Just My 2Kobo: Valid Dreams

By Iphie Obiechina

I stopped blogging for a while; actually the blogging thing has been off and on for this year. During my time away, family members and friends kept asking when Abj Loving would be back, awww…. I knew you all loved Abj Loving, I just did not know how much. Let me use this opportunity to say a big thank you to each and every one of you for the love and support, it really keeps me going.

The questions about when Abj Loving would be back on, got me thinking and I reached a conclusion after analysing it all, no matter how small what you are doing is, it is important to somebody out there, so please keep doing what you are doing, it is making a difference and one day you would look back and be proud of your efforts. I have had a really busy past few months and the blog has suffered, but my busyness should not be an excuse and so I am back for good, I promise to give you guys at least one article and an interview, if I can find a YIC, once a week, so if you or a brother, sister, cousin, family member, friend or even enemy that is a prospective YIC, do not hesitate to drop a mail on abjloving@gmail.com.

To my topic of today, at the beginning of the year, I was made the Editor in Chief of my church’s youth magazine, Fides Magazine. I accepted the position without really knowing what it entailed, I did not know the amount of work and dedication it would entail, but I accepted it. Until this appointment, I had been in just two of the organization’s committees, the harvest and bazar committee and the end of year party committee, as an insignificant committee member with no real responsibility. But I was chosen to head the magazine committee because of the confidence members of the exco had in me because they had followed the progress of Abj Loving. Most of them have followed Abj Loving for at least a year and so they had been able to assess me.

Heading this committee has been a learning experience; it has been an eye opener. I have been able to learn a lot about myself and other people, until this role, I had never really been a leader, except if you count being the first child. I have never really been confident about my leadership ability, but this role has taught me that, to be a leader you have to be open to everybody’s opinion, sieve through these opinions and make a decision. It has taught me to be firm without coming off as a dictator, it has taught me how to balance power. I have also learned a lot about other people, I have learned that people like to be heard, they like to be listened to and even if you do not agree with them, if you listen to them and take the time out to explain your point to them, it makes working with them easier. I have learned both to work with people and also to manage people. I have had to go up on the alter a couple of times to talk about the magazine, this has helped boost my confidence, I am not perfect yet but I can stand before any number of persons from all walks of life to speak today. I have had to approach different people, selling this project to them and convincing them to support it, advertise within its page or even write for us. I have also met a lot of people through this project, captains of industries and top government officials, people I wouldn’t have ever imagined meeting if I had sat in my little corner of the world. Meeting these people has also been a source of income for me, when most of the people I meet realise I am a lawyer, they remember some pressing legal problems or jobs that I can do for them. They have also inspired me to start my own business, isn’t it ironic that the brain behind Young and In Charge wasn’t really in charge of anything.

But most importantly, I have learned a lot about myself, I have learned that I can be a leader and a follower, to be a good leader, you have to first be a good follower. I have learned that I have a lot of untapped potential in me, potentials that would lay untapped if I refuse to push myself, I wouldn’t have found this out if I had rejected the responsibility of heading this committee. I have learned that I could do whatever I set my mind on doing, even if it’s to become a unicorn, LOL, I kid. I have garnered a lot of experience from being on this committee, it has made its way into my CV and if I decide tomorrow that I would like to start publishing a magazine of my own, I have some experience to do it. Yes it is highly demanding, I hardly go a moment without thinking about Fides Magazine, my Sundays are basically spent in church, my mum jokes that I have built a mansion in church, LOL, it was worth it in the end. We all gave the magazine our best because at the end of the day it would be part of our different legacies, it would be proof of what we are capable of, sort of an advertisement of our capabilities to potential employers or even business partners.

I could go on about all that I learned and the experience gained on the job. But I guess what I am trying to say is, if you find something you are passionate about, pursue it, and keep at it until you make something of it. I started blogging because I was bored in a foreign land, yes its not making any money now but it is indirectly doing just that for me. My blog opened doors for me, if I had no blog, the members of the youth exco wouldn’t have seen what I am capable of, they wouldn’t have put me in charge of this committee, I wouldn’t have gathered all these experience and attracted all these jobs/income to myself. I would gave this magazine my best, because I believe its an advert for me, you never can tell who would pick it up to read. In the words of Lupita N’yongo, ‘no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid’, no matter what your passion is, it can take you to wherever you dream of.