What You Do in Silence: The Sacrifices No One Knows About

It’s been a while since I showed up here for #StorySaturday. The last few weeks have been intense. I’ve been on the road and in the sky—moving between cities and countries—and somewhere in the middle of all that movement, I fell sick. The changing weather didn’t help much either, swinging between 11 and 25 degrees depending on where I was. Everything slowed down, and I had to hit pause. You see, I write my own stories and run my own pages, so when I’m not okay, everything stops. Not because I don’t want to show up, but because sometimes, I simply can’t. This has been one of those times.

Truth is, the last few weeks have been a lot. Traveling, juggling assignments, dealing with fatigue, and trying to keep up with a pace that just wasn’t sustainable. But in the midst of all that, I was reminded of something important: I am the only one who can choose to get up and keep going. And so, today, I’m back—with a story that takes me all the way back to the period after I completed my O-Levels.

Most of my classmates went off to university—some in Kenya, others abroad. I had the grades to go too, but my mum couldn’t afford the fees. So, I shelved the university dream, telling myself I’d revisit it when I was able to fund my own education. In the meantime, I decided to find a short course that would help me get a job, any job. That journey took me to a laundromat, then to a highway motel, and eventually, life surprised me with a chance to go to college.

📌 Click here read the fully story shared with you on 24.05.2025

In that story, I briefly mentioned that I had the highest typing speed in my class—higher even than my teachers. I also said I’d share the story behind that skill one day. Well, that day is today. And once you read this, you’ll understand why it matters.

You see, before the opportunity to go to college came, I discovered that my grandfather had an old German typewriter. 

Gen Z, meet the OG keyboard: the typewriter. Back in the day, this is how we typed documents—no backspace, no autocorrect, just pure finger muscle and ribbon ink

Anyway, moving on, being his favorite grandchild, it didn’t take much to convince him to lend it to me. He wasn’t using it, and I had a hunger to learn. My mum, a fully trained secretary by then, became my first typing teacher. She showed me how to place my fingers on the home keys, how to use the space bar (though for some reason I’ve always used my left thumb instead of my right), how to insert the red and black ribbons, how to load paper, and how to roll it in and out of the machine.

When she went to work and my sister went to school, I stayed home and practiced. The keys were heavy and stiff, and my fingertips hurt in the beginning. But I pushed through. She brought me typing manuals that taught finger placement for every key on the QWERTY keyboard. Before long, I could type without looking. My fingers started to remember their positions, and my muscle memory took over.

Around that same time, I had a friend named Elizabeth—just like me—who had a computer at home. She was studying at a university in Nairobi and wasn’t using it much, but she needed help typing her dissertation. I offered to assist. She would write the content by hand, and I would type it out for her. Since she was based in Nairobi, she only came home on weekends, and every time she did, she’d leave me with the handwritten pages I needed to type during the week. 

She lived with her parents about 4 kilometers from our home, which meant walking roughly 8 kilometers every day—there and back—just to get my hands on that keyboard. But I knew exactly what I was doing. That daily walk was the tuition I was paying to learn how to use a computer. And learn I did. Compared to the old typewriter, the computer keyboard felt like magic. My typing speed skyrocketed.

By the time I got the opportunity to work at the laundromat, I had just completed typing Elizabeth’s dissertation. Talk about timing! It was as though one chapter closed just in time to open another—ushering in a lifetime of typing. That skill, which started on a borrowed typewriter and was sharpened on a borrowed computer, is one I’ve kept alive to this day. It has become more than just muscle memory; it’s a tool I use to put food on my table, serve clients, build businesses, and create opportunities—not just for myself, but for others too.

Years later, that one skill—typing—would prove to be more than just a technical ability. It became a silent game-changer.

I remember one Sunday in church, typing short notes on the church laptop like I always did while the preacher was still speaking. I wasn’t doing it to impress anyone, I was just capturing the message in real time, while it was still fresh to help the congregation capture it correctly too. What I didn’t realize at the time was that someone in the congregation had been paying attention. He happened to be the Managing Director of a major organization. Impressed by both my speed and accuracy, he eventually approached me and invited me to help with some of their internal projects.

What began as a simple request turned into something much bigger. Soon, I was compiling reports, editing internal publications, and eventually working on corporate magazines for the organization. That single opportunity opened doors I never imagined—connecting me to people, projects, and platforms that shaped the next phase of my career.

And all of it—every single door—was opened by one simple skill: typing.

What started as an 8-kilometre daily walk to a friend’s house, just to practice on a borrowed computer, became a lifetime asset. Today, that same skill remains one of the most valuable tools in my professional toolbox. It continues to help me deliver results, meet deadlines, earn a living, and show up fully in every opportunity that comes my way.

But let’s trace it all the way back. How did I get there?

It started with having a powerful vision and a clear goal. I wanted to go to university. And even though it didn’t happen the way I thought it would, or when I expected it to, it did happen eventually. This is another massive story for another day.

Looking back, that daily 8-kilometre walk to help my friend type her dissertation taught me far more than how to use a computer. It still blows my mind that one skill—typing—became my credential, my calling card, and the bridge to an entirely new path. It began with a borrowed typewriter, progressed through an old computer, and blossomed in places I never imagined. 

So here’s what I want to leave with you today:

1. Sometimes, the fees we pay come in unusual currency - that 8 km daily walk wasn’t a favour to my friend—it was tuition. I didn’t have money, but I had time, effort, and willingness. And so I paid for a new skill with consistency, not cash. Never underestimate the value of sacrifice—it often opens doors that money can’t.

2. Learn before you earn - before any doors opened, I was still in the process of learning. Typing, editing, formatting—none of it came with a paycheck in the beginning. But the learning laid the foundation for the earning. You don’t demand value before you’ve created it. You build it first.

3. No skill is ever too small to matter - typing felt like a basic skill, but it turned out to be the thread that connected me to people, platforms, and purpose. Never downplay your abilities—sometimes it’s the most ordinary thing that will unlock the most extraordinary opportunity.

4. Let your excellence speak louder than your voice - typing quietly during a church service didn’t require an introduction—but it introduced me. Someone noticed, and that became a door. Sometimes, your greatest visibility will come from simply doing your best when no one is clapping.

5. Use what you have to lift others as you rise - your gift isn’t just for your gain—it’s also for the good of others. That one skill has allowed me to serve, support, and shape the stories of many. What’s in your hand right now could become the bridge someone else needs.

6. Learn before you earn - every moment on that typewriter, every step to type for a friend, was tuition paid to yourself. Knowledge takes time.

And finally, start where you are, with what you have. It may not look like much right now (like a borrowed typewriter, a long walk to a friend’s house, or a skill that seems too small to matter). But sometimes, it’s those very steps that prepare you for your biggest breakthroughs.

The journey isn’t always instant, but if you keep showing up with heart, with intention, and with a willingness to learn, life has a way of meeting you halfway. It did for me. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

📌 So here’s my gentle nudge to you:
Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Use what’s in your hands, give what you can, and grow as you go. You never know what seed you’re planting today that will become your harvest tomorrow.

Be Ignited. Be Inspired. Be Influenced. Become the best version of yourself you can ever be.