#MEET
WINNIE RUGAMBA
A SPOKEN WORD/POET
HER POPULAR PIECE ENTITLED,
“TO THE KID WITH
POTENTIAL“
When Potential Isn’t Enough
“Winnie, you’re going to do big things in life.”
If I got a dollar every single time this was said
to me, hey, I would not be sitting in Wiley Col-
lege trying to get a degree, I’d probably be
somewhere in the gorgeous streets of Venice,
living life, but alas! Here I am.
I request you to read this with a very open
mind. A lot of it will sound like I am bragging,
but just stay with me and you will understand
where I am going with this. Fortunately for
me, I never had a rough time in school; from
primary school to high school, I was able to
place first to third in class. With that being
said, you might think I was smart, but I just
think I have a remarkable memory that was
able to memorize every single detail the day
before a test or exam, but please do not dare
ask me a question about what I read right after
the test (yes, I am one of those people). So, ac-
cording to someone that I do not know, some-
how if you have always done well in school,
you’re automatically going to do well in life
just because “education is key.” While that
is a lie, it isn’t too far from the truth, either.
A lot of people that did well in school do end
up doing well in their adulthood, excel in their
jobs, and there is nothing surprising about it
because “they’ve always done well since a very
young age,” which makes it a valid assump-
tion, I guess. Well, today, I’m in college and by
God’s grace, it hasn’t been the worst. I am still
able to get a couple of A’s and B’s as well as C’s
whenever I forget to turn in my assignments,
but apart from that I was also involved in other
stuff: debate team, poetry, acting, writing, and
other things that exposed me to different peo-
ple and places which could be considered “im-
pressive” considering where I’m from, I guess.
Basically, I had it going for me, people told me
I was going to be great, do big things, some
predicted that I was going to be the minister
of foreign affairs in Rwanda or the minister of
gender and family promotion; others said I was
going to be an amazing actress, probably walk
on that red carpet one day. I’ve been told that I
will publish books and many more things that
were meant to be encouraging, or sometimes
just people voicing their dead dreams, but
whatever it is I am thankful for the hope that
everyone had in me but what I got to figure out
along the way is that it is easier for people to
talk about the lovely parts about life but nev-
er the ugly parts. Nobody really spoke about
the barriers, hopelessness, loneliness, confu-
sion, self-doubt, headaches, sleepless nights,
the burden that comes with knowledge; no one
ever told me that there will be days I will not
want to wake up in the morning. In fact, I have
the desire to forever be in bed. No one talk-
ed about the nights that doubt will creep in
your bed and cuddle you till you fall asleep to
the sound of your shattering confidence. No-
body talked about the pressure, the pressure
that comes with everyone expecting you to do
well—not even expecting, really, but more like
watching to see where you are going to mess up
even though they are your loudest cheerlead-
ers; nobody talked about the uncertainty that
comes with all the options or “opportunities,”
the fear of choosing the wrong major, career,
job, partner or just anything good that comes
your way. Nobody told me about the reality.