Won’t You Celebrate With Me
A walk down career memory lane & introducing DIAL Design
It is good to be alive. It is nice to see the light from the sun.
That’s from Ecclesiastes 11:7, Easy-to-read version. I found it recently and I absolutely love it, especially since it embodies most of my feelings about this essay.
I like my life today. I’m happy in it today. I’m not sure about tomorrow, but I know today, my journey makes sense to me.
Because I have found passion and refined purpose in my work.
The beginning:
When I started my career in 2019, I had only one goal. I wanted to be happy. And I was so sure the graduate trainee position I had gotten at a consulting firm wasn’t it.
I had studied for the exam. Put myself through stress for the back-to-back interviews. I was initially glad to announce to everyone that “I GOT THE JOB! 😭😭”
But on my own, away from everyone and their congratulations, I knew I didn’t want this job. I applied because that’s what you do after graduating with a degree in Economics and completing your N.Y.S.C year.
You apply for ‘professional’ jobs and when you get one, you rejoice sincerely. Till you discover there’s not much to rejoice about because you don’t want it. You don’t tell your parents you don’t think you’ll be happy with an office job where you have to work from 8am to 4pm and then have training sessions on some Saturdays too. Everybody already thinks you’re lazy which is why you didn’t want to work in the bank.
You don’t tell your friends or anyone about these worries you have. Because nobody will understand. And because they won’t understand, nobody will support your decision to secretly turn down the job, still move to a different city with no plan other than to lie and to write.
You don’t know what you’re doing. But your only goal is to be happy and this is the only way you see.
I’ve written this part in 2nd person — you — because I really like the dramatic effect of 2nd person. Also because I remembered this beautiful personal essay — The Protagonist Is Never in Control by Emily Fox Kaplan. Where she mentioned something about how changing I to You helps you share your trauma with the other person.
I have no trauma from this. I just wanted you to share in my thought process.
The middle:
The beginning was tough. I sometimes regretted my decision and even started applying for jobs again. I was broke a lot. I had to hustle a lot finding clients. I was also learning a lot about writing. I initially wrote only personal statements/statements of purpose for people applying to masters programs.
Fun fact: a former uni course mate was the first person to pay me to help write her personal statement. This was in January 2019. I like to think she was the reason I believed other people could pay me too. Especially because I never even asked her or was expecting to get paid.
If I remember clearly, I think I charged her N2,000 Naira cos I didn’t know what to ask for.
Eventually I also started writing business plans and proposals, joined a content writing group for a few months in 2019 where I was paid 1 Naira/per word. Because I wasn’t yet a fantastic content writer, I only got small jobs like 500 words. I still remember the first 1,000 word job I got.
Come 2020, I was done hustling. I hated it and didn’t want that anymore. Luckily, things started falling into place for me in this year.
- I was getting loads of jobs and just from referrals.
- I got a content writing job at a content marketing agency that I never started. Something with the company.
- I got another freelance content writing gig with a then upcoming agency and I remember the owner reaching out to me on Twitter/X. I don’t think this agency exists anymore cos the owner works as a developer now.
- I got a part-time gig with a consulting firm owned by someone on my TL then. She needed someone to handle her clients business writing needs.
- I hired writers cos I couldn’t handle the jobs by myself anymore and frankly, had outgrown a lot of it. I didn’t want to write these things anymore. I wanted to focus on new things.
So after Q1 of 2020, I stopped writing. My writers handled that. I started working on the things that were going to make me major money. Which was learning the writing skills required in the Tech industry — SEO, content marketing, and copywriting were my start. I also published a lot on my Medium.
My goal in this phase was to make so much money.
- I got my first international client in May 2020, a $50 job to review her website copy. She found me from a post I published here.
- I taught a paid SEO writing class to 3 people in August 2020 and they liked it.
- I wrote blog posts that were published in Better Marketing, The Startup, Bootcamp, etc.
