I must have been about 13 the first time I discovered I could put ideas together. I had just finished watching Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman for the umpteenth time (which I obviously had no business seeing at that tender age), and I suddenly felt the movie deserved a sequel. There was so much left to explore with how it ended.

So I set out to write one.

It didn’t amount to much, really but someway, somehow, it turned into a song I wrote for a girl in my neighborhood I had a small crush on. And, well… that song led to my first kiss.

I went on to write more songs in high school and ended up winning an award for Best Songwriter/Performer in my graduating high school year group. They called it the “King of the Mic” award.

College was a blur, so I’ll save you that.

Right after college, I took my first job at a youthful, promising agency that was doing cool advertising and brand marketing stuff in the country, very much against the wishes of my parents (unsurprisingly). Because how do I even explain the job of a digital copywriter to two people who grew up during a time when you had to send and receive mail in person?

Yeah, that first year was rough.

“You said you work with brands. I don’t see your work on TV or in the newspaper. Even the billboards you claim you wrote on weren’t there when we drove past.”

Well… they were digital billboards, so maybe, just maybe, you should’ve waited a few more seconds mom.

Fast forward to this very moment: multiple awards later for digital, experiential, and influencer-led multinational brand activations across multiple African countries and still at the same creative marketing agency I started with in 2019 (now a giant name in the space across the continent), the parents still have no idea what exactly I do for a living.

Sigh…I think we’ve all made our peace with the fact that, that’s just the way it’s going to be.

I’ve learned a great deal working on brands across different industries and countries in both Anglophone and Francophone Africa. With my eagerness to learn and my never-ending curiosity about culture and brand relationships, it’s been nothing short of an exciting journey, learning to adapt at the speed of light.

Now that you know about my first kiss, my favorite movie, my high school and college life, and my first job… you might as well buy me a drink, since we’re basically best friends at this point.

For some reason, I currently live in the United States, and I’m excited to bring everything I’ve learned so far into this market, keep evolving, and create beautiful work with brands here too.

I’ll keep you updated, best friend.