RISE BEFORE YOU'RE READY | BY: MR. DALA KORKOYAH

Too often, we wait.

We wait until we have more money, more support, more confidence, or experience before we start something. Yet the truth is, progress rarely begins with perfect conditions. Growth often starts when we decide to move, even when things feel uncertain.

Across Liberia’s history, change has come from ordinary people who acted before they felt

prepared. They started schools with few supplies, organized communities with limited

resources, and served others even when it brought no recognition. They moved because they believed that doing something small was better than waiting for everything to be ideal.

To rise before you are ready means choosing courage over comfort. It means showing up even when you do not have all the answers. This mindset turns hesitation into motion, and

motion into progress.

In practical terms, it can look like this:

• Volunteering in a community project, even if you have never led before.

• Starting a small initiative to solve a local problem, even if it feels insignificant.

• Speaking honestly when integrity is tested, even when silence would be easier.

• Finishing what you start, even when obstacles appear.

• Treating others with respect and fairness, even when no one is watching.

These are simple actions, but together they enable you to put our country before ourselves.

They show that respect and integrity are habits that shape character. They even remind us that failure is not the end, only a teacher preparing us for better results next time.

Liberia needs young people who are willing to take that first step, even without certainty.

The path forward will never be perfect, but progress begins when we choose to act with purpose. Every small effort matters. Every honest decision moves us closer to the Liberia we want to see.

So do not wait to feel ready.

Start where you are.

Do what you can.

Learn as you go.

"The future belongs to those who rise now and build readiness along the way"

- seize it.