Ediri Obor - 00:01 I think when I write, I want people to be able to feel free to feel what they're feeling and think what they're thinking. And so a lot of the feedback that I've gotten from people that read that stuff is like, man, I'm so glad you wrote that thing because I've been thinking about it or like, oh my God, fnally somebody said this thing. I was like, man, that's exactly me. You know, I've been through that. And so I feel like the effect I'm having is just I feel like I'm giving people the freedom to be authentic. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 00:37 Hey there. It's Ife Mikey Fata, the host of the Talent Next Door, the show that celebrates everyday people with extraordinary talent. And on the show today we have Ediri Obor, who is a writer, a blogger, a photographer and an all round amazing and talented young lady living in Toronto. We hope you enjoy the show. Ediri Obor - 00:59 Well, I'm Idiri, last name Obor. I live in Toronto. I'm a youngin in my early 20s. I work as a social media manager and I am a blogger, photographer, writer and I think all around content creator. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 01:18 That's great, that's fascinating. I think what strikes me the most when I look at your work is just how diverse they are and it's just how many mediums you've chosen to express yourself in. What would you say is the core message in all of the work that you do? Ediri Obor - 01:37 It would be my desire to create. Initially I thought it was just a desire to do something or just to be something. But the more I did, the different things that I did, whether it was just creating videos and then having a blog. Most times when I was doing all these things, I felt the need to know why I was doing what I was doing because it just made everything more meaningful. I felt like I could put all my energy into it. And so I would fnd myself questioning myself, like, why? Why are you doing this? What's the purpose behind this? And at some point I realized, or times where I wasn't sure or I was worried about how people would perceive what I put out there. Ediri Obor - 02:27 I just realized that I really want to do this thing, you know, like, it's not necessarily about people really just loving it or really appreciating it. It's just the fact that I want to do it. I just want to create this video, I want to write, I want to take this really good picture. So I think ultimately it's just the desire to create. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 02:50 Just take us, you know, just a time travel as to how the yearnings to create started and when you started giving it, when you started listening to it. Ediri Obor - 03:00 Okay, you know, I would take this all the way back to secondary school. Okay, So I had been a science student all my life. I was the mathematics girl, I was a further math girl. I was chemistry, biology and physics. That was me. But, you know, besides all these many things, there was English. And besides English, there was extracurricular activities. There was drama, there was debate, there was dance. All these other things that weren't necessarily sciency, but I really just enjoyed doing. And the thing is, I was good at them, you know. And besides, like I said, besides all the science and things, I really enjoyed doing them. Ediri Obor - 03:43 Going into senior school, I had a new English teacher and I always liked just basic, you know, just that girl that liked punctuations, you know, Like, I hated really things where, like if you didn't put full stop, where you suppose I was like, oh my God, like, what's going on here? Or if someone was reading out like say a passage like say you do in a regular classroom and they were just reading it, like they were just reading a basic line, I'm like, no. Like, what's the tone in this? Like, we need to be acting this thing out, you know? So I think I just started to notice all those things from there. But then, yeah, with this new English teacher, he just. Ediri Obor - 04:20 I think he pushed us in a different way, like as a class in general, you know, and he pushed us mostly when it came to writing, grammar. And he would ask us, I guess maybe it was just the way. Maybe it was his way of preparing us for our fnal exams, you know, and everything. But he would just come to class and be like, okay, write a story. And this would be the moral. Like, this would be the point of the story, but just come up with something and it'll be like a 15 minute exercise. It'll be like a 20 minute exercise or. And I would write. And I loved how easily it came to me. Like, I just loved the process. Ediri Obor - 05:06 Like, it was great, you know, when you just feel so great about it and besides somebody else reading your work, you just love reading your own stories. That was me. I was like, no, this thing is amazing. I also realized that I had to play on words. Like, I love just mixing words together, making them sound great. Like it was almost like, Jesus, what am I doing? You know, it felt really good. But I was still a science in it, you know, at the time. So English was just something that I really enjoyed. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 05:36 Did you did you go ahead? Did you follow that lead in or no? Ediri Obor - 05:40 Because I didn't feel like I could the understanding at the time. I don't know if it's still what it is now, but with university, it was like, oh, if you're a science student, then your options are doctor, engineer, you know, some form of. Whatever it is. