Taking Care Of Your Mental Health While Relocating As A Highly Skilled Professional

 

Picture credit: Tom Leishman from Pexels

Relocation, used interchangeably with migration is not a new trend. 

From pre-modern migration to post Great Atlantic Migration of the late 1840s, human migration has existed for centuries.

In recent years, the migration of highly skilled professionals to western countries has been on the rise. 

Highly skilled professionals are motivated to migrate for reasons ranging from seeking a higher quality of life to economic factors. 

These reasons are often meticulously deliberated before making the move. What is less considered however is how the move might impact mental health.

Research shows that most middle-class skilled immigrants from West African countries such as Nigeria, migrate in search of a better quality of life. Often, they seek better healthcare, education, security and a system that works and less often for economic factors. 

Such a decision is never an easy one for a middle-class skilled professional. They usually uproot themselves from the comfort of the life they are used to and the beauty of living with supportive relatives and move to an unfamiliar destination country.

Let's Use The Story Of Jane To Paint This Picture Properly

Jane Doe is a middle-class, 30-year-old high-flying commercial lawyer in Nigeria. She is married to the love of her life, Tunde, a sought-after cardiothoracic surgeon with over 18 years practice experience, they have two children. She has a soaring career and a fantastic job as an in-house counsel in one of the top multinationals in Lagos, Nigeria. Tunde's job is his pride and joy. The Doe family has three live-in domestic help, a nanny, a cook and a cleaner. They also have two non-live-in drivers (chauffeur). 

Jane and Tunde's parents, siblings and extended family live in the same city and in close proximity. They gather every other weekend for family time. The parents come in to help the Does occasionally when needed.

Jane has a picture-perfect life. She is surrounded by all the help she needs to chase her soaring career.

The first threat to Jane's life came when she and her young family were robbed by 4 gunmen who broke into their house in the middle of a beautiful Saturday. The armed men spent hours raiding every corner of the house. Tunde made an emergency call to the police response unit during the ordeal. They did not pick his call.

With Jane and Tunde tied to a bed, their two children fast asleep and no emergency police unit or '911' to the rescue, the armed men had a field day at the Doe's home, wiping it clean of all valuables. 

After 4 straight traumatic hours of raiding and a 2-course meal in Jane's kitchen, the gunmen left. No one in the Doe family was hurt.

Traumatized and losing faith in the system, Jane's family changed homes and moved to a "safer neighborhood." 

Two years went by. Jane and Tunde welcomed their third child. 

Two weeks after the new birth, another set of armed men invaded their home. This time, after an initial threat by the gunmen to cart away Jane's three young children, they fled with Jane's new company car, injuring her two security guards in the process.

Jane has had enough. 

It did not help that Jane's best friend was recently released from a 3-day kidnapping ordeal after paying an undisclosed ransom. 

Jane concluded that living in Nigeria is a huge threat to her life and that of her family. She saw no end in sight to the security breaches in a country that winks at her plight. 

She then went through the grueling procedure that most skilled immigrants go through before relocating. Which for Jane was to weigh the sanctity of her life and the security of her family against her soaring career and supportive extended family life. She chose to fight for the more important one.

After months of weighing the pros and cons, Jane and Tunde decided to leave Nigeria for a more secure country. This translates to leaving their comfort, perfect careers, well-paying jobs, helpful parents and extended family. 

Highly Skilled Professionals Migrate For A Range Of Reasons

Like Jane, thousands of middle-class skilled immigrants, choose to leave their home countries for safety, better healthcare, economic reasons and other factors.

The reality and the effects of migration however only dawns when the destination country is reached.

If you are migrating as a highly skilled professional, there is the possibility of a blend of shocking events that may shake your hopes and goals when you land in your destination country, affecting your mental well-being.

It is therefore important to weigh your options properly prior to leaving your home country and be prepared emotionally and mentally for eventualities in your destination country. 

It is also important to research where you can get help when you get to your destination country. Most countries have online and in-person mental health support. Find an example of mental health support here.

What Can Trigger Mental Health Problems?

A mental health trigger is anything that affects your emotional state. They are situations or occurrences that may cause uncomfortable emotional or psychiatric symptoms, such as hopelessness, panic, dejection, negative self-talk, defeatism, discouragement or anxiety. 

