«You can always choose where you want to live.»
I’m the firstborn in a family of seven. Seven kids, I’m telling you.
My mother taught me to take charge of things whenever she wasn’t around, to ensure that nothing lags or causes undesired consequences just because she couldn’t direct us.
The first childhood memory of a five-years-old me was a hope that someday my skin colour would be a little lighter. I remember the moment when I joined the company of my uncles, and one of them said “this one is from the West.” Coming from the West meant I belonged to another tribe, other than what I was supposed to be, mainly because I was darker than the rest. I recall another person saying: “Well let’s give him sometime, maybe he’ll become lighter after growing up.” Unfortunately, it never happened.
Everyone wishes to be wealthy and very successful in life, while I tend to think that my success will never be weighed against vast wealth or fat wallets.
At certain points in my life I couldn’t fulfill simple obligations such as feeding or even clothing myself. When I could do such and other obligations without much struggle, I felt very satisfied with myself.
Life is not good or bad. There is definitely something in the middle. A totally good or bad life is impossible.
I wasn’t sure what to tell people who asked me what I do for a living, because academic writing was not so popular in my region by then. I was struggling with the job I was doing, It did not meet my needs, so I needed a side-hustle.
If I were God for a day, I would make love mandatory. You must love your neighbor no matter what, since this would reduce corruption, evil and wars.
Writing is relieving myself from stress. Putting stressful events down on paper did the magic. Amazingly, I never liked reading them.
Writing has to be part of you. You must be passionate about writing and interested at the same time.
My ideal working environment is a cool house somewhere on top, not much noise, well aerated. Around England. With all the necessary supplies such as constant and stable power and internet.
Dear younger me, you can always choose where you want to live. Love family and people. Demand and make family love you back, but never do the same with friends. Cherish each moment, and carry with you a camera and a notebook to record every memory.
The best advice I was given – life is uniquely different with every individual, and I can’t live like my friend or neighbor. The fact that my age-mates are seemingly successful and I’m not, doesn’t mean that I’ve not lived well.
I do charity missions every third week of the month. Along with my friends, we visit the homes for the elderly and orphanages. We bring anything we can, including food, books, clothing, sanitary towels and our love. We want to make sure that life feels manageable to everyone.
