To the Ones Becoming

Reflections on Creativity, Professionalism, and Growth By Olayide Juliana Attending the Kwara Create Workshop was such an enriching and inspiring experience for me. It wasn’t just an event; it was an opportunity to learn, reflect, and deepen my understanding of what it really means to do creative work with purpose and professionalism. One of the things that stood out most was seeing the level of support that exists for the creative industry at both the federal and state levels. Hearing from the Special Assistant to the President on Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy really opened my eyes. He spoke about structured programs like the Creative Leap Accelerator and the Creative Development Fund , and he reframed Intellectual Property not just as something to protect legally, but as an asset —something with real strategic value that deserves to be properly developed and safeguarded. Another big theme was the importance of professionalism . There was a strong emphasis on ethic...

Who Wrote the Script? By Olayide  Juliana A young advocate reflects on Nigeria’s Reserved Seats Bill and the power of fragile hope. I thought my activism side had died. I thought my passion for change had burned out somewhere between the reality of adulthood and the chaos of trying to survive it. I started Lead for Change Africa Initiative at a very young age — full of fire, full of dreams. I believed in the possibility of a perfect Nigeria, a world where young people could rise like giants, inspired by icons like Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, and Malala. Then life hit. I transitioned from teenage idealism into adult disillusionment. I struggled. I withdrew. I told myself I’d just let things be. But three years later — unplanned, unsolicited — I found myself right back in the middle of advocacy and social impact. This time, as a job. The job that pays my bills. I currently serve as the Communications Officer on a project called Advancing Women's Political Participation , impl...

Still Becoming By  Olayide  Juliana If there’s one lesson—scratch that, if there are a thousand lessons I’ve learned from watching the great blockbuster series Mad Men , I only hope I truly internalize them. I hope I haven’t just watched for entertainment, to pass time, or to check off a classic. I hope every word, line, scene, and character deposited something lasting—something I might never get taught, even when I live out all my years on earth. Normally, after I watch a series, I start looking up the actors. I search for who they are in real life, what they’ve starred in before or after, their interviews, their quirks, their Instagram accounts... And once I do that, I usually feel that emotional detachment. Like the magic breaks a little. I say to myself, “Oh, they’re just actors playing a part,” and I move on. But not with Mad Men . This one won’t let me go. Something about it keeps hitting hard. Keeps calling me back. My eyes have opened. My knowledge expanded. M...

The Days I Chose to Show Up A writing series by Olayide  Juliana This isn’t a perfect series. It isn’t planned, plotted, or polished to impress. It’s honest. It’s messy. It’s me—showing up one day at a time. I started this five-day writing challenge not to prove anything, but to return to myself. To write not because I had the words, but because I needed to find them. Each day, I came with what I had—sometimes clarity, sometimes questions. But I showed up. And that, I’ve learned, is the first victory. These are the pages from that quiet unfolding. The raw, reflective, sometimes tear-stained moments I decided not to run from. I call them: The Days I Chose to Show Up.

Warning: This Post Might Make You Super Grateful! February! It was 28 days of awesomeness. I am grateful, first to God, then to my spiritual family (with all honesty), mentors, superiors, family, and friends who have deposited so much into me. Whether they know it or not, they have all shaped me. And I love it! I want this to continue...only higher, deeper, and better. Last month, I turned a year older ( gotta pause and take a bite of my food because these words just keep flowing—why does this always happen while I eat? ). Also, I got my will to write back. I think writing is a calling I can't run from. Every day, a gazillion words jump into my head—I literally have to tell my mind to shut up sometimes. Maybe getting these words out will give me a quieter head. Looking at my past and recent writing, I think I’m starting to figure out my genre. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but I know I love to write, and more importantly, I’m finding my authentic voice. I’m excited! I want t...

Life’s recent events and experiences have stirred within me a desire to write about the importance of service.  I am a self-proclaimed steward, and I believe service is the crux of everything. My focus is on young people, especially undergraduates because as a recent graduate, I understand how our views are shaped by our experiences.  I have something to share, and whether you already know what I’m about to say or not, I encourage you to read on. Almost everything in life holds relevance; we may need to sift and weigh, but nearly everything carries importance. I entered university as a teenager—a diamond in the rough (and honestly, I still am, but I’m gradually coming into form). I encountered people, systems, beliefs, and lifestyles that shaped me.  Before I left secondary school, my teachers gave me the popular advice: “Don’t just let the university pass through you; pass through the university too.” I was determined to follow this, even though I had no idea what it tr...