doing menial jobs (caregivers, washing of plates, and the likes) something he might find 'downgrading' here in his country for his caliber of person.

I have cousins too who are still in the country and still doing good for themselves, though life here is hard, they own their store, and some still work in a reputable firm, yet they still long to leave the country not realizing there's no place like home, no struggling to be a citizen and no stress of renewing a visa.

I am not saying leaving for greener pastures is bad oh, but are you ready to put in more effort?

Let me not digress from the topic, the point is the grass isn't always greener on the other side, I guess it is greener where you water the ground.

Using myself as a case study, I remember yearning to work in a particular firm, simply because I felt where I worked wasn't giving me the financial Independence I needed, eventually, my friend who worked there started to look for another job though she earned thrice as mine, her job was demanding, very demanding at that, she would work overtime almost all the time, coming home feeling extremely exhausted. Then I realize I could earn more if I was willing to water my ground, aside from the work I do, I combined sewing over the weekends and turning my colleagues into my client, how? I would make nice outfits for myself and rock them to work, many of them began loving my dress sense and started asking who my designer was and I told them I was, that way they ask me to make similar outfits for them and I started earning too. I make handmade brooches too and package them neatly for sale, I sell them to family, friends, and colleagues, and receive an order every week, now, I am a blogger and podcaster adding all of these together to make something out of it.

 Even if I am not yet where I want to be financial, for a fact, I am not where I was and that's growth.

My handmade brooch photo

In conclusion, if you put in more effort, wherever you find yourself, you would excel, stop wishing and start working.

The grass is greener where you water the ground.And even if you feel the grass is greener on the other side you must be ready to put in more effort, the streets aren't lined up with gold.

"They think that streets are lined with gold overseas and that life is a bed of roses. It's a harsh reality for the people who have emigrated, who find it a rude awakening of just how much extra effort they need to put in, indeed."

-Millycyf

Thank you for stopping by, till we meet again, this is Amie Geoffrey.