A trigger is not a one size fit all, it varies widely among individuals and situations. If you do not deal with your triggers, they can lead you through a spiral hole of depression, loneliness and lack of self-worth.

For example, a director of a multinational in his home country might get an entry-level position at a local corporate office in his destination country. A doctor in her home country might get a pharmacy cashier position as a survival job in her destination country. A high school teacher in his home country might get a survival job at his destination country as a roadside cleaner or on a lighter note, a chicken catcher like the hilarious story on twitter that rocked the internet a few years ago. Look, let's be factual, there is dignity in labor, however we know, these dichotomies often affect skilled immigrant's emotional well-being, with many foreign trained professionals unknowingly loosing their sense of self, self-worth, self esteem and slipping into depression.

Furthermore, an intact family unit might be broken when a parent leaves for a destination country. Children who are used to living close to their grandparents, friends or extended families in their home countries are suddenly moved to a destination country. They might feel the sudden separation from family and friends than we often envisage. We all say children adapt fast, right? Maybe wrong. It is important to check in on their feelings as well.

As a highly skilled professional in a new country, you should be aware of stressful situations that might serve as a trigger.

You should be aware of the following:

You Might Have To Do Survival Jobs In Your Destination Country

Survival jobs are jobs that you take in your destination country to keep food on your table while you work your way up to your desired job. This can be very dicey for skilled professionals who are used to being highly placed in corporate environments. For some, survival jobs might not be as easy as it sounds. 

Jane and Tunde needed to do their professional exams before they could practice in their destination country. 

Suddenly, Tunde found himself no longer a qualified cardiothoracic surgeon. Not being able to practice his profession made him feel that his 18 years of practice, pride and joy had been taken away from him. He was also running low on fund reserves brought from Nigeria and needed to put food on the table. He was grateful when he eventually found himself a job as a pharmacist's assistant in a local drug store after job hunting for months. 

Tunde's new boss, a fresh pharmacy graduate who could care less about Tunde's 18 years practice experience, expertise or history treated him with contempt, often being verbally abusive.

Tunde became a caricature of himself. Ego-lost, self-esteem low, he second-guessed his decision to relocate with his family. He barely had enough funds to write any of his many professional exams or to support Jane. 

Jane was not doing any better on her end. 

After a year and eight months of grueling unsettlement, Tunde slipped into depression. He decided to go back to Nigeria, leaving Jane and the kids.

This is not always the case. However, it is vital to be emotionally prepared for this if it comes up.

You Might Have To Start All Over Or Start At A Lower Job Level

Skilled professionals often struggle with being offered entry-level jobs when they have over 12 years of experience or more.

Be aware that most skilled professionals will have to go through professional exams before they can practice their profession in their destination country. Some of the exams take up to a year while others run into 4 years or more. 

It is important that you prepare emotionally and mentally for this. 

 How are you going to fund the exams? Are you ready emotionally to do survival jobs till you can practice your profession? Do you have transferable skills to explore working in a similar field without going through exams? Can you handle the emotional toll of starting afresh at entry-level and working sometimes under a fresh graduate who would have been your subordinate back in your home country? 

All these reality checks will help maintain a healthy mental balance when you are faced with these realities in your destination country.

You Might Need Extra Help For Your Young Children

If you are relocating with young children, you might need help. 

The likelihood of having family members around to help you like you had in your home country is low. Domestic help such as nannies, cooks and drivers might not be readily available like you are used to in your home country. 

Not having help might weigh heavily on you, causing you physical and emotional distress. This can affect your mental well-being.

Will you be able to afford child care in your destination country? Is there a dependable family or friend already based in your destination country who can help you out? Is there a possibility of having either of your parents come along with you to help?

It is good practice to think through this aspect before relocating.

You Might Get Lonely 

Coming from a family-oriented country like Nigeria with strong family ties and her extended family members a stone throw from one another, Jane was badly hit when Tunde went back to Nigeria. 

Living in a country where she barely sees her neighbors and saddled with three under-6-year-olds, professional exams and a demanding legal support job where she felt over qualified and under-appreciated,  Jane felt a bite on her her self-esteem, she felt  lonely and isolated and nearly went insane with the burden of her new life.

Jane started experiencing episodes of panic attacks,  constant anxiety and an onslaught of depression. 

The connection between Jane's new life and her mental distress is not strange. Isolation and loneliness has been linked to issues such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression and the risk of dementia. 