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 05:57 I think it's six. Find it. Ediri Obor - 05:59 Right. So I tried. So at the time, I thought I said, okay, I wasn't gonna be a doctor. I was like, okay, what else do I want to do? Before I told my parents anything, I said, let me just see in my own calculation. Math, chemistry. I loved chemistry as well. Chemistry was one of my favorite subjects at the time. So I put together math, chemistry, and English. In some way that added up to chemical engineering for me. So I decided to go for chemical engineering. Yeah. So I was like, yeah, so we'll do chemical engineering. But the whole time I thought about doing chemical engineering. I think when I was in Nigeria, I decided to do chemical engineering. Okay, great. Ediri Obor - 06:41 By the time I came to Canada to do chemical engineering, I remember very well my frst year, actually, even before I came, I was already researching flm schools in Canada. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 06:52 So you. You were torn between. Ediri Obor - 06:56 Yeah. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 06:56 What you were preparing for and what you actually desire to do. Ediri Obor - 07:00 Yeah, I think at the time, I had ideas. You know, I was like, I want to dance. I think at the time, what I really had was, okay, yes, there's academics, but I wanted to know what I was good at because I had many interests. Dance, singing, and, you know, I really liked fghting and acting and doing all these things. So I wanted to explore them. I wanted to see which one stood out from all of them. So while I was preparing to come to school, I was like, okay, I'm gonna try this. You know, I'm gonna maybe go to this school to see what happens. I'm gonna go to this dance school to see what happens and just fgure things out. Ediri Obor - 07:35 I was in Ottawa at the time, and I get a Facebook message from a friend that I met in Nigeria through some program that I guess schools did at the time. She said, oh, I remember you told me that you wanted to act or that you had an interest in acting and that she had this friend who was casting for, like, a play or something like that, and that she was gonna go try out. That did I want to come. I was like, from nowhere, somebody's just like, do you want to come and try out? I was like, hell, yes, like, I'm gonna go. And it turned out to be John A.K. Yes. And I think it was this. I can't remember the name, but it was one of those short skits that were planning to do at the time. Ediri Obor - 08:23 And I feel like that was where I kind of started just getting involved in all of that. And the more I did it, I think the more I wanted to do it and the more I thought to myself, you got to fnd out what's going on that side of life. You know, you gotta like, what is there? What is there? What is there? What is that? And I still, during this whole period, I still had that whole idea of, what do you enjoy doing? And so I was trying to, like I said, fgure it out. What are you passionate about? At that time, the whole word passion now came into the picture as well. So I was like, this is it. And, you know, besides passion, what do you enjoy? It's also like, what am I good at? You know, like, is this it? Efe Mike-Ifeta - 09:03 And that takes for a lot of people. So what I fnd in my little time interacting with people is that this is typical, right? You have something that gnaws at your soul and keeps pulling at you. But there's this other part that this is how people should behave and this is how people should act, and this is how serious people conduct their lives. But what I fnd interesting is that very few people have the confdence. Not really confdence. Sometimes it's just right, like, just blind faith to saying if I jump, things would somehow work their way out. Ediri Obor - 09:40 And even if I fall, like, I'm. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 09:42 Gonna get up, yes, at some point, it's not the end of the world to fail if I try it, you know, but some people don't necessarily get to that point where they even fail. They just don't do it. So how did you summon the courage to say, hey, I am going to. I am going to do this? Ediri Obor - 10:03 It's very interesting thing about life. I don't know whether to say this is law of attraction, but it's like when you just start to think about something in particular. If you're trying to fgure out something, I feel like answers just start to pop up. Like things that feed in a way, it's either they discourage you from it or they push you towards it, but things just start to come. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 10:22 What you. What you. What you keep your mind on Expands. Ediri Obor - 10:26 Yes, it expands. And maybe you don't always necessarily choose, like I said, the direction that it expands in, but it was like the things that I was reading and the things that I was listening to and the people I was talking to. I feel like they fed my faith that this thing was possible. This thing was possible. This thing was possible. And I think one really big thing that, when I think about it now, that really did infuence me was the likes of Steve Jobs and every person really, that is doing great that did not necessarily go to school. I was like, come on, man, I'm not dumb to start with. And I know a lot of people are screaming education. A lot of people are screaming, oh, how about the amount of money you'll make when you're an engineer? Ediri Obor - 11:20 I'm like, if somebody who did not even smell this level of education can make it in life, cannot be sleeping under a bridge. I will not be poor. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 11:34 Guys, your chances are very good. Ediri Obor - 11:35 Yes, that was me. I was like. Like, I'm like, I'm not. Like, I'm. I'm okay, you know, like, if these people can do it, like, as much as we prize, you know, going to school and having whatever it is, I'm just like, if these people can do it, there's more to being successful in life or maybe being even just fnancially successful. There's more to that than just school. Like, it takes more than school to get there. And so that really, I think, really builds my confdence. