Gbemisola Taiwo, a young Nigerian woman, has shared the emotional and financial hardship she endured in her quest to study in the United States only to face rejection after giving it her all.
In a candid post on X (formerly Twitter), Taiwo recounted how she saved every kobo of her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) allowance. She even added ₦200 from her monthly salary, eventually saving ₦20,000 to cover the costs of graduate school applications, transcript fees, and other related expenses.
“I didn’t touch my NYSC allowance at all,” she wrote. “I kept adding ₦200 monthly from my salary until I had ₦20,000.”
But despite her careful planning and sacrifices, her US visa application was denied. “Every single dime was wasted,” she wrote. “I cried. It felt like I had lost everything.”
The experience, she said, was one of the lowest points in her life. Yet somehow, she found a way to move forward.
“I can’t even remember how I bounced back,” she admitted. “That was the most money I had ever saved, and it vanished just like that. But life didn’t stop.”
After NYSC, Taiwo landed a job earning ₦100,000 a month. Slowly, she began saving again this time for a master’s program in the United Kingdom, which she successfully began in 2022.
“That decision changed everything,” she said. “Some setbacks are just redirections. I once thought rejection was the worst thing that could happen, but life taught me otherwise. God is good.”
Taiwo’s story has resonated with many young Nigerians navigating the challenges of studying abroad offering a powerful reminder that failure is not the end, but often the beginning of something better.
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