How Do I Quench My Thirst?

On constant pursuit for financial freedom and a quest for creativity

To remind you how much this beauty is going to be all up in your faces every time🙈

Do you also have that one item in your possession that you cherish so much and will feel disheartened if something were to ever happen to it? It could be your latest PS 5 or your recently acquired sneakers, that one classy and sexy dinner gown that hugs you in the right places?

It’s scary how much sentimental attachment we have for something, how terrified we are to lose it? We buy things to feel better or upgrade or just so we are happy but does that happiness last when we are chasing the next trendy and shiny thing to acquire like fast cars, a brand new house? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being happy and purchasing what fulfills your happiness but the void only grows bigger and we are thinking of how to never go broke again, hence the race for fame, wealth and bling aspect of life.

Are we just consuming?

When I lost my Instagram page of over 300 followers - before you say “oh Sumayya please it's just 300 followers, get over it!” please understand that they were organic followers I had to build from scratch, my heart was heavy, my chest tightened and I vowed to abandon Instagram forever but you know something I found extremely funny? - it took the loss of an account where I only consumed to build another where I started creating. I’d watch other people’s content and I’d long to create something that engaging, funny, witty. I was waiting for the perfect time even after reading so many quotes on starting with what you have, where you are.

I am part of Salem King’s commYOUnity and everyday I watch content where his only message to us is - START CREATING but the truth is I did not where to start from and my fear of facing that challenge became my limit. It is important that we don’t wait until we are confident to show up but show up until we are confident.

The thing about losing precious stuff is that you could always get it back even if it takes decades to build again. The most valuable thing that you should never lose is yourself.

Permit me to illustrate that better; I am currently undergoing a phase where I am interested in a billion things; you name it. I am obsessed with interior decor; the minimalist design, colour, theme, and all the effort put into organizing a perfect comfort zone one can call home and I still think about pursuing interior decoration, I enjoy cooking - well, when I am not being lazy, SeveraI times, i have toyed with the idea of becoming a professional chef. i also love designing, crocheting, beading, reading and reviewing books, fashion styling and dressing up particularly. And so when you open my Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest page, do not be surprised to find a Steve Madden boots, Doc Marten inspired Outfit, a tutorial on how to crotchet a stuff doll or plushie, food recipes, fashion brands, soothing videos of creators deep cleaning their houses, I find all these therapeutic.

Not to digress, the point is if I lose everything today, as long as I do not suffer dementia or Alzheimer, I am still the same girl who likes fashion, interior decor, graphic design and anything creative. Never forget this - as long as you have yourself, you have everything.

Life is an endless race of what fits to wear, what course to take, who we want to be and how we want to be addressed. Today, we are saving up for a car or an Apple watch or Mac book, a new camera, a kindle; but the moment we have them in our grasp, we want more and it becomes a never ending list of things we are yet to tick, and how much time we have left to achieve them.

I know for certain that being an overachiever can be super cool if you are a multi dimensional person who is excellent at multitasking and just for the records “Being a Jack of all trade, master of none” is okay because there is every possibility that you can end up becoming a master of all.

What has been bothering me lately is the need to create and consume less, every one has a brand they are building and the sooner one starts building; the faster you get to make mistakes, learn your lessons and become a master at it. And I have just been wondering “What brand am I building? What can I do to make money apart from my 9-5 and freelancing,the fear is nibbling away at the corner of my mind. What job do I want to fall back on? I want, scratch that - I desperately need something to call my own. A skill I can boast of being unbeatable at.

If spending was an occupation, I will probably be one of the most successful under 40 CEOs on the Forbes list by now. Sadly, it isn’t.

I love patronizing my friends businesses, one of my goals in life is to be able to afford to support my friends business by purchasing their creation or brand. I love creativity and I admire creators, I believe every creation or invention is significant and will blow up with consistency and the right audience. Tega’s chain mail jewellery for example, - that stuff is sick!I can’t bring myself to get over it.

I found a fashion brand on TikTok - Derschutze; their style is extremely interesting, how they are able to blend religion into art and create a street wear fashion brand out of it. But before them, I met ACF a similar streetwear brand run by my friend, Ré who is the brand’s creative director and I am super proud at the massive inspiration, sweat and tears that go into that. Gosh, I want something like that so bad. Where to start?

Some of us feel like we need talent to succeed and only super talented people are creators or creatives or end up successful but the truth is sometimes we just have to dig a bit deeper and go the extra mile to find our passion or potential and tap into it.

When I first came across Basquiat painting, I was like “which child drew this nightmare”? It totally looked like scribbles and jargons and a child still learning to use his pencil but surprisingly, that’s his own special art and the world fell for it. Amazing!

Unlike others, if we must exceed expectation or achieve desirable result, we need to do more, not the barest minimum. In reality, we all look like we’ve got our shit together but we are all just existing in different phases, some have scaled and some are still tackling it, nobody has it all figured out. In my next newsletter, I will be exploring how to find your talent and put your creativity to use.

Reading: “Keep the Faith” by Faith Evans where she explains from her own perspective who B.I.G was before he was murdered.

Recommending: This tote bag by Jumoke at By J on Instagram that comes in all sort of colours. You should check it out!

Playing: Ambivalence by “Uru”from Apothecary Diaries. An Anime I just finished watching and will rate 100

Side note: Thank you for reading till the end. Kindly click the subscribe,share and like button. Also let me know what you think in the comment section. Arigato!