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 12:07 I say life often tests your resolve once a decision has been made. How do you keep. Keep yourself in your passion? Ediri Obor - 12:19 I think one of the frst things is. I think one of the frst. I would say, like I said, I won't call them obstacles, but it's just people around. For example, family. Like, my mom did not want. Sorry. She didn't want me to not be a doctor. She was like, be a doctor for me. I'm like, nadi, I'm sorry. And then when I was going to switch to chemical engineering, she was like, don't. Don't do this. You know, don't do this. And then my uncles and everybody, honestly, 95% of the people. And so, you know what? You know, honestly, I felt like at the time, I felt like I had something. I'm not sure. Like I had something to prove, but it was like I. I had my own back. Ediri Obor - 13:03 Like, besides me having my back, I knew God had my back, but it was like, it's my life. Like, I think to myself that it's my life. Ultimately, I'm responsible for it if something breaks. So to start with, I remind myself that it's my life. So I don't worry about what anybody else is thinking because they're not paying my bills. And Then secondly, I think I just look at it as the journey, you know, I just look at it as, yeah, that's the journey. It's my journey. And whether something did not work or something worked, I would not know unless I try. I would not know unless I live it out. And so I just, I think I just remind myself that it's, it's the journey. It's. Ediri Obor - 13:50 It's the journey and you'll be alright, you know, wherever it is that you end up, like, you will be okay. And I still feel very confdent in the decision that I made because part of what also drove the decision was, I think, to be. To like, leave out my potential, you know, like, just to live out my potential. I really thought about it at the time. I was like, I don't want to be a mother. Like say 30 something years old and I'm seeing somebody else on TV and I look like, man, that could have been me. I was like, I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to be that person sitting down and thinking like that. Ediri Obor - 14:34 So the thought that at the end of it all, I honestly would have done my absolute best to be the best that I can be, to do the most that I can do. It makes me kind of just stay focused because I'm just like, that's what we're trying to do. So it doesn't matter what anybody thinks or what's going on. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 14:56 I hear you. No, that's fantastic. That's fantastic. Being able to articulate it in those words are. It's great. Tell us about your blog. I know you have done a bit of work in articulating some thoughts and messages close to your heart. Ediri Obor - 15:19 My frst blog post was about tomatoes and stew. But you know, now that I think about it though, that one post had also. It wasn't just me wanting to write something, it was also me also now liking the whole idea of blogging and just seeing people create that kind of content. Like, I just liked the whole idea at the time. My infuence with blogging was Shelly B. Shelly B. Enyang. She's a YouTuber, but she also had a blog. And the blog was not necessarily about just what she was doing on YouTube, about bitter and this, but her tone with, hey guys, I'm sharing this with you. And you know, this is something I'm passionate about. I just liked that whole fow. And so one day I was just cooking stew and the tomatoes look so good, honestly. No, seriously, the tomatoes look so Good. Ediri Obor - 16:12 And I think I'd seen food photography. People take pictures and stuff, they look so good. So I grabbed my camera, I was still using an automatic at the time, grabbed my camera. I like took pictures of the tomatoes before they were cut. I cut them in a way. And then I took pictures again. I was like, damn it, I'm creating something. And so at the end, I titled it Tomatoes. Oh, so red. Like, you know, delicious. And at the time I didn't have a blender, so I was like, okay, how to make a pot of stew without blending your tomatoes. Anyway, that was for his blog post. But going on, I think another post I had was which kind of confrmed this, me wanting to get other people's opinion and just kind of throwing things out there. Ediri Obor - 16:53 I read a church and the pastor said, if you're not married and you are a woman and you know, you reach the age or marriageable age, stand up. And in that moment I was just like, you weren't feeling it? First question was, am I of marriageable age? Because, you know, these days, now 21 year olds are getting married or you never know. And then I was now thinking, what? Why are we not praying for the guys, though? Like, what? What's actually going on, please? So it's only the women, the men who are looking for the women to marry. So you tell them to stand up. Let's pray for everybody. You know, it's not only the women are waiting for husbands. So, yeah. Ediri Obor - 17:37 And then I got home and I just felt the need to just write it out, you know, like, I could almost see the words in my head. I could see me starting it out. So I just wrote it out and put it up there. So just, I guess using the beginning of how the blog started to what the blog is now, it's for the most part, besides, I mean, what I'm trying to say is at the core of almost everything that I do on the blog, it's to start a conversation and to get people thinking about certain things and just to also engage with me on those topics. Ediri Obor - 18:17 So whether I'm writing about how sad I am because of something that I experienced, or I'm writing about some news that came up that had to do with a couple or whatever it is, I am asking a question, I'm giving my opinion and I am either leaving the foor open for people to also, like, think about it and let me know what they think, or I'm just encouraging people at the very end. