I realize that even though it feels like I’m doing something I’ve always done before (blogging), I’m brand new to this space that I’m doing it in. So, I kind of need to introduce myself to it, and to you!

 I’ll start with the standard information:

·     My name is Etinosa—pronounced ‘eh-tee-oh-sa’

·     At this moment, I am 22 years old and currently residing in South Korea

·      I was born and raised in North Carolina, USA, but I generally identify as ‘Nigerian’ or ‘Nigerian-American’, since that is where my parents and the rest of my extended family hail from

·     Shoe size is US Womens 11/EU 41 (RIP)

·     Favorite color is purple

·     Favorite season is summer (Team Heat Miser all the way ^^)

·     Favorite Avenger is split between Iron Man and Thor (because isn’t that part of standard info these days?) 

Next, I’ve put together a list of 10 things that go a bit deeper into the person I am presenting myself to you as today!

1.    As serious and formal as I can be, I love laughing and making others laugh. One of my bucket list activities is actually to do stand-up comedy!

2.    I hate to admit it, but I’m a terribly picky eater >.< There’s obviously loads of food that I eat, but there’s also a decent list of those that I don’t, and I generally am adverse to trying out unknown foods. It is something that I am working on being better at, but having so many food restrictions, I don’t think I’ll ever reach the status of foodie like so many others that I know.

3.    I love engaging with different cultures (and, in turn, different languages). I truly believe that there are more similarities between us than we like to make out; and I also find cultural exchange to be one of the most beautiful forms of human interaction we can engage in. I’m pretty sure this is one of the reasons I enjoy travelling so much!

4.    I’m very sustainability-orientated; environmental sustainability is both a personal and professional interest of mine. Now that I live on my own with a somewhat stable income, I’m so excited to be putting my money where my mind is by investing in more eco-conscious products and lifestyles!

5.    I describe myself as an ‘extroverted introvert’. I have a bit of a love-hate dynamic with people; while I love interacting and connecting with new people, I get quickly overcome with social exhaustion and revel in solitude. I could be amongst a crowd of people acting as a source of energy and entertainment, genuinely having a grand time; but I also could just as easily hole up in my room and not interact with another human being for 4 days in a row, and be just as content.

6.    I’ve had chemically-straightened hair for as long I can remember; but in college I broke up with the relaxer and started transitioning. Now, I have a full head of 4C hair, which I’m still trying to learn how to manage and style. But I’ve freed myself from most of the burden by just letting my hair be. I no longer give a damn about length; the goal these days is simply healthy coils and cute hairstyles.^^

7.    I’m a bit of a wild card in that I have a lot of random knowledge. I love learning, and I’m gifted/cursed with a wandering mind that is willing to absorb information on just about anything. Like last night: I was watching a video on guitar fingering techniques…and I do notknow how to play the guitar. For this reason, I kind of consider myself to have a small ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of none’ problem(:

8.    I love baking. (It thus, may not be just a coincidence that I have a special place in my heart for baked bready goods.) Some of the favorite things I’ve cooked up have been rum cake (which I actually started making when I was well underaged LOL) and pumpkin spice chocolate chip scones. I can’t wait to get an oven so I can try out more recipes! >.<

9.     Starting from the end of elementary school going up to around my junior year of high school, I suffered from low self-esteem and mild depression. I hid it excellently—I never missed a beat when it came to fulfilling my academic and extracurricular commitments, and my humor-loving personality never let on that I was anything but confident. But in reality, my mental health was in turmoil, as I cried myself to sleep on countless nights and contemplated self-harm. I even ran into thoughts about suicide every now and then. It took me about 3 years of deep internal work to completely overcome my negative thoughts. Because of this, I’ve become a person that is always checking in on others—because I know that even our strongest friends may not be as okay as they let on to be.

10.  I often joke around and say that I’m the disgrace of my family, because I’m the only child that deviated from the well-traveled path of becoming a medical doctor. All my life, that was the plan…but during college, I inch by inch realized that, while a financially and emotionally rewarding route, I simply could not see myself day-in and day-out working as a clinical practitioner. After graduating, I decided to really stick to my gut and completely redirect my attention away from medical school. It doesn’t sound like much, but coming from the culture that I do, this kind of event is often viewed as a satanic intervention—and thus not warmly welcomed. So I’m immensely proud of myself for taking such a big step away from doing things to please others, and towards self-fulfillment, self-actualization…and hopefully a different stable career!

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

Some of these are pretty personal stuff; but I share them because, pretty or not, they all are a part of my journey. And honestly, I’m pretty sure I’m not all that special. There may be one or more of these that you can relate to, in one way or another. So by sharing these parts of my journey here, I hope to give your journey some validation as well—because it all adds up to differentiate you from the next speck of life existing in this expansive universe.

I’ll catch you in the next post.