If you are feeling lonely, there are resources that can help you in your destination country. It is important that you find those resources and get help. 

A good place to get help is the immigrant services in your destination city. 

Also finding networking opportunities, volunteering opportunities and getting involved in your new community might help.

Lockdown memoirs of an introverted writer

Today I wrote in the sun.
On my back porch.

The magnificence of quiet.

Oh, the bliss of my home.

Dressed up or not. It's Eden!

All by myself.

Alone with my brain. With my thoughts. 

With my alter, Phillipe.

Not out visiting. Expectant of no visitors.

No fanfare. Just me and my pen.

What beauty. What life!

The indoor life! Oh!

So sweet!

Yes, I know!
This is the life I've always wanted!

By Jumoke Eniola Odepe

ON, Canada

PC: Evg photos from Pexel

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON JUNE 20, 2020

The shoulders we stand on - #IWD

By Jumoke Eniola-Odepe, Written on Her Sides: The shoulders we stand on in celebration of women and women's history month:

 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead.

 

March is Women's History Month.

 

Rightly so.

 

With over a century-old women's rights movement, women have crossed many rivers to get to where we are today. 

 

Over the years, women have fought for the right to vote, equal representation in government, the right to equal pay, and a host of other rights. 

 

We, the younger generation of women, are proud to be in this era because of the work that our female forerunners have done {and are doing}.

 

Some of the women who paved the way for us are known; some remain unsung heroes. 

 

We knew nothing about the three women mathematicians who worked in NASA as human computers till the 2016 movie "Hidden Figures" brought them to our screen. 

 

Based on the non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly, the movie brought to us Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. 

 

In the face of segregation by race and sex, the brilliant work of these three African American women was pivotal in propelling the first American orbital spaceflight piloted by astronaut John Glenn in 1962.

 

In 2018, shortly after the movie, a bipartisan bill was introduced to designate the street in front of the NASA headquarters as "Hidden Figures Way." 

 

On June 12, 2019, the street was officially so renamed in honour of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and "all women who have dedicated their lives to honourably serving their country, advancing equality contributing to the space program in the United States."

 

These women went before us, opening the doors for other women to work in space exploration and aeronautics research.

 

In pre-1929 Canada, based on a narrow interpretation of the law, women were not regarded as "persons" and therefore were not eligible to sit in the senate. 

 

A group of 5 prominent Canadian women activists, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby {the Famous Five}, challenged the interpretation of the law that excludes women as "persons."

 

On October 18, 1929, in the celebrated Person's case, Lord Sankey, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, announced the decision:

 

"The exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word 'person' should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?"

 

October 18 has been declared Person's Day in Canada. A day dedicated to honouring the bravery and determination of the Famous Five and the historic decision to allow women's equal participation in all aspects of political life in Canada.

 

We stand on the shoulders of these women.

 

In Africa, we have Grace Alele Williams, the first Nigerian woman to obtain a Ph.D. in mathematics and the first female vice-chancellor in Nigeria. We have Mo Abudu, the first female to launch a pan-African TV channel in Africa. 

 

A cloud of female forerunners surrounds us, pioneer women, shattering diverse glass ceilings held up against us and showing millions of women behind them that impossibility is nothing.

 

We stand on the shoulders of these women. We see their work in our everyday lives. They have amplified our voices. They have extended available seats for us, opened more doors for us, and made us walk a few inches taller.

 

We, in turn, owe it to one another to pull each other up, to open the doors for one another, applaud the success of one another, and ensure you're not the only woman in the board room.

 

We owe it to the next generation of women to provide mentorship, keep pressing on, and paving the paths, so the next generation of women can thread on the paths we pave.

 

About the Guest Writer

Jumoke Eniola-Odepe is the author of two hilarious books, Memoirs of Great Ife and The Accidental Bride. A lawyer by day and a writer by night, she received her Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ife and her Master of Laws at the University of Ottawa. She is a lover of summer walks, family cookouts, and everything indoors during winter. She and her husband live in Southern Ontario with their two extraordinary boys. You can visit her online at www.activepens.com

 PC

Women will rule in all ...#IWD

 

Have you ever thought of the possibility of women ruling? Have you ever thought of the possibility of a day when women will rule in every country in the world? At the same time? 

