For over a year and some months I have been living off steem and whaleshares. By live off I mean, I manage to put food sometimes on my table and maybe a few bucks for data. It has not been easy and there have been times when I get to depressed I want to end my life.
My friends, and I have some really beautiful souls in my life including my younger brother, have been keeping me sane in this period although some of them tend to be overzealous in their efforts to get me working again. The denominator that comes up again and again is teaching. Get a teaching job, they say. The thing is teaching in the Nigerian climate is a hazardous thing to do. You get old real fast especially if you work the private sector.
I don't want to teach. I used to love it but I don't anymore. What I want to be is an author, a photographer and sight seer. Is that too small for ambition? Now these jobs are not exactly high paying jobs. They are not oil company jobs, my people love oil company jobs never minding the devastation to the environment and the greed fossil fuel has fostered in the country but that is a story for another post.
Being an author is not a lucrative job. Is writing even a job or a hobby that pays, sometimes? I think I mostly want to be an author just so I can see my name in print and see my words in people's hands in a bus, on a plane, in a classroom some place but it would also be nice to make some dough out of it too so I can give a pretty lady some exciting times. Lol. Despite the fact that authors just make ends meet, I love to write and it is the only thing that, according to popular opinion, I can do well. So I don't have a choice there.
The photography thingy is involved in this my thought process because I love memories. I love to remember things and I love how certain sights stick to my mind long after I have seen them. Photography is like a way to preserve memories as well as preserve unique moments of life. I love to watch people live their lives. There's so much to learn from just sitting out doors and watching people live, love , fight, die. Photography would help me document these things and act as inspiration to my writing. So it is actually interesting to see that I can make this a marriage of art. The thing is I'm a very poor photographer even with my phone.
As a result, I would have to learn all that I can about photography and cameras. I have to look for someone who is pretty good at it and is willing to teach me. Do I have the money for fees? No I don't but I believe that I would be able to find someone who is willing to teach me.
In order to get this two dreams and aspirations of mine off to start I have decided to travel to Lagos. I hate Lagos. It is overcrowded, fast and the traffic is a nightmare. I'm a small town man and I love the slow pace of life here. Yet Lagos is where the arts coalesce into business and where one can find professionals who can give you quality service for your money. This is not to say that these professionals cannot be found in other cities and town. It is just that in Lagos, you have more options.
I will be travelling next month hopefully. It is all dependent on if I have the funds to travel but I have faith that everything will work together unto good. I know lots of folks will be happy that I'm getting off my ass finally. Yes, I have dwelt in the squalor of my thoughts for too long. It is time to reach out to life and see what she has to give. I will definitely share my experiences along the way and if everything goes as planned, it will be mostly good news. Meanwhile thank you all who stop by to vote my posts and leave comments. You guys have been feeding this man for some time now. Thank you and God bless you. You are appreciated.
Photo was taken by my Infinix Hot lite android phone. You can see my photography skills are quite deplorable.
©warpedpoetic, 2019.