
We all have that one friend who grew up with very strict parents, the friend who never attended outings as they had to either look after their younger siblings, finish their long list of chores or study hard to get a good job. Well, I was that friend and I’m glad to see that 2020 has brought about significant change. In fact, nowadays people are being more creative about their sources of income with “content creator” being one of the most popular occupations amongst millennials and generation Z. I’m almost certain that you know at least one YouTuber who has made over six figures from Google Ad sense, purchased lavish cars and has uploaded several part videos of their extravagant ‘house tour’. Let’s not forget the viral “cash me outside” video that brought a thirteen year old to fame… Times have definitely changed.
With all the quick and easy sources of income, I have spent lot’s of time assessing my life choices only to come to the conclusion that had I known then how things would be today, my career path would most likely have been the same. I mean, let’s play this out for a second: a young African woman telling her father that she did not need to apply for university because she would make videos about hair. Or how about justifying a B- in sixth grade mathematics because making videos of me watching other people’s videos would earn more money than an engineer’s annual pay. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for creativity, in fact I often fall into the YouTube black hole for hours on end over the weekend, but it just wasn’t going to cut it in my father’s household. Just to be clear though, I am very grateful that my he emphasised education above everything else because life has definitely turned out okay.

As much as the world is moving away from literature to film, there is a beauty in words. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my mother was the creative parent who often spent time staring at the mountains and drawing trees. One fond memory I have of her was being given a large notepad with blank pages and being told “you can draw in it, paint or write, just make sure you use it”. It didn’t mean much to me back then, but as time went along, I spent more and more time scribbling my childish ideas and writing short stories. As the ideas morphed, I progressed to typing stories on my mother’s monochrome laptop and saving them on the colourful hard disks from the 2000s… Ah yes, technology has definitely evolved!
Those who have known me since elementary school will know that I have four novels to my name, three of which have never been completed. Though writing has always been my passion, losing my mother resulted in a shift to dark, emotive stories often related to death – very unhealthy for a teenager. At one point, someone told me to stop writing until I had moved passed that phase in life and so I did, but thinking back it may not have been the best decision. I say that because as much as what one writes may not qualify to be featured in the New York Times, writing serves as an outlet or even a form of escape. Today I am a mother and a wife with a greater understanding of life and its challenges, so I will encourage my little one to not only focus on acing all of her tests, but to express herself be it in art, music, writing or dance.
The idea of this blog came about years ago before I entered the corporate world, but fear of failure kept me from opening up my heart to the world. It sounds silly to me now after spending thousands of dollars in therapy talking about my feelings. I truly hope that one day I am able help someone through the challenges of motherhood while managing a corporate career.
Wow!!! I have enjoyed reading this. I didn’t know you had a blog page.
New beginnings me dear 🙂
I love this! Writing is such a great outlet and a blog is the perfect medium. I am 100% confident that you will make a positive impact on many working moms! Keep sharing your wisdom! 🙂
Aww thanks Amanda! Worst case scenario we form a gang and take revenge! 🙈
Absolutely! 🙂
Very inspiring post, I love your writing, feels like from this tiny piece that I know you a little!
Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my posts 😊 you will get to know me quite well soon!
Love this . ♥️
You’re amazing! ^_^
Thanks Sheryl 💖 you are too!