It all started summer 2012, the summer before my last year
of secondary school (usually grades 7-12). I went to a
secondary school in The Gambia and my school only had
grades 7-11, with 12 being A-Levels. That summer, the whole
family travelled to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to stay with Aunty
Yemi, a family friend. That was a poppin’ summer; the best I
have had all my life. I was 13. While it was clear that I had to
start getting ready for college, since I was heading towards
my last year in secondary school and all that, I hadn’t really
worked out what I wanted to do with my life. All I desired
was a job that’d make me travel the world and give me tonnes
of money.
My mom, however, had plans. She always had. She loves
planning ahead and to the minutest detail. Apparently, she’d
reached a conclusion that it was time to have my life mapped
out and decided to start the process. Subtly.