Making time for creative interests and what it's like moving to a new country for school or work
Guest appearance on the I Like Girls podcast and a historical fiction recommendation
Hello,
A few months ago, I ran a Q&A on my Instagram stories and someone asked how I balance podcasting with being a parent and a full-time job. I plan to do a podcast episode about this but I spoke briefly about it on another podcast that I was on as a guest - I Like Girls. On the show, I shared my motherhood story and a few ways to make time for your interests.
What’s New on the Podcast
I’ve often wondered what it’s like for children who move from countries like Nigeria and Ghana to the UK, Canada and their experience adapting to a new educational system. I moved to the UK from Nigeria when I was 16 after secondary school and although I was older, I found it a little bit difficult adapting to a new school.
So, I was curious about what it was like for children who were younger than I was. This week’s guest, Maria Owusu-Mensah moved from Ghana to the UK when she was 11 and we talked about adapting to the secondary school system where some of her peers were from more affluent backgrounds.
She mentioned how “her friends could afford to have private tuition for their A levels. My mom is a single mom of three. That wasn’t really feasible for us.”
Maria’s also the content creator behind Unlock Social Mobility and a young trustee with the EY foundation - a charity that reduces the barriers that young people from low-income backgrounds face when entering the workplace.
This influenced her decision to start Unlock Social Mobility as Maria noted that “there aren't enough people who are from low socioeconomic backgrounds sharing their stories and sharing how they navigated that whole journey because it really is a journey.”
What I’m Reading
I just picked up An Ocean Apart by Sarah Lee which is a story inspired by the real-life experiences of nurses from the Windrush generation. My grandma was a nurse in England in the 1960s and 1970s and I grew up hearing stories about her time as a nurse so An Ocean Apart felt like a story I would be interested in.
Thank you for reading. Have you enjoyed reading, watching or listening to anything interesting lately? I would love to hear about it!
Take Care,
Motunrayo