In a secondary school in Owerri, there was a quiet student named Kelechi who always arrived early. While others played or chatted, he did something unusual. He checked the classroom chairs. If one was loose, he tightened it. If one was broken, he tried to fix it. If one was missing a screw, he looked for a replacement. At first, his classmates laughed at him. “Are you the caretaker?” they teased. But Kelechi never responded. He just continued fixing. One day, a visiting teacher noticed him repairing a chair before lessons began. Curious, she asked him why he bothered with something that wasn’t his responsibility. Kelechi paused and said: “If I sit on a broken chair, I will be uncomfortable. So I fix it before it affects me.” The teacher smiled. “But it’s not your job,” she said. Kelechi replied: “Maybe not. But it affects my experience.” That simple mindset changed how people saw him. Years later, Kelechi became an engineer known for improving public infrastructure. When asked what shaped his thinking, he often remembered the classroom chairs. “I learned early that if you ignore small problems, they become bigger problems later.” Many people wait for responsibility before taking action. But some of the most impactful people act because they care, not because they are assigned. Kelechi didn’t just fix chairs. He fixed his mindset toward responsibility. What is one small problem around you that you think people often ignore but could improve if addressed early?
