Qualified… and still waiting

By Anansi’s Daughter

Yuh ever check yuh email like it owe you something? Refresh. Refresh again. Refresh like if the job go magically appear if yuh stare hard enough.

Yeah… that stage.

Because nobody really prepares you for what happens after you qualify. They tell you, “Study hard.” “Get your degree.” “Make your family proud.”

So, you do it: sleepless nights, group projects with people who contribute vibes only, assignments that nearly take yuh out. And then… you finish.

You thinking, “This is it. My life about to start.”

Plot twist. It didn’t.

Now you home. CV polished. Cover letters customised like a Netflix recommendation. Confidence? …Trying its best.

Applying everywhere, “Dear Sir/Madam…”, “Dear Hiring Manager…”, “Dear Please-Give-Me-A-Chance…”

And what you getting back? Silence. Or worse… “We regret to inform you…”

I remember one time, I apply for so much jobs, I start forgetting what I apply for. They call me and I like, “Hi, yes… which version of me you referring to?”

And then come the questions. Family asking, “So…any work yet?” Friends posting, “First day on the job!” “God did it!”

Meanwhile you there like… “God…when You reaching by me?”

Let’s be real. Unemployment doesn’t just hit yuh pocket. It hits yuh identity. Because suddenly, you start questioning everything, “Am I good enough?” “Did I waste my time?” “What I really supposed to be doing?”

And the dangerous part? You start comparing. Comparing timelines. Comparing progress. Comparing blessings. Like life is some kind of race and you stuck at the starting line watching everybody pass you.

I had a moment…real quiet one. No motivation. No big dreams. Just tired. And I say, “God…I did everything right. So, what happening?”

No immediate answer. Just…waiting.

And listen…waiting does feel like punishment sometimes. Like you in a season nobody congratulating you for.

But slowly, I start noticing something. In the waiting, I was learning things no job could teach me: patience (and I didn’t even want that lesson), humility, resilience. I start doing small things, helping out, building skills, figuring out what I actually passionate about, not just what look good on paper.

And one day it hit me…maybe this season wasn’t me being rejected. Maybe it was me being redirected. Because sometimes we chase titles…and God building character.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Bills still real. Stress still real. Doubt still real. But so is faith. Because I learning that my value is not in a job title, not in a salary, not in whether somebody say, “You’re hired.” It’s in who I am…even while I’m waiting.

So if you in that space right now, refreshing emails, doubting yourself, wondering when your time coming, take a breath.

You not behind. You not forgotten. And you definitely not a failure.

You just in a chapter nobody likes to talk about.

And maybe…just maybe…we not as stuck as we think…

Maybe we just not listening yet.