I have thought of it.

And so I wrote this poem in honour of that day. 

Enjoy it and long live the Women Era.

****************************************

on a beautiful day.
in a few moons from now.
women will rule in.
every country in.
every continent of.
the world.

end child soldiering.
ceasefire here. 

ceasefire there. 

ceasefire. yup.

stop human trafficking. 

modern-day slavery.

calm the storms.

stop the wars.

rule with intuition.

balance. justice. equity.

rule of law.

peace on earth.

on a beautiful day.
in a few moons from now.
women must rule in.

every country in.
every continent of.
the world.

***********************************************

Jumi Eniola Odepe
ON, Canada

PC

Runway. Fashion Is What I Say It Is.

Image by Melody Jacob

                                    

Nothing inspirational here today but really do you sometimes conjure a few pieces of clothing together and deeply appreciate your creativity but you know that you are not bold enough to step out of your bedroom wearing your creation?

I do. Or more like, I do every time. 

I often wonder, who determines how we dress?

Who dictates what the appropriate color combination is and what shoes to wear with what? Who defines our ever-dynamic fashion?

I have been intrigued by fashion since I was a little girl. 

Mum wore heels that went on for days, I would try them on and walk around the house just like her. My sister and I would paint our nails with ink from red gel pens and rub it off before mum could see it. I was quick to start wearing lipstick, little did I know that my lipstick application was as good as sticking an extra lip on my lips. Of course, we eventually outgrew the sad lip part.

I find clothing and accessorizing the most intriguing part of fashion. 

I live to see and copy how models catwalk in baggy culottes with baggy sweaters, sleek summer dresses, evening wears, and I live especially to see how models combine their colors and styles on the runway. I aspire to imitate modeled fashion, this does not always necessarily translate well. Sometimes, my imitation stays in the realms of my imagination. 

I also find it crucial to have my own personal fashion, fashion according to me. This is what I term, my personal style. 

For some people, their personal style is street style, for others, it is corporate fashion, for some more, it is corporate casual or simply casual. For some, like me, it is a mix of all depending on my outing and mood. But it is essential to me that I am comfortable in whatever I wear. 

Every so often, when I'm planning my vacation, I find myself researching the best vacation outfits for my destination. For example, what to wear while vacationing in Kenya or how to dress while vacationing in Europe. 

I go on and on till I ensemble my travel outfits. That's fine. But what I do next is crucial. I transform the results of my research into my personal style. My personal style is street fashion, comfort and a pick of fashion styles from all over.

While there are many answers to the question, "what is fashion?" or "who determines how we dress?" I have learned that fashion is what makes sense to me. 

Fashion is about my comfort. Fashion is to be bold while expressing my creativity. It is to live my clothing and accessories, fearlessly. To combine my colors in a way that makes me glow from within. 

Fashion is to understand my personal style, the style that excites me, and then release that style to the world, walking the earth runway.

So I ask you, what is fashion according to you?

Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Toronto

Originally posted Aug. 7, 2020

Burn Your Bridges

                            

                

"Don't burn your bridges."

What a quote!

Not all bridges must stay.
No, not all.

Some come into our lives.
But for a while.

When you cling on thereafter.

            You hurt your soul.

They hurt your soul.

            You hurt their soul.

Burn such bridges.
I tell you, my friend.

Don't fortify a bridge.

That is done with you.

Don't force doors open.

That has done its work.

When they close a door.

Leave it closed.

When a bridge gives way.

We build another.

When God closes a door.

He opens another.

Jumi Eniola Odepe

ON, 

PC: Benjamin Rascoe-Unsplash

The things we have become.

 

Snow days were fun days. No work.

        Now we join remote learning on snow days.

The corporate world was in offices. Suited up.

        Now we work from home in our jammy pants.

Professional exams were done in centers. Fierce supervision.

        Now we write from our bedrooms under online proctors.

We have moved to a world we cannot see. A different dimension.

        Now I doubt the sanctity of all I see. For I am one with virtuality.

Jumoke Odepe 

Ontario 2021

PC

Nigerians - We've been fleeing home for a long time - Ode To My Fellow Nigerians

Our government does not listen. Our politicians have cleptomaniac gluttony.

They spray bricks of dollars at the innumerable birthday parties they conjure.

Dollars from our oil funds and treasury, meant to build us roads and hospitals.

