Chronicles of A Nigerian MultiPotentialite

Do you know that you can have more than one calling? There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you have multiple interests and you do not want to specialize in just one thing.

I have always been comfortable with the fact that I have multiple interests but there are occasions when I just feel like letting everything go and focusing on just one. This feeling stems from the fact that society has its definition of normal and these characteristics do not fit in. Do you get excited to learn a new skill and when you have learned it, you are bored and you want to go on to the next thing? In truth, all these skills you gather along the way are not wasted as they can be used when the occasion arises.

I never actually thought that there was a term used to refer to this characteristic that I had, I thought I was just weird. This special characteristic, however, comes with its own issues. I sometimes find myself having imposter syndrome or on occasion, I feel like I am not doing enough while at other times, I feel like I might be doing too much.

I was going over this topic in my head as I planned to talk extensively about it at my alma matta secondary school career day when I stumbled upon Emilie Wapnick’s Ted talk and all I can say is it changed my life. This Ted Talk was everything I have thought about and more. It also came at the best time as it helped me to understand that I am not alone in this.

Being a multipotentialite in a country like Nigeria ( where if you are not specializing, you are termed a failure) has not been easy. I still have a number of things to figure out in my life but I believe identifying the fact that I am a multipotentialite has helped me tremendously. When I was much younger ( 12 -13 years), I was so into art.. everyone believed my career part was to become an artist.

As time went by, I excelled in every subject both in arts and sciences (chose to go the science route), choosing a course to study in the university was war (i couldn’t decide on one thing). I eventually went with Geology which I enjoyed tremendously due to the fact that the knowledge of Geology is very extensive. Choosing a specialization for my masters is proving difficult as well because I did well in most of the courses. In University, I picked up hair making….this was kind of confusing for everyone around me (myself included) because I wasn’t necessarily someone fascinated with hair.

After University, I went to art school to brush up my art skills and during my service year, I took up teaching and freelance writing. I actually thought that writing would be my chosen career path as I never quite understood why I was just picking up skills here and there…ooh, I forgot to add I used to do photography and graphic design at some point in my life. As time went by, I became bored with everything and the search for something fascinating left me feeling like a failure.

Explaining this to anyone was like explaining to a wall because half the time, they do not understand why I could not just pick one thing and do that. I have multiple resumes as well.

Well right now I completely identify as a MULTIPOTENTIALITE and I believe I still have a number of skills to master. The Ted Talk really helped me and Emilie Wapnick’s book made me understand that I am a fusion of all 2 multipotentialte work modules ( Group approach and Einstein approach) and I believe as I grow older, I will be able to find a balance between all my creative facets.

I am one of those people that never fit into that box, whether its the behavioral box (sanguine, melancholy and the likes) or the introvert/extrovert classification and right now, I have made my peace with this. One Nigerian Person I look up to is Adekunle Gold due to the fact that he has multiple creative facets and he has found a way to balance it all (in my opinion)… Anyways, my family has been a constant source of motivation despite societies expectations.

As time goes by, I will surely make a part two of this chronicles as I would have grown. Right now I am a portrait artist, freelance content writer, hairdresser, virtual assistant, blogger, geologist, social media manager, (whew!!!)….i also see myself lecturing in the future (let’s see how that’ll turn out)…… As a multipotentialite, I know the fear of not finding a steady job is constantly gnawing on our minds but do not fret. You will have multitudes of jobs that it will take dedication and consistency to keep up.

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Aluchie