Sunday Reflection: A Letter to a Younger Me.

…To Young Nigerian Girls Trying to Figure Life Out

Dear Younger Me,

You didn’t always have the words. Sometimes you stared at the ceiling wondering if the world would ever make space for a girl like you — full of dreams, but scared to speak them aloud.

You worried too much about being “too much” or “not enough.” You tried to fit into rooms that didn’t see you, adjust your voice so it wouldn’t tremble, shrink your ideas so they wouldn’t offend.

But here’s what I want you to know: you were never the problem.

You were simply growing — and growth is loud, messy, and sacred.

Right now, I’m living a life you once imagined from the back of a classroom. I teach, I write, I build — and some days, I doubt myself. But I’ve also learned to dance after my student passes his exam. I’ve learned that quiet girls still shake the world. That your diary is valid, your journey is powerful, and your small beginnings matter.

To every young Nigerian girl reading this — whether you’re sitting in a crowded hostel or cracking your brain on how to source “urgent 2k” this week:

• You are a trailblazer.
  
• Your dreams are not too big.
  
• You don’t have to figure it all out at once.
  

Take your time. Try things. Fail forward. Cry if you need to. Start again. Speak when you’re ready. And when someone says you’re “too ambitious” or “too emotional” — smile and keep going. One day, they’ll call it passion.

Signed,
A Girl Who’s Still Becoming.