Our roads are craters, roller coasters, turbulent high seas.

Hospitals are sharks swallowing patients without chewing.

Schools? Oh!Brink Back Our Girls!

We started fleeing home one person at a time.

We’ve been fleeing home for a long time.

Our government does not listen. Our politicians have cleptomaniac gluttony.

Our people are spread over oceans. Stuck between devils and deep blue seas.

1987, aunt Kree ran from home to Europe, searching for greener pastures.

1995, five of my doctor cousins left for Kuwait, anything but home.

2010, ten of my friends left for the States, swearing never to come back.

We started fleeing home a person at a time.

We’ve been fleeing home for a long time.

Our government does not listen. Our politicians have cleptomaniac gluttony.

They loot our treasury. Eat up our reserves. Infringe our rights. Insult our intelligence.

Open fire on our freedom fighters. Brain drain our country. Embarrass the hell out of us.

Oh-mine-they-embarrass-the-hell-out-of-us.

Home is a carcass. A shadow of a story that was. A glory of past ages.

Home is in a rut. Home is a trap. We too must run. The gates are closing.

We started fleeing home one person at a time.

We’ve been fleeing home for a long time.

Jumi Eniola Odepe

ON 

PC

Blessed Life

The things I've done are many.

The dainties I've tried, countless.

From the Law to The Pen, to Event Decorating to Jewelry Making to Designing.

I've been there and done that. 

Done it my way. Happy I've tried them all. 

My creative expressions, it's indeed been a blessing to meet you all.

It's been a blessed life.

Thought to share a few of my eye candy creativity from my past till now. 

And yes, I created them all

Enjoy.

Wedding decor by Jode

Beads by Jode

Beads by Jode

Beads by Jode

Beads by Jode

Beads by Jode

Wedding decor by Jode

Wedding decor by Jode

Weddings by Jode

Corona School Decor by Jumoke Odepe

In my head

Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Ages ago. Thereabout. Before 2020. We.

held 

newborns and kissed them we

spent time with seniors and

sat close to one another we

physically schooled and

shook hands we

hugged and touched and

partied in droves we

shopped loud and

chrismassed with families we

danced holding hands and

hold hands

hug

shop

dance

kiss newborns

school

touch

time with seniors

visit

travel

party together

oh, what didn't we do?

Jumoke Eniola Odepe
ON.

The profound tragedy of our stolen identity | Olasupo Shasore | TEDxLagos

Angels

Hey:) 

Just checking in to know who you've been sent to help.

Whose angel are you?

Are those you are meant to minister to...

Languishing or okay?

Are they okay?

Remember.

As long as heaven and earth remain.

There will be the needy in the land.

So I ask.

Whose angel am I?

Whose angel are you?

Jumi Eniola Odepe

Lagos.

PC: Peggy_Marco from Pixabay

South African and Nigerian accents

Photo created by author using Canva

You hardly hear this right? Yes me too.

That's the world we created. A world where everyone says they love the same things to be politically correct but to the disadvantage of some others.

We forget the beauty of diversity.

I admired how Winston Duke successfully imitated the Nigerian accent in the Black Panther movie. He brilliantly acted M'Baku bringing back fond memories of how Nigerians end each sentence with "ooo." 

Oh, I love it!

How about how Chadwick imitated the South African accent bringing back fond memories of Madiba, the South-African Nelson Mandela. How I loved the way he said "I thank you" after each of his speeches. 

But I stand in wonderment each time at the political correctness of gushing over the British accent even from the lips of my 5-year-old niece who is yet to meet a soul with the British accent. She must have heard us older humans say it.

The rhetoric has been well established that the British accent is the nice, queenly, sophisticated accent that we all must marvel at while in reality, our preferences over accents are as diverse as we humans are.

Who told you that some accents are less than others? How did you first learn these beliefs? 

From the deepest accents in these African countries to the mild ones and then to the ones you can only hear the accents in minuscules. I love them.

Perspective.

Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Canada

REMEMBRANCE DAY POEM. LEST WE FORGET.

 

I don't like war.

Enemies don't rest.

I want peace in the world.

Not everyone thinks that way.

If soldiers don't go to war.

War will come to us.

We live in peace.

That peace ain't free.

We live in peace.

Our troops are at war.

Imagine the fields.

Oh! The sacrifice.

