by Judith Kambia Obatusa
I believe that life is too short to live scared, I say that now with all assurance after living through a pandemic and battling anxiety for close to two years. It was a battle indeed but one from which my life metamorphized from the larva of self denigration into the chrysalis of self awareness and now I’ve been set free to fly like a butterfly into the essence of my being here on earth.
Unlike a butterfly however, human metamorphosis takes pain and discomfort. It also takes courage, the courage to do new things.
During the pandemic, I became a published author. All of my writing comes from my life experiences and from the age of nine I have been writing stories. In fact then, I used to write fictions from my imagination. As I experienced the chagrin and vagaries of life, I could no longer create characters from my imagination and my writing and my writing became more serious and many times sad. I could only write non-fiction, or so I thought.
However, as I’ve learnt, what you see as a limitation cannot stop you if you keep moving. Because of that first book, The Warrior Women Project anthology, I was privileged to be a guest on the Relatable Voice podcast along with my sister warrior and accomplished author, Pat Backley. From this began my journey into new parts of writing.
The host and producer of The Relatable Voice podcast, Lucia Matuonto, happened to be a beautiful woman with a beautiful heart and we became friends.
Fast forward to the unlocking of lockdowns in early 2022 and Lucia said, “People need some goodness in their lives as we emerge from the dark days of the pandemic. I will like to invite guests of The Relatable Voice podcast to join me in writing an anthology of stories that make people smile.” I did not think that I had the ability to write stories that make people smile but I am always happy and honoured when I can help my friend, so I said “Yes” with all of my heart but quite unsure of how to do it.
Without any previous experiencing writing humour, I took up the gauntlet and had my first crack at writing humorous nonfiction. I wrote my stories, A Mother’s Plan for World Domination and Nobody Loves Me, with a smile on my face and joy in my heart because I was doing something new and something good, I was writing stories that will make others smile. I still had me in it but now I saw the humour in those challenging moments. It was an “Eureka!” moment for me. Eureka! JKO can write a story that will make others smile.
Along with my friend and agent provocateur, Pat Backley, I edited the book with Lucia and with every story I went through, I smiled wider.
The Relatable Voices anthology has opened a whole new world of possibilities for me in my writing. I see some fiction in my future. I can do new things!
About the author
Judith Kambia Obatusa
Judith Kambia Obatusa is the host of Messy Can’t Stop Her, a podcast where she shares the stories of women’s resilience through chaos, crisis and the challenges of life.
As a Nigerian-Canadian mother to four great nations, Judith “shamelessly” shares her personal struggles with domestic violence and the child welfare system in Canada to de-stigmatize immigrant acculturation challenges and empower other migrants to succeed in their promised land.
Judith is a lover of the written and spoken word.
She refers to herself as the consummate oversharer and audaciously shares her rambling musings with all and sundry on her Blog (https://judithmusing.blogspot.com/), Medium and various published works. @judithobatusa
Relatable Voices anthology is available on Amazon.