- I landed 2 SEO content lead jobs at Halisi Consults and Heels and Tech in March 2021 from just a tweet. There was also a short unpaid consultation thing for a 3rd startup — in their defense I never asked to be paid.
- When I found out I could be making so much more money especially earning in dollars, I tweeted about wanting that and then got a lead for an SEO writing job at a SaaS startup.
- In June/July 2021, I started writing for Userpilot earning in dollars. My 3-months contract with Halisi Consults had ended by this time and I eventually ended the one with Heels and Tech.
- It was around this time too I found out about UX Writing (UXW) and started learning about it. I halted this though after I got my job at Userpilot.
- I liked working at Userpilot till I got bored of it a year later and decided it was time to move to UX Writing.
- My contract ended in June 2022.
- Got a new 4-months contract in August 2022 to write for Loom from September to December.
- Still getting paid well but I didn’t like working at Loom plus I didn’t really want to be a content writer anymore.
- It had been so difficult to get anything in UX Writing. I had studied so much. Written case studies and prepared portfolios. Acquired extra skills in UX Research and Conversation Design. Changed my LinkedIn bio so many times to reflect whatever I saw someone say worked . One time I was even positioning myself as a Freelance UX Writer for Web3! Web3 for goodness sake! What is even that?! I had/have literally no interest there, so why? I was chasing the money.
- In November 2022, I ‘gave up’ on UXW because I was tired. I was going to return to Content Writing. That didn’t last though. I tweeted these lyrics to Basketmouth and Oxlade’s ‘Myself’ the day I ‘gave up’.
- In January 2023, the founder of Heels and Tech reached out to me because she needed someone to oversee their research projects and also handle LinkedIn. She asked if I could, I was jobless and could learn, so I said yes and did that till March ending.
- April to October 2023 I relied on little jobs to pay the bills till I officially gave up in October because I was so tired.
- November 2023, the founder from 2021 who I did a little unpaid consulting gig for recommended me for a one-week (ended up being 2 weeks) UX Writing contract that paid me almost a million Naira. I charged them in dollars and so boldly because not only was I tired, I was convinced it wasn’t going to work out. My mindset was ‘you may as well reject me for something big.’ They ended up paying me the Naira equivalent for the day I charged them. I realize how I wouldn’t have gotten that much if I was still in the chasing phase. The fear and desperation would have made me charge way lesser.
- December 2023, I realized how much I didn’t want to be a UX Writer or even a writer in Tech anymore. None of it had any real meaning to me. A thing I suddenly desired. I was only in it for the money — which isn’t necessarily bad, but for me it was. It had started controlling me. My life had become a race to the next bag with no purpose/meaning. I was practically money’s bitch cos if she said blow me, Ebose would have unashamedly gone down on her fucking knees.
The voice that led into the wilderness:
May 23rd, 2022. Exactly a month after I turned 25. God told me something. This was the first of three things.
I knew it was from him and not my imagination because (1) I didn’t read my Bible enough to have ever known that Bible verse. Reason why I had to Google it. And (2) after I initially ignored it in the afternoon, the voice came back again in the middle of the night while I was watching tv in my room repeating “The blessings of the Lord maketh rich”.
You know those irritating blinking loud warning notices? That’s how it felt.
The blessing of the Lord — it makes (truly) rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (neither does toiling increase it). — Proverbs 10:22 AMPC version
It is the Lord’s blessing that brings wealth and no hard work can add to it. — Proverbs 10:22 ERV
A few times I have said how I understand why people give up on God or just don’t believe in him.
And a few times in 2023, I vividly remember saying ‘I don’t want to be your child anymore, do someone else. Those who don’t believe have peace.’
Cos to follow God is to become Christ-like and to become like Christ is to carry our heavy crosses and experience our painful crucifixion.
Thankfully, there’s a resurrection.
I’ve added this part to give context to my journey. A death to a god I had subconsciously taken. To show that God is in the detail and design. He knows what he’s doing.
