Hello amazing community members ☺️
Let’s talk about one of the smartest “not so smart” decisions I ever made, the one that keeps hunting me like a hunter looking for it's prey.
It was after my secondary school, when life seemed so simple and I thought I had everything figured out. My mom, in all her motherly wisdom, said, “Precious, go and learn how to sew. It’s a good skill.”
Now, in my teenage brilliance, I looked at her and said, Ahh…. Sew keh?? I mean, who wanted to sit behind a noisy sewing machine, pushing threads and joining materials all day? Yeah….. I had bigger dreams, university, degrees, good paying jobs, and maybe an office with air conditioning. Learning to sew sounded too local for my “big girl” plans. So I said no, proudly, thinking I was making the easiest and smartest decision of my life.
Fast forward a few years later, and here I am, the same person, staring at tailors like they’re magicians. The same sewing I once looked down on now looks like a golden skill wrapped in opportunity. I see people turning fabric into money faster than I can imagine. Some of my friends who actually learned it are now running their fashion brands, sewing for weddings, birthdays, and even celebrities, while chasing the bigger dreams. Meanwhile, I’m over here, calculating how many wrappers I can afford, not to wear, but to beg someone else to sew for me.
I can still hear my mom’s voice echoing in my head, “Didn’t I tell you?” And honestly, that line stings more than a needle prick. Back then, I thought saying no to sewing was freedom, I thought I knew it all. But now? Now I realize I said no to independence, no to creativity, and no to a side hustle that could have saved me from these broke days. Oh, I actually thought I was being smart.🤓
Sometimes, when I pass by a tailor’s shop and hear the sound of the sewing machine running, trrr trrr trrr… I can only imagine the machine whispering, “See what you missed Precious” And I'll just sigh, pretending not to care, but deep down I’m thinking, maybe I should have just listened, and I still feel like I should take this advice, but it's kinda late already.
The truth is, that decision looked easy at first because I was blinded by my own teenage assumptions. I thought I was choosing comfort, but really, I was choosing laziness instead. Life has a funny way making you have a taste of your own medicine, and this one is so bitter.
Now, whenever I see people turning their skills into success, I just laugh and tell myself, “Next time, maybe listen to your mom.” Because clearly, she had the pattern all along, I just refused to cut and join it together
Shalom
Images are mine.