I pray for them.

Do pray for them.

Our troops that fell.

We won't forget.

We won't forget.

We won't forget.

God bless our land

Be with our troops.

Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Canada

Toxic Relationships

 

It might be an abusive boss. It might be an abusive working environment. It might be an abusive girlfriend. It might be an abusive common-law partnership or marriage.

You are tired and scared. You are confused about the next step to take. 

You speak with a few confidants, and they are scared too. They don't want to tell you to leave so you don't hate them for the advice later.

So you stay. You cry every day as you drive to work or you hate every day as you keep befriending your abusive bestie.

I know, sometimes in life, we just need someone to tell us "Before I open my eyes, get the hell out of there!".

Sometimes we need someone who will literally hold our hands and grab us out of a situation, tell us what to do.

But friends and family can be so careful about what they say. They want to safeguard their relationship with you so sometimes they don't tell you the way it is.

Sometimes they are scared that life might be harder for you if they advise you to leave that abusive job. 

And sometimes they are as clueless as you are.

But I tell you, staying in that hurtful environment is hurting your soul.

When you look around and you don't find that person to tell you what to do. You need to look deep within and follow your God-given guts.

Find hope in my words, everything will find its place.

I wish you comfort and clarity at this time.

Jumi D. Odepe

NY

Cardio exercise for beginners who are not in love with exercise just like me

 

I don't love exercising.

I am one of those girls who are not gifted with the gift of the passion for exercise. I often wonder why people jog or run every morning, I say to myself, "what is chasing them?". 

I am one of those girls who naturally have a tiny waistline and eat so little.

But something started happening to me! 

At a certain point, my ever-compliant waistline started bulging of her own volition! It felt as if I had undigested food permanently sitting at certain corners of my waist and won't just break down as fast as they used to. 

Suddenly, my flat tummy and flattering waistline were giving way! My tops were not fitting anymore at the mid-body area.

That's when I woke up! Well, not wake up, wake up as in wake up. I still drag myself off my bed to exercise daily.

I found Amy's cardio video quite easy for a dragger like me who has to do it but just wants to get it over with and still get results!

Gradually, my waistline started behaving. I also started getting more conscious of my diet.

So, there you go.

I hope you find some fun as you drag yourself to exercise with the above video... Like I do.

Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Toronto, Canada

What does not kill you makes you stronger?

By Jumoke Eniola Odepe

Guelph, 2020
 

#Endsars #End all forms of oppression in Nigeria

 

This is the dawn of a new era in Nigeria 🇳🇬. I’m proud of the Gen Z soro soke generation. 

#End Sars

#End all forms of oppression of the people of Nigeria 

#End bad governance 

#Promote technology 

#Promote security and sanctity of the human life

#Welcome new era

Ola, 

Toronto, ON

What is Patent Mining?

Patent mining is a term used in IP portfolio management to describe the process of managing and monetizing patent portfolios by identifying and prioritizing assets within an organization. 

Firms use the process to identify acquisitions that would strengthen existing patent portfolios.

Understanding and unearthing assets within an organization can reveal which technologies to license or sell to generate revenue, or what portfolios to totally abandon to reduce costs. It can reveal your market position and aid strategies to maneuver around envisaged roadblocks. 

The patent mining process also includes identification and prioritizing patentable inventions or ideas within an organization for the purpose of filing patent applications.

The objective of patent mining is often to pinpoint from a large patent portfolio, the highest-rated patent, and those with the likely best claims.

Olajumoke Odepe is a legal copywriter.

This short article was created to serve as a writing sample only. It is not legal advice or a substitute for legal advice on any subject matter. The reader should understand that reading this sample article does not establish any advisory relationship between the writer and the reader.

PC: Colin Behrens, Pixabay

Chadwick Boseman, RIP

 Rest on Chadwick Omotunleshe Boseman. 

Thanks for the movies that represented us in the superheroes sphere, for the African accent that you used, for fighting for equality while fighting for your life. 

It meant a lot to us to see our black boys and girls sit proudly at the cinemas when Black Panthers’ movie premiered. They saw their superheroes, for the first time, in you. 

Stories matter, you improved our stories. You represented us well. You reduced the negative stereotypes. You did well.

We won’t forget you, Omotunleshe, meaning, our child has improved our status. 

Wakanda forever. 

J.M.