Because (1) why did he let me chase and keep chasing and then finally brought me what I wanted, after I quit chasing and surrendered to him?
(2) in my toiling and chasing, I was learning new things. New things that led me to the things I am passionate about today. So that wasn’t a waste.
And (3), in my 3-months experience managing research at Heels and Tech last year, I was gathering necessary experience on how to handle research projects. From collecting data, creating surveys, cleaning data, and qualifying it. Skills I need today in this new phase of my career.
Now:
My first phase was driven by a pursuit of happiness.
My second phase was driven by a pursuit of money.
Both fantastic drivers. But for my third phase — now — I wanted to be driven by something more.
I wanted meaning and purpose and passion — a sense of connection to my work. And like I say: ‘something that will make my feet tingle’. (Cos I feel everything in my feet).
All this while I had admired people who had a certain level of passion for the work they did. Who seemed like they had a purpose. How it made them bright and happy and just so sure. What did that even feel like?
I remember when we were in Uni and my friends and I would have conversations about this — passion and purpose. And they will usually say something like ‘Ebose, yours is writing na.’ But it never felt right or made sense to me.
I’ve seen people who are passionate about writing, that’s not me. Writing has just always been a thing I knew how to do. My gift. My vehicle through life. But I don’t remember ever feeling passionate about it. It’s like sneezing or any other bodily function. It is a part of me. It is me.
I love writing. Writing is one of the ways I know and discover myself. Writing is necessary work. Writing is my origin story. And sometimes, it’s like the seed from which other things grow. In this case, my new found love and passion for design.
Before I continue, I want to state that I don’t think we’re only meant to have one passion. We will live different lives and be different people in our one life, it’s up to us to embrace each of those lives, each of those people, and each of their passions. For example, I believe I’m passionate about food. Or maybe I just like to eat? Anyway, this essay is about finding passion in my work, which I’ve never had till now.
Also, to reiterate, I am a writer. Always have been. Always will be. It’s one of the oldest callings on my life. The fact that today I don’t wake up with a burning passion for it will never take away the fact that I am a writer. It is my gift.
Sight:
In my last essay ‘2024: The Year I Love. My Year Of Yes’, I wrote this:
All I know is I turn 27 in exactly 3 months from today. Late 20s. A big girl. And when I get there, I want it to be a place that’s gloriously mine. I don’t want to live my life seeking survival at the expense of my dreams or joy. I don’t want life to just happen to me anymore, I also want to happen to life. I want to ask what I want, say yes to it, move towards it, and believe my God will too.
(I turn 27 next month on the 23rd of April).
I started this essay with a verse that says “it’s good to be alive.” Because today, seeing myself walk towards that wish I made in that essay, I know that it’s good to be alive. I know that in living — no matter how hard sometimes — we gradually but eventually and finally arrive at the place we want.
It was through UXW and learning all I could about it that I started learning about UX research too and realized I like it. It was this same way I found specific areas of design that I liked — accessibility and localization.
And in discovering these things, especially accessibility, it changed the way I looked at the world. I started noticing the inadequacies or inefficiencies in the design of everyday life. I knew I wanted to change this. I was clearly very obsessed. But I didn’t realize this because I was busy chasing what I thought was supposed to be.
In that last essay I also said something about how nothing is surprising about the things I want today. And that’s true because looking at old tweets and LinkedIn posts, these were the some of the things I talked about the most. And that clearly delighted me.
Wetin I find go Sokoto, bin dey my shokoto the whole time. So maybe if I let go and let God, stop clenching my mental/emotional fists around plans and dreams, he will lead me to what I truly want and what’s meant for me.
Funny, because the second word God sent me on June 1st, 2022 was a mind blowing explanation of Jeremiah 29:11. I even wrote a note about it and had the temerity to say ‘God taught me’ like I had learned or fully grasped it. LOL. I didn’t know he was preparing me ahead.
Passion and purpose:
In case it’s not yet clear: I’m currently passionate about making technology and experiences inclusive. Not only for people with disabilities but also for Africans.
