Every passing day brings me closer to exploring a different part of my life that I hadn’t explored. When I was 16, I had a diary where I wrote every dreams that came to my young mind. I imagined a bigger life that was very far away from Aba where I grew up.
I had a lot of time on my hands then; to think, write, sleep, wake up and rewrite my ideas in a clearer plot. First, I wanted to be an actress, a dancer and a writer. After a brief phone chat with my father who resided in the U.S, I had to rewrite my aspirations. In between our regular chat, he injected that all his children had 3 major profession to choose from; medicine, law or engineering. As the eldest child, I had to choose from the list. That was how I crossed off dancing and acting on my diary and replaced it with “Medical Doctor”.
I did well in my biology exams and wrote my essays beautifully, but I just never imagined myself as a medical doctor. When I graduated from high school, I decided to write a screenplay for a movie. First I wrote on an exercise book which I handed over to my mother every morning and in turn she would type it on a typewriter at work. My mother was very supportive and looked forward to every chapter. She cared more about supporting me than the stories I wrote.
When it was time to find a Nollywood film producer that would produce my script, my mother used her connections to search around. She even promised a filmmaker to direct my movie and she would invest in it. That never happened because the man didn’t want to share his royalties with anybody. Eventually the idea of writing a script and dancing left my mind entirely.
I wrote stories instead. I kept writing till I left Nigeria. When I arrived in the U.S., my father didn’t fail to remind me of how lucrative and respectable a medical career was in the U.S. He started me off with a Certified Nursing Assistant program. In 60 days, I was ready to become a C.N.A. Within 6 months in the U.S. I was employed.
When I decided to enroll in a college, my father reminded me again about the importance of medicine. He adviced that I study nursing fully, Registered Nurse to be precise. I didn’t like nursing one bit so I ignored his choice. I went and enrolled myself into a community college to study psychology. I first earned an associate and decided to further into a University for my bachelors. Again, I changed my mind about becoming a psychologist and wandered into the Communications and Media studies field.
My father wasn’t happy about my academic choices because he believed I was missing out on the fat paycheck that comes with being a nurse in America. I didn’t care. I didn’t really know what exactly I wanted to be, but I knew very well that I wasn’t going to be a doctor, a nurse or even a biologist.
One day the idea hit me. What if I could rewrite my stories, polish it properly and publish it as a novel. I worked on it and that was how my debut novel Burning Wind came into existence from my archives of imaginations.
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Writing a book wasn’t as easy as I imagined it. No one told me it would cost money — to have it edited, proofread and copy edited to publishing standard. I did a lot of work myself. I designed the book cover, which was a photograph I purchased its rights to use as a book cover. I used the self-publishing software to prepare my manuscript. I was able to have it advertised, distributed in paperback and sold digitally on popular bookstores online. I went on to publish my second novel Treasure of Mine — which seemed easier to produce, haven’t learned from my first experience. For the first time in my life, I was very proud of myself. My mother was even more proud of me. To show my appreciation, I dedicated it to her.
I also tried film making but It wasn’t as emotionally rewarding to me like writing. I might return to it someday, when I find a strategy.
Years later I am still exploring other parts of my life I haven’t tried out yet. I no longer want to be an actress, and still do not want to hear about medicine or psychology. I have been asked severally of what I wanted to become in the future. Even the dean of Communications at my university asked me what I wanted to do with my degree after I graduate. I didn’t think hard and simply told him I don’t know! While I do not have a sharp answer to that question, I know that the future is now and I’ve been myself and will continue to be.
Recently, I’ve taken a certain liking to photography. Years ago, I took a course titled The History of Photography and Media and Photography. There, I learned about the fundamental aspects of visual art. I learned the history and how it emerged centuries ago into what we know today as — point and shoot. The study of photography was helpful, but the idea of actually producing a visual work with a camera is exciting.
You won’t be seeing me anytime soon with a bogus Nikkon camera with a neck strap around my neck, prancing about in search of a perfect shot. However, you might see some photos I’ve taken about the places I’ve been to and things I’ve seen.
Recently, I told my boyfriend that I want to become a wildlife photographer. He chuckled because he knows his woman. He knows that “become” isn’t in my vocabulary but knows that supporting me is all I ask for. So let’s see how photography goes. I have attached a few photographs I took in different countries I traveled to.
