Personal Childhood Web

I come from a large close-knit family of 8 that consists of my father, my mother, my 4 sisters and my brother. I am also the last child of my parents. My upbringing was deeply rooted in my family's traditions and customs. We held on tight to our traditions in order to keep our identity, pay homage to the generations before us and also have something to pass down to the generation after. I had a considerably pleasant childhood even though we had our share of some difficulties but we were able to overcome them at the end. The people who had the most influence in my life growing up are my immediate family members and a few others. They were present in my life and they helped me become the person I am today. I feel fortunate to have people who paved the way for me, made the mistakes so that I did not have to learn the hard way and even when I ran into problems, were kind enough to help me through it. This is a random selection and not based on importance.

This is one of my sisters, her name is Uloma and she is the 4th child. I chose her because she made an impact in my life as a little girl. We are not close in age but still, she is very relatable. She treated me like I was one of her friends, shared her experiences with me and taught me some life lessons which helped me become emotionally and mentally aware of certain things. I mentioned in one of the previous posts that my sisters read to me often as a child, well, she read the most to me. It did not matter what she was doing, whenever I made a request for story time, she always came through. She was good with children's rhymes and songs as well, and she entertained me a lot. As I grew older, I realized that she made up some parts of those songs and stories when she did not know them. She helped me a lot when I had difficulties with assignments or projects from school and until this day, she gives me good advice. She is a good listener and I appreciate her for investing her time in me and for treating me kindly.

This is my lovely mother Patricia. She is a very strong, understanding and loving person. She made a lot of sacrifices for our family when I was growing up and that truly shows how selfless she is. In all that she did, she still made out time for me. She attended all the open-days organized by my school and that meant a lot to me. It showed me that she cared about my progress in school and wanted to know how best to help me. My mother taught me how to cook, how to multi-task and I learned how to be a respectful and honest person by observing her interactions with others. I truly appreciate her and all that she did for me because I still apply all I learned from her in my life.








                                 

This is my father, his name is Desmond. He is a very easy-going person but never minces his words when we go wrong. Growing up, I would say I was sheltered a lot by my father. Although I never got into trouble with him because I learned to not make the mistakes my older siblings made; but when I did get into trouble with my siblings, he always took my side and tried to placate and reason with them afterward. My father helped me put things into perspective at a young age because he made it clear the things that were acceptable and things that were not in the family and in the society. I like that my father took time to explain our heritage to us as it helped me know my identity and I became confident in who I was. I learned from my father the importance of family and I am thankful for my family.




The relationship I had with my brother Victor when growing up was a very special one. He is the most gentle man I know and considerate too. Being his younger sister, I tried to so many times to act rough with him and even tried to rile him up but he never lashed out at me. I remember very clearly when we were in primary school, he would always walk me to my classroom and ensured that I was not picked on by any other student. He would check up on me at lunch break to check that I had eaten. I appreciate that he was there for me at those times when I could not stand up for myself. I hope to raise my kids to stand up for each other no matter the situation.

The next person is Mrs. Orisakwe, She was my biology teacher. She was a widow but that did not stop her from living a full and content life. I loved her intelligence and the energy she came to class with. She was one of the kindest teachers I had and she made me fall in love with Biology which is still one of my favorite subjects. I would say what I took away from knowing her is to be kind to people and make sure you put in your best in all you do.