Full Circle

Vol.35, Issue 03, 23 September 2022

Hello readers

Isn’t it interesting how life brings us back full circle to our humble beginnings when we hardly expect? I remember while growing up, I wanted to be a writer. Telling myself if I got to the university, I’d like to study English because I was mesmerized at how the news casters on TV related with their audience. Their gestures, mannerisms, the way they spoke and how connected they were with their audience. I wanted that. I got the chance to attend university and studied English as a first degree.

I’m yvonne Okoro, from Delta state Nigeria, the south south region of the country. i live in Lagos, the most populated city in nigeria and Africa. I speak Urhobo as my first language and English. I was born into a middle class family. I lost my dad at a very young age and my mum raised me alone. I am also an only child. My mum did her best to make sure I went to some of the best schools in Nigeria. So, you can guess people always thought I’d be the spoilt one. That I had everything I wanted being the only child. On the contrary, my life was completely different. I didn’t have it easy like many people assumed, but I was content because I had the love of my mum. She was everything I knew; I wasn’t allowed to have friends in order to avoid bad influence. The few friends I managed to have never visited my home cause of how strict my parents were. So you can imagine how excited I felt, being able to make my own decisions and having as much friends as I could when I got into university. but my excitement was cut short when I had to go through another loss. 

My life took a different turn I didn’t expect at the time. Losing my mum gave me a new take and idea to life. I decided now I would have to be more focused in order to make my parents proud. I finished my degree in English with like I always wanted. 

After graduating, I got the opportunity to work in a few companies. One as a Relationship Officer and another in Marketing but I didn’t quite understand why I was doing these jobs. I didn’t enjoy working in these places or in these roles. I felt the need to do more after four years. I became really bored. So, I picked up another passion of mine, food. I attended culinary school and got certifications in cuisine and patisserie. I enjoyed cooking; finding new recipes, being the best food link among my friends, organizing dinners and working with a restaurant.

Working in the kitchen is like fighting a war with your adrenaline pumping and the “highs” of being useful because you’re playing a very vital role in people’s lives whether they agree or not. then you only get three hours of real sleep and the war starts again. But there was something I found interesting working as a chef. The restaurant business thrives only if every aspect is handled with the same care and passion.. I love the business of food. The logistics, sorting out ingredients, knowing where to buy the best and freshest goods, stock keeping. These I found really interesting. Then I decided I wanted to go into the Restaurant Business. How best to get this done was the question. 

Casually going through the internet, I came across an article about business courses and that was how I decided to study Digital International Business In Xamk Kouvola. I told myself I’d take this step and see where it takes me. Here I am today successfully studying this course and loving every moment of it. 

Back to the beginning of this article, how life brings us full circle. My first passion. I’ve always loved writing, communicating, story telling, meeting new people and traveling. These are part of what I studied as a first degree. Here I am now in Xamk, given the amazing opportunity to do what I love. Writing and being featured on the Insider. This is an opportunity for me to explore Finland, the amazing people and culture, plus the opportunity to document my experiences with you. I can’t wait for all the fun we’ll have together.
Right now, I’m still in the process of getting my resident permit. I just found out it’s moved from “waiting for processing” to “ In progress”.. I check it every morning when I wake up, because I cannot wait to join my classmates and my teachers in Kouvola as soon as possible.