About Me — Blessing Oluchukwu, Awamba
Christian, Virgo, Feminist, and everything in between
There will be lots of photos in this piece. Take it all in.
I am Nigerian and currently live in Nigeria. Glad we’ve got that out of the way.
My name, Oluchukwu is Igbo; pronounced /Orlutchukwu/. We translate it to mean the work of God. This has been my goal throughout my life. To represent exactly that. In my conduct, my work, my circle.
However, I realized a little too late that clogging my life with goody-too-shoes was not the right way to do so. That only breeds hypocrisy and perfectionism. No one’s perfect. At least not yet. Even Christ knew that and chose regular people so-called in his circle. Now, my circle is full of people who are human and aim to do good.
Let me go the cliche route and tell you I’ve been writing from before I can remember. But it’s true. My mum still has all the stories I wrote from when I was little. Typical Cinderella girl-meets-boy-type stories.
My first degree was in communications because I wanted to be the African Amanpour. I worked in radio broadcasting for a year before transitioning to HR. Sorry, Christine; the baton was too hot to keep holding onto.
Let me also reel out my other important credentials. I have completed a half marathon. I have assisted during the delivery of a neighbor’s baby. Unexpectedly, she had pushed when she went to the toilet to ease herself.
You’ll read about more, as I continue to change the world.
When I am not writing on Medium, I am at my 9–5 as an HR Officer. Or at a volunteering outreach for One African Child Foundation or Lagos Food Bank Initiative. Two charities close to my heart.
I became a more frequent volunteer in 2020. When the pandemic hit hard and the world was in lockdown. I have talked about losing my dad at 6 years old, and how that affected my family’s living conditions. So, being a ray of hope for families who had no means of getting proper meals remains one of the best things I have taken part in.
2021 was a tough year for me in so many ways. I started things I never thought I could. Like writing and my YouTube channel. I lost a lot of money in Ponzi schemes. When anxiety set in, I made the drastic decision of cutting my long hair. That was a big deal for me. But, it was a step in the right direction.
That haircut gave rise to bigger conversations that have helped me get better.
I started my Medium journey to shed more light on issues concerning women. Now, it has morphed into telling stories that we all experience but find hard to express.
When I wanted to publish my sports stories, there were few publications that cater to that. So, I created my pub, Sportstomb. You can follow for a more interesting take on sports and sporting events.
In the past year of writing here, I have experimented with humor, feature, and non-fiction, mostly. I hope to expand my portfolio as I work my way through this writing career.
The most important lesson I have learned on this journey is that the hardest thing on a new venture is TO START. I always wondered what I had to share with the world. Until I hit publish for the first time. I still wonder till today, but I am no longer afraid to click publish every time.
This story is incomplete without telling you how obsessed I am with September. Yes, it is my birth month. But it is also the birth month of some of the most brilliant people in the world; like Beyonce, Tuface, Serena Williams, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Keanu Reeves. Do you still believe there is nothing special about September? I doubt so.
I also have this weird affinity to take a picture of the sky. I’ll leave two of my favorite snaps below.
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Thank you for reading this story till the end. I hope you enjoy it. Let me gift you the opportunity to read every thought-provoking story from me first with one click. You could also buy me a hot cup of coffee here.