This is where design comes in. Not just design but the equitable useful design of everyday life and experiences.
And not for digital products only but also physical. From the things we wear — I recently wondered how many totes or clothes with written words are Braille friendly. To the way we build homes, hotels, restaurants, roads, cities, airplanes, design AI tools. To even service experiences like how do deaf people hear announcements at airports or on flights? Can shopping at malls be improved? Getting a new card at the bank, and so much more.
I saw this Twitter thread last year on accessible designs in everyday Japan and I loved it so much I decided to learn Japanese this year. I can read and write Hiragana and Katakana and transcribe Katakana to English now, so… yeah.
I want to understand how our different cultures and socialization affect the ways we interact with products. Collect relative data and help build experiences that are more tailored, local, and useful to countries, especially African countries.
A few days ago I was reading this FastCompany interview with Marcus Engman, the Chief Creative Officer of IKEA. I enjoyed all of it, but there are two parts that delighted me so much, they not only made my feet tingle, they summarize what design means to me.
‘Yeah, but I’ve never seen design as a way of just making stuff. I’ve seen it as a way of actually taking on big problems and solving them.’
‘Whose problems are we solving? I think honestly that a lot of the efforts within the design and innovation community are not serving the many. It’s just solving problems for the very few that can afford to buy that solution. And that’s not really a solution for the world.’
I too see design as a way of solving some of the world’s problems. I too think that a lot of design is inequitable and inaccessible not only for people with disabilities but also people of low literacy and income levels, as well as marginalized groups.
That’s why my purpose in this new phase of my career is to empower innovative and equitable design through research and data. Globally, and especially in Africa.
I want to work on necessary and life improving designs. I want to work with governments, architects, product designers, industrial designers, and just about anyone building or designing.
And because I want to do so much and be in control of my vision, I finally decided to drop fear, say yes, and start DIAL Design.
Where DIAL is an acronym for:
- Data
- Inclusive research
- Accessibility
- Localization
All the things I love in design.
Introducing DIAL Design
In my last essay, I mentioned a ‘waka pass’ idea I had last year that came back this year and sat on my chest demanding acknowledgment.
It was an idea to start something of my own ‘instead of waiting and hoping that what I want exists somewhere’.
The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it. — James Baldwin
I fought with myself so long about this, cos:
- I’ve never built/run anything before, why do I suddenly think I can now?
- What if I fail?
- What if this is just a phase and after being so loud about it to everyone, I lose interest?
- What gives me the right as a physically abled person to say I want to work in accessibility?
- What if I’m never able to convince anyone to hire me? Why should they even? Aren’t there more experienced people?
And a few others I can’t remember now.
But on February 4th 2024, the name came to me. And I decided to embrace the thought.
And on February 9th 2024, I first shared about it in this LinkedIn post. Shocking myself cos I usually wait till things are perfect to share. With this though, I’ve started with what I have and know and I’m making tweaks on the way. It’s my way of beating fear.
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. — Ecclesiastes 11:4 TLB.
Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow — perhaps it all will. — Ecclesiastes 11:6 TLB.
DIAL Design is equity-centered and research-driven. And on a mission to design a world that works for everyone using inclusive research and data.
I’ve explained here what equity-centered design means and why it’s my preferred term for DIAL. I have a few and insightful posts up on the page and I’m definitely going to be doing more. So please follow DIAL Design on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for reading what I now think looks like the world’s longest cover letter.
Oh, and one last thing, the fact that I have a new refined purpose doesn’t mean I no longer care about happiness or money. I absolutely do care for both. Please don’t try to get me to work for free or cheap. I’m just not letting money control me like before. Like Elsa Majimbo tweeted: “I am an advocate for becoming rich”. Money matters. A lot.
So as Lucille Clifton wrote in her poem, Won’t You Celebrate With Me — where the title of this essay was borrowed:
‘won’t you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life?’
…..
‘come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.’
