If you haven’t yet, read part 1 here!
You’ll think the best lessons I learnt here were how to change bedsheets, wash toilets, bake pies, fry rice (they literally fried the rice with curry and thyme- it was DELICIOUS). No, those weren’t my best lessons. My best lesson, taught directly by the room service ‘supervisor’ was that the unused, complimentary hotel supplies (like soap, milk, sugar, coffee) were left by providence for the (apparently hungry?) room service servers. So always pack as many as you can for yourself.
I’ve never looked at hotels or room service servers the same way.
This one is loaded with trauma and mosquitoes. Trauma because I was away from home, living in forests, surrounded by strangers. Trauma because I was hoping to see a Lion, or a Hippo or a King Cobra- just something- decapitating an animal. Trauma because I JUST WANTED TO GO HOME.
Ugh.
On the bright side, I also shot guns. Shotgun rifles- but guns nonetheless. And I did it twice!
I tell everyone I meet “I’ve shot guns twice. It almost decapitated my shoulder. But I did it”
Peak conversation starter.
Do you ever experience something and fight your whole life to ensure you NEVER have to again? That’s what working here did to me.
So, I packed my 4c natural hair neatly in a bun to go to work… in Nigeria, where we’re predominantly born with 4c natural hair. The heavily pregnant supervisor told me to never come to work wearing my natural hair, or she would “deal with me!”.
Every time I think about this, my anger is renewed. How do I start to unpack the embarrassment, her ignorance, the wickedness of a system, the backwardness?
Horrible times. May I never live them again.
Where the Giraffe fell in love with me and wouldn’t let me go
I fed the Zoo animals– INCLUDING THE LION, under very strict supervision. I’m still so psyched about this.
2018 gave me my best conversation starters.
Why I had to do all these internships is a little irrelevant, just know I was an unwilling captive. They dragged me screaming to these places.
Okay. I’m done trauma-dumping, Let’s skip back to the good part:
I have written a long list of my previous roles, but my work at Sycamore Church makes me go to bed at night with a smile on my face. Some of my best creative work was done here. I led three teams: Videography and editing, Graphic Design, and Photography, whose members are ridiculously brilliant creatives. They made me better in many ways.
Top 2 amazing places to work in the world, and it’s not number 2.
There’s a lot freelancing has done for me- flexibility, great money, heart palpitations, sleepless nights, raised and dashed hopes… but the best gift of all is the AMAZING people I’ve gotten to meet and work with.
Like Jordan Duvall- the Art Director that produced and pitched the campaigns, or worked with the advertising teams for shows like Game of Thrones, The Blacklist, The Amazing Spiderman and wait for it… STAR TREK.
And here’s what she had to say about my work: