After A Rough Week, I'm Still Standing

Adama shares some of the obstacles he's faced over the last few months.

It all started a few months ago when my trusty laptop, the one that served me so well for years in The Gambia, died unexpectedly in the middle of a class assignment. With such a tight budget, buying a new one right away wasn’t an option. So, I had to get creative.

Temple University Japan allows students to borrow laptops for free, but there’s a catch: they can only be used on campus. That meant I had to start spending extra hours at school, outside of class and my work shifts, just to finish my homework.

I’ve faced worse challenges before, so I pushed through. For months, I juggled work schedules and early morning commutes to make it all work. I was barely sleeping — maybe four hours a night — but I was managing.

Eventually, I saved enough to buy a new laptop. I was so relieved. The pressure eased, and I could finally get a few more hours of sleep. Pulling that money from my savings also meant having less set aside for my next tuition bill, but it was necessary move. I’m not sure how much longer I could have kept up that schedule.

Then, two months ago, the WiFi in our apartment building went out — and never came back. My roommates and I kept reporting it, and the management kept saying they’d fix it, but nothing happened. So once again, I was commuting to campus outside of class and work, and once again, I was sleep deprived.

This week, things got worse. Our apartment is experiencing massive leaking. Water from our showers backed up and has soaked our carpets. And, unfortunately, this is not clean shower water, but the used, dirty water that’s left over after someone is done showering. The building’s solution? Shut off the showers entirely. They’ve been slow to take any other action.

So now, I’m tired, stinky, and frustrated. After the recent challenges I’ve faced, this latest one hit hard. I’ll be honest, I’ve felt a little hopeless this week.

But even so, I’m picking myself back up. I’m praying to God for strength, and I’m doing my best to take things one day at a time. When I think about everything I overcame just to get to college, these setbacks don’t seem so big. I’m still here. I’m still pursuing my dream. I’m still living in a fascinating city.

These challenges won’t break me — they’ll just make me fight harder.