As I see my brother-in-law, Yad, step further into the unknown. His whole move to Perth has made me reminisce so much of a similar path I took moving to London and getting on my own.

Fast-forward to after mom passing away and I did the whole ‘Boy Must Die‘ thing, I still had a long way to trudge and being a made man. By now I had made sure I moved out of family homes and living with friends. My next step would be even bigger by moving so far away from anyone I can rely on that I’d have no choice but to figure things out on my own. Songs either come to me exactly when I need them or to tell me I’m not alone and Jasmine Sullivan was my light and fuel.

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I was living in the rough part of Harrow with a lot of Roadman type folks hanging around and when my friends found out I was moving to Leyton they said it made Harrow look like Mayfair. Anyway I’ve never been one to listen to too much fear mongering and prefer to find out for myself. Also my bestie then got married and her hubby was kinda jealous of me hanging around. A pattern that repeated itself one too many times.

Jasmine’s song was constantly playing as I made my firm decision. I moved in with Genie the German landlady, who would go on to show me the joys of cycling to the city, into trains, to Kent where we volunteered a the Small World Festivals May and August and so much more.

This song, that move to Leyton, the worlds Genie opened me to and the eclectic housemates did something where I felt like I’ve only touched the surface and it lit a fire in me to explore life way past what any of peers thought of doing. Later I would have the courage to live in a part of Poland where even if people understood me they would not interact or shun me and I found a way to get by with all kinds of adversities. From finding friends to teaching corporate English and the science of bodybuilding and meal prep. Thanks to my Nigerian bestie there I was given the priviledge to be involved in the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights meeting at a Polish Ministry in Warsaw.

2012 09 ODIHR Meeting Polish Ministry of Interior, Police & African community reps – Warsaw, Poland

This also snowballed into uprooting my whole life to move to Australia and start from nearly scratch. I always used to tell people that since every move exceeded the previous one, the next stop would be the moon. Who knows.

Getting the privilege to watch the entitled baby of the family stand on his own two feet and move from strength to strenght and remembering my similar path has been a blessing. From times of conflict where I had to teach him about honouring others property, taking responsibility and ownership for mistakes to not ironing his clothes and get him to do it for himself were things I was had to go through myself. I felt a sense of personal pride the one time he invited me to his house and I saw someone not relying on handouts from family. Anyway journeys end, new ones begin so here’s to next chapters. All the best and Dream Big.

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Lyrics
Ohh
Packin’ up my shh… and I’m goin’ real far
Goin’ off to Hollywood to be a big star
It’s nothin’ here for me so I gotta move fast
And I’m gettin’ on the road and wont never look back

Hey…I gotta dream big
‘Cause when it happens, it’s gone happen real big
Yes I feel it, ohh
I gotta move fast
‘Cause when it happens, I can’t let it go past
Only get one chance
Ohh, ohh, ohh, ohh, ohh, ohh,

Can’t spend another second sittin’ on my momma’s couch
So if I don’t take a chance, I wont ever get out
Some people talk but never do, they just runnin’ they mouth
But I mean just what I say and I’m gone show what I’m about,

YeaI gotta dream big
‘Cause when it happens, it’s gone happen real big
Yes I feel it, ohh
I gotta move fast
‘Cause when it happens, I can’t let it go past
Only get one chance

When it feels like you been waitin’ all your life for this second
You’d be a fool to just let it pass, so go and get it
Don’t matter near or far, to the moon, the stars
I’ll do whatever I need to follow my dreams

I gotta dream big
‘Cause when it happens, it’s gone happen real big
Yes I feel it, ohh
I gotta move fast
‘Cause when it happens, I can’t let it go past
Only get one chance

I gotta dream big
‘Cause when it happens, it’s gone happen real big
Yes I feel it, ohh
I gotta move fast
‘Cause when it happens, I can’t let it go past
Only get one chance

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