Shade Odebiyi's Creatives.

TELL US HOW IT STARTED. ☘️

Oh my God!

Pardon my excitement! squeals*

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It has been a year, and what a year! I am so short of words. Shade, a year has passed. Look at you. Look at how much you have grown—your morals, intelligence, patience, spirituality, and resilience. Beautiful stripes! I am proud of you Adunni.

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A little throwback to the beginning of my writing career, in the room of my quondam. A strong pillar he was. I tried writing for the first time. I was amazed at how that turned out for me. I cried because I knew how great this would be for me. I just scribbled what I felt on a page of his journal then. They did not make so much sense then, but those words were beautiful and genuine.

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I sent out a broadcast message to my contact list and they helped in spreading the word. I receive a very warm welcome and dear lord, I was amazed at the turn out of events. I did not cry, but the kind gestures were overwhelming. I was happy. This was not planned. It was not rehearsed, it just came and I wrote. 

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I created a website with WordPress and when it was time to pick a name for my blog, I thought about something formal and authentic. I thought of something I could carry with me that would turn out solid. I wanted real and I came about what I have now. I wrote and never stopped writing. I had a lot of drafts.

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HOW DID WRITING MAKE YOU FEEL? 🍂

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Hm!

When I started to write, I felt a lot of emotions, many times I felt unheard, unseen. I felt like I was not doing something real. I felt like writing was not regarded. When I started, I got a lot of “why writing?” I had to constantly ask myself questions. Am I doing it right? Is this what is mine? Is this me? Is this my “calling”?

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Many times when I felt those ways, I would write in short forms. I used a lot of pens and paper. I would scribble them raw, exactly how I felt, down into my journal. I felt safe there. I would write and never visit my writings anymore. At least I felt peace at those moments. I was free. 

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Most times, I was scared my writing was defining me too much, so when I write, I tried to filter my words as much as possible. I tried to make them look different. But the irony is that, once you become a creative writer, everyone has a piece of your life. They may have felt too real at some point to my dear readers, but I tried to filter them as much as possible.

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INTERESTING, HOW HAS IT BEEN SO FAR? 🔥

Whew!

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Right now? I have about 37 articles on my blog. I have 24 subscribers. I have almost 5,000 views and over 100 poems written, with more coming. That is something I am proud of. I have professionally written content with different companies both as an intern and a freelancer. I have been able to build my portfolio and make a career out of this one path I decided to follow this day, last year. I am so grateful and proud of myself.

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I did not have any expectations when I started writing. I just wanted to write. I enjoyed it. It came easy. It defined me and made me happy. I was so excited whenever I had to put a new article out. I was always so expectant. It eased me. It gave me hope that I was doing amazing. I was growing. I was expanding. Widening my horizons. 

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There were times when I was not at my best. Times when responses were not so attractive. There were days when I was weak and “Inspiration” did not come. But never for once did I feel like giving up. Not a day passed and I wanted to stop. Instead, I told and trained myself not to expect anything from anyone. They owe me nothing.

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I mean asides from my cousin, I was my biggest fan. I would read my articles and poems a million times. I stopped checking my stats. I literally took it away from my mind. I just did my thing and read it as much as possible. When I started to write poems, I felt accomplished. It felt real and intentional. Those helped me realize myself and focus on the right path.

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Writing helped me. I met differently inclined people. I met writers with so much passion and desire to write. Writers I would love to be like. Writers I look up to. I got into the right community and it felt right. I felt at home. I felt like I finally belonged. I felt so happy.

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WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS MOVING FORWARD? 🪄

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Well, this is just a documentary of what has happened in the past year. From here? Great things. I have so much I want to do. A lot of ideas, just waiting for the right time to be executed. I would continue writing of course. And I hope you do not get tired of reading. 

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To my dear readers, thank you. That is all I can say. I see your views from across the world and those mean a lot to me. It means you are watching me and as for me, I must not relent. I cannot and will not give up. Thank you for always showing up. Thank you for reading my poems. Let’s go stronger!

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I am grateful to God. Thank you to my parents for bearing such genius and talent. Thank you for always supporting, Mom and Dad. I am grateful to my friends for supporting me. Thank you, Sheriff, Tosin, Mira, Olamide and Precious. Thank you to my siblings: Sis Onas, and Femi. Thank you, Aunty Oyin. Thank you, Uncle Akin. Thank you to my biggest fan, my cousin; Biodun. Thank you, Michael and Emmanuel Faith. Thank you Mayowa. 

And that’s a wrap!

CHEERS: – MORENIKEJI A. ODEBIYI