In my first year in college, a group of students staged a melodrama titled ‘Kiloku’as part of the freshmen orientation program. The story centered on a promising young man named ‘Kiloku’ who went sojourning in a distant land with a mission to learn blacksmithing and procure a priceless commodity called the golden egg. On the day Kiloku was setting out on his mission, the whole of his clan gathered to send him forth with wishes and prayers that the shining star will come back home someday with the lost treasure from the distant land and bring glory and honour to his homeland. The elders advised him to always remember his roots, and be focused on his mission all through the sojourn, the old women on their part pleaded with him to stay out of trouble, while the younger ones kept reminding him of the several goodies he promised to send them from the distant land. Kiloku did not leave his homeland empty-handed, he left with sufficient fund for his training, his learning tools as a blacksmith, and a magical compass that will lead him to the golden egg.

Kiloku left his homeland with a sense of purpose and determination to succeed while those who came to see him leave left for their homes with mixed feelings. Some with high hopes that the young man will justify the confidence reposed in him and bring goodness and honour to his homeland and some with doubts in their minds as to his competence and chances of success on the sojourn. For Kiloku, it was the moment he had been waiting for, his dreams of many years were coming true, and so he confidently marched towards his future with high hopes of success.

Although the journey was tougher than envisaged, Kiloku traveled through the forest day and night, he did not give up at the face of difficulties. He endured all the hardships of life in the forest and after several weeks of travelling, his endurance paid off, he finally got to the dreamland, the land filled with milk and honey.

Kiloku found himself in what seemed like a new world, to his utter amazement, he discovered that the land of the golden egg is indeed a wonderland, the land of abundance and endless possibilities. What more did he need? His training in blacksmithing had taken off without any hitch and he has the golden compass which will lead him to the golden egg. Kiloku became ecstatic. Still basking in the euphoria of his success so far, he sought the company of some young lads like himself and together they went to the village square on a drinking spree. The atmosphere in the village square was charged with incomparable excitement, wine flowed like a river and the young men drank like fishes. Besides the fact that hanging-out with his friends was sheer fun, Kiloku could just not have enough of the fresh wine. The exhilarated Kiloku had so much fun in one night that the memories of the hardships he faced in the forest disappeared into the air like thin smoke.

As dawn turned to dusk and dusk to dawn, the realities of life in the new world gradually started returning to Kiloku. He was running short of funds due to the expenses he incurred on frivolities during the regular night outs, yet, he kept struggling to keep up with the extravagant lifestyle of his fun loving friends. Within few months of his sojourn, Kiloku’s financial difficulties started taking a toll on his training as a blacksmith. With no family support in view, he picked up a part time job as a storekeeper in the village to raise enough money for his upkeep and to help with his training program. However, the more money he made, the lesser his interest in the training. Kiloku could no longer withstand the pressure of learning so he discontinued his training and embraced the pleasure of night life after each day spent toiling as a storekeeper.

It was during one of those nights at the village square that Kiloku met Awelewa, a stunningly beautiful young lady who is a member of a dancing troupe known all over the province. Awelewa is a talented dancer who also came to the village in search of the golden egg but gave up her search and resorted to night dancing when she lost her magical compass. Awelewa spends better part of her day learning the dance steps she performs at night to entertain the men at the village square. Love-struck Kiloku did all he could to gain Awelewa’s attention all to no avail. Night after night, he kept going to the dancing arena at the village square hoping to have the audience of the beautiful damsel but with no luck. At some point, Kiloku decided to join the dancing troupe just so he could get closer to the object of his heart desire. It took several months of participation in the troupe’s activities as a volunteer before the lover boy eventually got Awelewa’s attention, and after much persuasion, she gave in to his love overtures.

From that moment onward, Awelewa became the centre point of Kiloku’s life. Nothing else mattered again, not his abandoned training, not his search of the golden egg, not even his job as a storekeeper. Kiloku’s sole mission became making Awelewa a happy woman always. Sometimes, Kiloku would wake up with the thoughts of his dying dreams but he slept every night dreaming of Awelewa and the time spent with his fun-loving friends. Kiloku had no savings from his meagre income, and he had not acquired any economically viable skill even after many years of sojourning in the distant land of the golden egg.

The promising young man that left his homeland to learn blacksmithing and acquire the golden egg swam in the troubled waters and eventually got drowned. He lost his magical compass, abandoned his training as a blacksmith, and ultimately failed in his mission to acquire the golden egg. Sadly enough, he also lost the company of his friends and the love of the woman he gave up his dreams to pursue. Kiloku lost focus and lost everything in the confusion that followed.

At the time the melodrama was staged, the idea was to warn freshmen about the distractions in college and how such could negatively affect their academic goals. But really, Kiloku’s story sounds a note of warning to a wider range of people, and its lessons are relevant to everybody who set out to achieve goals. Ultimately, Kiloku’s story calls for reflection on the possible end of every individual who allows their dreams to be overtaken by the side attractions of life.

This is the last month of the year again, the month we celebrate the debut of the New Year, but this is the time we ought to take account of what went wrong during the ending year and try to strategize towards making significant progress in the coming year. If immigrants and international students in the US can put as much effort as they put in securing an entry visa into the US into whatever they do in the US, if young immigrants can learn to channel their energies correctly, if the young people of this age can appreciate the significance of the difference between necessities and frivolities, we all can look forward to rapid growth and sustainable success in the relevant areas of our lives in the years ahead. Let the passion that brought you to the US drive you in the direction of success, its the only way you can make your sojourn worthwhile.