Many of us consider childhood the most enjoyable phase of every human life because it's a phase of life when we worry about nothing just because our parents or guardians will provide for our needs and even wants. The biggest expectation they had on us then was just to succeed in our academics and grow up to be children they could boast about in society.
I just painted a beautiful picture of childhood, but that's not the case for every child across the globe because there are lots of kids out there that life has forced to fend for themselves at an early age, and they learned different survival skills that are still helping them survive today.
Childhood was a mixture of fun and the other side of it, but I love every part of it because it was the foundation of everything I am today. I didn't acquire any professional skills as a kid, but somehow, I was able to develop myself by watching people do a few things in my presence, and I am taking advantage of all those things today.
One of the things I learned as a child that has helped me through life is cooking. I have said it several times and wouldn't get tired of doing that. I remembered how the first food I made ended in disaster, and my mom's punishment was for me to finish the food. I made Eba, but it was too hard, and there were cassava flakes still showing inside.
My second shot was to make beans, which also ended in disaster. The motive behind the meal was to impress my mom, but I failed, and it also attracted another punishment from my mom because you can't waste food in her house. I and my sibling were made to eat the beans for another two days, which caused us to purge, but Mama wasn't bothered, so I gave up on trying to learn how to make food.
I was just eight years old at the time, and mom expected nothing from me other than just studying.
Fast forward to when I reached age ten.
My mom fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. We thought it would be a small visit to the hospital, but she didn't recover as expected, and we (the children) had to fend for ourselves. We left the house to live with a family friend, but they didn't treat us as usual; probably they thought mom wouldn't survive the illness. We were maltreated, and I felt really bad as the eldest child of the family. While mom was away, it was my responsibility to take care of my sibling, but I failed.
Finally, mom got better, and I insisted that she teach me how to cook. It took a few months before she considered my request, and that was how my journey with cooking started.
She taught me how to make snacks first, and after I mastered it, we moved on to cooking proper meals. I was so proud of myself and always wanted to make meals, even when we had guests, just because I wanted their compliment.
At the age of 15, I made soup for sale and made a few bucks from it, but the demand wasn't huge, so it wasn't encouraging. I went on from that to making snacks early in the morning for some time, and people patronized me a lot.
Immediately after school, getting a job was difficult, and I had to depend on my cooking skills once again. I made snacks for sale and also did small chops at parties, but I wasn't happy because I had bigger dreams than just cooking, and even if that was what life had in store for me, it shouldn't be that way.
Cooking helped me a lot, and I was able to pay my bill before finally getting a job. Today, I don't make food for sale, but I still earn by sharing my recipes on Hive. I save a lot of money by cooking my meals, and it would have been a different case if I had to always depend on vendors.
I enjoyed different types of meals today at a low cost compared to what food vendors would have requested. My family also enjoys different delicacies, and it makes me happy to see them smile after every meal.
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This is my entry to the ongoing Aprilinleo Prompt, feel free to check the Announcement Post to also participate.