Life is a Journey: Live it (Part 37)

The other biography
My headmaster, Mr Albers, who had returned from Brazil as a teacher at the German school in Rio de Janeiro, teaching the son of the president, asked me to run for the presidency of the students' council. Before six hundred students, I gave my campaign speech and lost. The girl who won the presidency came to me after four months into her presidency, asking me to take over as she was pregnant and had been asked to leave the school. As Headmaster, Mr Albers retired at the same time the teachers came together for a teachers' conference to determine the next headmaster. As the president of the students' council, I was invited to vote, and the school authority had suggested Mr Georg Friese as the successor in a letter to me. He was the only candidate, and I was thrilled to support him and vote in his favour.

The following year, my presidency came to an end as usual. Again, I was asked to campaign for the presidency by headmaster Mr Georg Friese, and I accepted. A young man with chewing gum, good-looking, one year junior to me, became president of the student union. At the first meeting of the students' council, he was confused, not knowing what to do. I stepped in and ever since have led each session of the students council one each months. He sat by my side, watching me. And smiled with chewing gum in his mouth. Everyone in school knew by then who actually ran their affairs. The time came when I was asked to agree to a pupil's strike, and I refused to give my consent. The pupils were calling me names, but I stood my ground. The storm against me slowly subsided, and the atmosphere was positive towards me again. During school breaks, while fellow students were playing and engaged in children`s wrestling, I would sit under a tree in the shade and write stories in my notebook. One boy did not accept me sitting peacefully under the tree, writing something. Instead, his punishment pierced my ears. I kept silent and allowed him to do whatever came to his mind. As I showed no reactions days later, he declared defeat and let me sit under the tree on my bench in peace and write my stories. This character not to mind words or actions of others but strictly follow my way was always with me. Someone like me and all of us must live our lives to the best we can and not the lives of others. My colleague, Martina Seide, later in life at IIR GmbH, Martina Seide, said famously things must be done in a certain way a belief I hated and hate today equally. The world only progresses when people go their way and add their ideas and actions to what already exists. The world dies without progress. Some people are made to keep life alive as it is for many to have a basis, while others must be progressive people with their own specific ideas to bring the masses forward in life. These are fighters who stand alone while the masses are moving as big oil vessels through time and space.

When, after class ten, I ended school with a mark of two, I had to give a farewell speech in front of up to eight hundred people. Dressed in a newly bought suit with a bow tie, I gave a ten-minute speech and gave thanks to all teachers, encouraging the students after school to work hard. One student in the second row before me laughed at my bow tie, and while speaking, and blinded by the many spotlights, this student was the focus of my attention. Leaving the stage, Mr Georg Friese congratulated me on the best speech ever heard. It felt so good to hear this from him. Saying goodbye to each other and wishing each other well, we students leaving school departed in all directions. I was alone all by myself, took a deep breath before going down the stairs. Before halfway down, I heard two female voices stop and look back. I saw two blond girls two classes behind me. Nice ladies for sure. They mentioned that they asked me to stop and turn around as they had something important to share with me. They said they did not vote for me to become president of the students' union, but it was important for them to let me know how much the honour me for never having given up; for standing my ground. I gave thanks, turned around, and walked down the steps before I left the school behind. This moment never left me. And it was a testimony, no matter what you stand for, over time, when in truth and honesty, you stick with your conviction, even if people might not share your ideas and what you stand for, but they honour you and give you credit for standing your ground. Do not be shaken by what others might say and think about you. Always be loyal to yourself, as that is what, in the end, even your worst enemies at your grave will say that you were an upright person all your life and did and thought what you were destined to think and do. Others cannot live your life; only you can.

In class ten, we started to look for an apprenticeship, and as I always wanted to become a kindergarten teacher, I applied personally at various kindergartens around. I assumed my track record from kindergarten Rübenkamp, where I helped and supported children in other places, also with three weeks practicum at kindergarten Steilshoop, looking after children between school and prison, with one boy taking care of for months after my practicum, would automatically qualify me for training as a kindergarten teacher. However, this proved to be not fruitful. While all applications failed and I got rejected, two classmates with less or no track record in this field got the chance to be trained as kindergarten teachers. I panicked and applied for manager training positions in the freight industry. I profoundly remember the HR Manager of the company Kühne opposite the Speicherstadt, the largest warehouse complex in the world. He asked me to have a seat. An elderly man, very nice, very friendly. Silently for a few moments, he looked at me. Then he asked me to speak for myself and give him all relevant information about me, besides the paperwork which I had prepared. He kept mute again for a few seconds before challenging me not to go for a professional training course as Speditionskkaufmann, Forwarding Agent, but to continue my academic career and join a High School, a Wirtschaftsgymnasium. I was stunned. No one in my wider family ever made it beyond the middle class of schooling at Handelsschule. I thought not being qualified was never good enough to make my A-Level. Never! He saw I was in great doubt, but encouraged me as he saw great academic qualifications in me.

I went home and told my mother. Like before attending Realschule, middle school at school Fraenkelstraße, my mother sat down with me, hearing about the recommendation to move on in my academic career, and said, which I never forgot in my entire life: “Son, you know I am not so intelligent. And son, you know I have a lot of money. But when you think this is what you want, go ahead and get it. The humble support I can render to you, I surely will do. But know you must fight for yourself alone and get the support that is needed financially for books and alike, and when it comes to knowledge.“ When I ended A-Level, wanting to enrol at Hamburg University, my late mother Ruth Willers repeated the same words. And I finished Hamburg University after five years as Diplom-Politologe, lecturing others who now follow in my footsteps and study Political Sciences at Hamburg University, and others to become Medical Doctors or Vets. What a great God we serve, the God of Prophet Dr Emmanuel Badu Kobi, my Papa.

I attended Wirtschaftsgymnasium City-Nord to take my A-Level with a qualification in economics, bookkeeping, and financial management. There were 120 students, many from rich families. Before the yellow high-rise building, a huge car park was part of the school premises. Intended for teachers' cars, it soon was used by rich students parking the Mercedes-Benz S class in front of the school and having champagne parties during the school hours break. They enjoyed a very good time. One classmate who sat in front of me, lazy like a boy, showed no interest in schooling, always getting closer to Christ, bad marks in his papers told me nothing for him to be worried about, as after school one day, he would anyway be the next boss of his father`s company, Lebbin in Rothenburgsort. The company produces and sells ready-mixed cement with more than one factory in Germany.

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