Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor

They say these days to start with why. I say start with your story. Tell your origin, tell your vision, tell your plans, tell your flaws. Speak about the lessons learned, those you will keep and those you will let go, then begin again with your story. 

For me, my origin story begins with my people, my grandmother to be specific. Here was a woman for whom it would take 20 years before she gave birth to her first child. Persistence is baked into our DNA. Failure too and the sheer will to try again. My origin story begins with those I call my own. They are my root, the very foundation upon which I stand. I also care about legacy and sustaining this legacy or what will remain or not when our time is truly up.

What I don’t want to remain is that she worked at so so place and wrote so so amount of papers about her field of research. While that is part of my story, it isn’t the story. I am learning these days that the story begins always with a plan. I intentionally choose to surround myself with people. Some come for a season, some few years/few months, but if I am lucky, the right people will stay for awhile as they accept me for who I am. I should also share that I am not for everyone. Not many people will understand me and that is perfectly fine by me.

Still with the right people, we go on a journey to learn. We learn about everything. This is perhaps my most greatest asset. This desire to never stop learning. One of my favorite things to do is to look up old articles on my topic of interest at the moment. The older the better. I sift through them for intent and to learn something new. Learning is all I know. I was born shortly after my mother defended her thesis so you can imagine that I have been in school since the womb. I also choose to learn from those I call my own. While the world may seem to learn with one style or partake in group think, I go for the moon and anything else in between. If it’s impossible, the better the learning for me. What so many see as staying within their lane, I see as learning beyond the lane.

Then just as we gather new information, we slowly adapt to all the things we learn. My story won’t be complete without adaptation in the middle. We often set the conditions for our change. Let me rephrase this again, with this one life we have, I am privileged to change every condition to suit me and my needs. Change is always inevitable with me. I learnt that the hard way when my first son was born. Not only did we have to adapt to a life on a spectrum, we adapted to being a family on the spectrum. See everyday is different for us. Everyday requires us to adapt. It maybe the sun, the moon, the weekend or early morning, just know that in our home, we are always changing to be inclusive to the needs of our son. Change also takes time. I am learning to sit with things I cannot change or adapt. Build through the process and when the time is right, change will come. It’s perhaps why spring is forever my favorite season. I love the way change slowly comes around our home beginning with the visible signs from flowers around our home. If trees can go through winter, go through really harsh weather and still bloom in spring, then how much less us as humans. Change will always be constant with me.

So after surrounding myself with the right people, after learning, after adapting, we end with the goal of nurturing who we are. My people added the word “good” to my middle name. I was literally born to see good no matter how harsh or difficult anything may seem. This idea of being good, birthing good too, keeps me going. What many may view as a challenge, I see as something good always.

This story, one of my people, one of learning, one of adapting, one of nurturing is my foundation and if nothing else remains, I hope when my time is up, it is said that she always had a plan. Because she does. Keep this

P.s. we would love your comment below. Please share what moved you and your plans with this one live you have.