Hello everyone, I'm sharing this in regard to the Hive-Naija Week prompt. My first salary and my first expense hold a special memory. Baking has been my passion since I was young; I always admired people who do it. Anytime someone told me they were a baker, I was always happy, but I hadn't had the privilege to learn it. I knew if I told my parents I wanted to learn it, they would allow me. But I just kept it to myself that one day I would learn it.
One of my friends in class was sharing how she made cake, and on hearing that, I quickly turned back to ask how. Because she was sitting at my back then in secondary school, she explained with her mouth, and I wrote it down. When I got home, I brought the ingredients and made it. It was somehow hard, but it was eatable. I enjoyed it with my family. Since then, I have been wanting to learn it.
After my Higher National Diploma, I went for service, and they introduced SEAD. I joined the baking SEAD, and doing that time, the passion became stronger. I brought some equipment to camp and later brought it home. During my one-year service year.
I registered for baking with my money—that was my first expense. After the training, I also brought an oven, baking table, and some other equipment from my corps member salary. My corps member salary was my first salary, and it was also used for my first expense.
What made it even more special was that I was finally investing in something I was passionate about using my own money. Growing up, my mom always provided everything for us, so buying these baking essentials with my own money made me feel like a true adult, independent and capable. Though I still need many things, this moment felt like a significant step towards adulthood.
Since then, I have been enjoying the fruits of my first expense up until now. Through it, I have been able to gain more. There's a saying that the money a child earns first will be used to buy unnecessary things, but not mine. I used mine to start a business, and I always feel happy seeing it every time, knowing that this expense was earned by me. It's a constant reminder of my hard work and the fulfillment of my passion.
Looking back, I'm grateful for that moment when I decided to invest in my passion. It's a reminder that with determination and hard work, we can turn our dreams into reality.
All pictures is mine.