CELEBRATING MY JOURNEY - Happy International Women’s Day

Going down memory lane as a young child, I remember how extremely shy and timid I was. My parents were very committed in the church so at a very tender age of about 5 or 6, I was already in the Children’s choir at my local church. My mum being a preacher, made all eyes to be on me and much was also expected. So very early, I was already taking lead roles at about 6-7 years old. I remember how I panicked and even cried on stage most times because I had severe stage fright and the whole congregation would stand up to clap for me as if I had just broken a world record, lol. Sometimes during a memory verse recitation, I would completely forget my lines and stand glued to the ground with my heart pounding, skin sweating and visibly shaking yet the congregation would give me a rousing ovation as I quickly make my way out. Little did I know that I was being prepared for the future ahead of me. Though, I can’t remember every adult then who supported me (I still see some on Facebook), I can’t thank you enough if you ever get to find this post. “Thank you” will never be enough.

Fast forward to my life as a pre-teen and teenager, I hate to talk about it most times and I think it’s my first time to say it openly, I lived in constant anxiety and fear. I hated communication and preferred to stay by myself and that made some classmates attracted to me because they thought I was calm and gentle not knowing I was in constant battle with myself as I could hardly make a complete statement without stammering badly. Since, I didn’t want to be mocked and given bad names which was very common among teens in my kind of school, I rather stayed quiet. It got to the point that some teachers noticed me and called me to the staff room and said “we noticed that you hardly answer questions in class but you perform very well in test and exams even when we threaten  and sometimes flog the whole class for not answering questions, you still wouldn’t say anything” and I just kept smiling at them as they spoke and gave me some good advice to learn to speak up. 

While in Senior Secondary School, I became a bit more confident (thanks to my rising hormones) and I started coming out of my shell gradually. My speech difficulties improved a tiny bit, still very noticeable but learnt to live above my challenge and manage it the very best way I could. I was elected as class prefect twice and my leadership journey began when I was elected as the school’s Head girl in my final secondary school year. I couldn’t take the news and refused to go to school for some days, pretending that I was still ill after a few days of illness. My greatest fear was how to stand in front of the school to address all the students. Anyway, I did and ever since it’s being from one journey of leadership to another, never ending everywhere I go and the stuttering? Well, still there sometimes but no longer a barrier.

Today, I’m a school leader, a confident conference presenter both internationally and locally, and as a matter of fact, what I enjoy the most now is making presentations and talking to people. God helping me, I was able to rise above all my fears and set baYes. I’ve been able to inspire several young women, and I think I owe them this story to inspire and encourage someone like me out there to raise their heads and shake off the dust because YOU CAN DO IT!