How it started

Walking down the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, I often heard, “Hey, you are tall and skinny you should try modelling.” I would smile and say “thank you”. This became a usual occurrence for me, as it was a norm for one to be a model if certain criteria were met.

I was never keen on pursuing a career in modeling, but on getting into the university, the phase continued and I decided to give modelling a shot. Yes! I tried modelling in school, so sit back, grab a cup of coffee or your favourite drink as I tell you how it went.

I did well! I went for some pageantry competition but still did not fall in love with it. I was tall, yes I know, and everyone cheered my modelling career, but I wanted more. I wanted to solve real-world problems, I wanted to put my creativity to use. Growing up, computers weren’t so popular and I always troubled dad on when he would get one for the house. I was the last born of 5 kids, so I guess convincing him to get one wasn’t that hard. I remember the day dad came home with a computer and I jumped with joy. I was only 6, his words to me on that day still live in me, he said “You asked for it, now you have it.”

Dad got me a computer tutor, and I started learning the basics of computer technology. I would spend hours on the system studying what the CPU, monitor, mouse and all computer components were doing. I knew I would work with computers from the first day I operated one. I knew I wanted to use this technology to solve real-world problems. I would sketch the computer and its components on Microsoft word explaining what each feature was doing, I created a persona for my siblings and some imaginary friends which contained their age, date of birth, gender, position in the family and hobbies (a rough sketch of them) and place on the computer screen of my sketch like I was saving them in memory. This was my little Facebook (lol). It sounds funny, but it was real to me and they existed in my head.

How it's going

While placing the puzzles of my life together after realising modelling wasn’t what made me so happy, I decided to take up my long-lost love. I signed up for a bootcamp (ALX) and I am currently studying software engineering. I finally pushed my first program “Hello World” (please don’t laugh at me) “Oh my! Where have you been?” Being a software engineer doesn’t mean just writing codes, it requires your dedication, creativity, problem-solving skills, communication skills, to mention a few. I am still learning and would consider myself a work in progress. Like my friend would always say, “It is little drops of water that makes an ocean”. I would keep on fetching these drops of water till I finally make an ocean. This was what I have always wanted as a child. This was why I created personas of people. This was the part of the puzzle I was missing and I have finally placed it. I now realise that “not all tall girls can be models. Some of us were created to write codes and I am certainly one of them”.

Thank you for reading.

This article was published as #week1 article for #4articles4weeks Hashnode Writeathon