The Story of Howard Roark

When a 22 year old Howard Roark was summoned to the dean’s office, the later expected an apology and a plea as to why the former shouldn’t be expelled.

Howard Roark is perhaps the most upright man that ever “lived”; he was unbreakable, he had integrity that bow down to no one; in fact, he would rather break from his integrity, than bend with the wind.

The story of Howard Roark, is the story of a young man who sent out to be an architect, however due to his unwillingness to confine himself to the conventional ways of building, he was expelled from college.

If college had been unfair to him, life after college must have been the ultimate hell. He paid a huge price for his briefs; he was the best architect in the whole country, yet no one was willing to hire him. He became broke, he became the enemy of the people, and was regarded as the most arrogant and proud imbecile that had ever lived by those who came across him. At one point, Howard had to take an odd job in a quarry, just to earn a living.

While his friends and fellow architects were eagerly worshipping everyone who was dishing out a job, Howard stood his ground, he designed not to please people, but because he loved his work. His work was great, but not in the eyes of a world that had been corrupted to the point that men no longer had any virtue to speak of. Men of his days, earned through corruption and favoritism, Howard relied only on one thing, his integrity, and that of those who wished to hire him.

When the story of Jimmy Wanjigi came up, many were surprised, and a good number of young people took to social media to claim their ambition; they all want to grow up into Jimmy Wanjigi; they want power. But what is power? Is it the ability to stand by oneself at all times, to have standards that you can die for, all is it the ability to make men bow down to you? Who is powerful? The man who has slaves, and therefore prides himself from being feared and worshipped, or the man who asks nothing of others -but mutual consent-, because he is complete in himself?

This is the story of Howard Roark, a young man, who set out to do his work as he loved and wished. His power was his ability to stand by himself, by the virtues of pride in oneself and in one’s work, and by his unwillingness to bow down to the world, but rather to build up his world as he pleased. Perhaps, one of his greatest strength was in his ability to calmly wait, to go through years of nothingness, hoping that in the end, he was going to succeed.

Eventually, he won, but not without paying a hefty price for his choices. This is the journey of every man; one must choose how he wishes to live, as a person who designs his world in an upright manner, or as Ayn Rand called them, second handers whose survival is pivoted by sacking out the blood of the men who create. So what are you? A Jimmy Wanjigi or a Howard Roark?

I wish you the very best, and it is my hope that you will let integrity win.
P.S. Howard Roark is the main character of Ayn Rand’s book, the Fountainhead, the best 700 pages you are ever gonna read.