I believe I'm one of those people who find it very hard to relate with public figures, mentors, celebrities, and all the renowned names. I thought, “If everyone has a mentor or someone that they look up to and want to be like or act like, I must be a weirdo not to have one.” lol
I certainly observe many admiral characters in people near and far from me. Many of which I try to emulate. However, I do not take the whole stuff(person/trait) as a package. I think the act is “cherry-picking”. When I like someone, I draw from them the things that I align and agree with. I find that doing that allows me to keep my authenticity as a person while adding value to my life.
Over the last couple of years, there has been this one person that I greatly admire. I would love to think of her as a celebrity and a public figure because she has succeeded in creating an entire community of people who STAN one another. I call it a tribe and she holds the totem.
This queen is Ifedayo Agoro of DANG. Even the acronym has an attitude. Dang stands for Diary of a Naija Girl. As the name implies, Ife became Diary of a Noija girl by journaling on social media her ideas, perspectives, and the way that she sees life through art.
I remember the day I stumbled upon her page and never looked back. I must have spent hours on her blog immersing myself in her beautifully crafted words. The feeling was like not knowing someone but then recognizing the color of their soul through ink.
She is brutally honest and never shy away from uncomfortable conversation. She sits with the bitter truth, stares at it in the face has a conversation with it over a cup of tea.
Ife is an original in the way she carries her tribe along with her. With her tribe, she is bare, true, vulnerable, and strong at the same time. With stories drawn from her real-life experiences, she carries us on a journey of breaking barriers and norms. A journey to self-exploration and awareness. A struggle from the bottom to the life she has created for herself.
Through her words, you can feel her soul and truth. She paints her world with authenticity. One without the filters of sentiments and facade. One that reiterates who she truly is.
Ife started as being anonymous. One thing that struck me with that is how genuine her tribe connected with her even without knowing exactly who she was. It was in the way she came thorough and original. She gained organic followers who simply resonated with her content.
Ife is not your everyday 40-year-old. She is brave, kind to herself and others, saucy, and naughty. I think what she does is give us a daily reminder of what she'd like to be told. “ you are powerful as you are. You do not need to be perfect and you must not contort yourself in a place you can't fit in. The world is your canvas, paint it. Be gentle and kind with yourself. Be an original.”
I can relate to Ife in many ways. Let me start by saying that Ife is living my virtual life. Hehehe! I've always wanted to be the one that creates a safe space for people to be themselves, share experiences, earn support and all the mushy things that we all low-key wish we had. I want to do all of that incognito. Even though I want to have a strong presence and impact on society, I'm not sure that I am ready for the spotlight to be on me. She did it and I'm proud of her.
Like her, I always aspire to live my life in a way that pleases me. To keep meeting myself so deeply that I'm reminded of my values and what I stand for. I do not need to wrap myself in the veil of make-believe and facade that is going on in this generation. Being able to touch souls and be genuinely happy with myself is the ultimate goal.
Writing this post just made me realize that I have a lot in common with Ife and there are many more things about her that I fancied without even knowing it. So I say it here and now, I STAN Ifedayo Agoro.
This is my entry to hivenaija weekly prompt #23