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 18:51 So, yeah, what would you say you would want the blog to morph into. And would that be like, one of the core things that you're working on right now? Like I said at the top of the show, you do photography, you do a bit of modeling, you write as well. Would that be the one core thing out of all the stuff that you do? Ediri Obor - 19:15 So to answer that question, I would start here. So I like to listen to motivational videos and stuff like that on YouTube. And one day I was just listening to Oprah, and she said, you know, in the things that we're doing, we. I think she said we don't. We should not only just. We shouldn't just think about. We shouldn't think about success. We should think about being. I think she said signifcant. And the signifcant is, I think she meant that in terms of how we are affecting people with what we're doing. And so besides just creating and doing all these things, because I want to do it, the more I engage with people on social media, the more I think what effect is what I'm putting out there having in their life, you know, besides just them thinking? Efe Mike-Ifeta - 20:11 And what effect do you think that is? Ediri Obor - 20:13 From all the feedback that I've gotten and with the way I write, a lot of people just feel they're happy that somebody is talking about things that they've. They've been thinking about. They appreciate the openness of my writing. So me just being willing to. So I'm not. I'm not. I'm not writing and talking about, like, oh, this happened to this person. It's more like, this is what is going on with me. So I feel like in my writing as well, like, there's a certain level of vulnerability that I try to have. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 20:53 And would you also say relatability? Ediri Obor - 20:56 The people can relate to relatability as well. But I want people to be able to. I think when I write, I want people to be able to feel free to feel what they're feeling and think what they're thinking. And so a lot of the feedback that I've gotten from people that read that stuff is like, man, I'm so glad you wrote that thing, because I've been thinking about it or like, oh, my God, fnally somebody said this thing. I was like, man, that's exactly me. You know, I've been through that. And so I feel. I feel like the effect I'm having, it's just. I feel like I'm giving people the freedom to be authentic, you know, and that makes me feel really good. Besides giving people just the freedom to be authentic, Like I said, I try to encourage people as well. Ediri Obor - 21:49 So I feel like I'm pushing out some kind of encouragement just like, you know, and, you know, like I said, I talk about being young and I'm just like, guys, this is the life we're living. We're growing up. You know, embrace this struggle of growing up. But eventually we're going to be fne. You know, it's just a part of the struggle. So I feel like that's the effect I'm having on people. But to answer the previous question of what I wanted to morph into, my. The source of what I wanted to morph into is this desire to not just create because I want to create, but to also have whatever I'm creating be signifcant in some way to the lives of other people. And so I wanted to become. It's like a source. Ediri Obor - 22:41 When I say a source of encouragement, I think about things like in. I'm gonna say this in Danny tv, so it won't just be like a book. Maybe a book will come out of this. But I want to create different things such that say, for example, I interview a group of people who I feel like my audience can relate to that have sort of conquered something in their life to get to where they're going so that it can be some sort of inspiration to these people. You know, if I write something, I want to write from the perspective of not just me again, creating, but say we've now left this stage of, oh, you know, we're still young to men. How do we fgure out this part of marriage now? Because this is where we've gotten to. Ediri Obor - 23:28 So, yes, I just want it to always continually be. Or the driving force for what it's going to morph into will be helping people and yeah, having it be signifcant to their lives. Cool. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 23:43 Tell us about photography. Ediri Obor - 23:44 Oh, photography. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 23:49 I go on your page, I think I have my notifcation on Instagram or something and I follow you and these pictures pop up and I'm like, how is this even photography physically possible? Right? Like, because it's so good looking and it's just really well done. So how does. Is that something you just hobby your way through right now or is something you're looking to expand more into? Ediri Obor - 24:16 Okay, so photography, when I think about it, I'm just like, man, photography. To start with, photography wasn't something that I ever thought about doing. But then when I started thinking about just creating a wider audience for my blog through Instagram or Facebook or whatever, the need for good pictures and good content was there. And I Had my camera with me. And at the time, I don't even think that I was thinking about taking pictures by myself, but I was thinking, oh, my God, how am I going to book, you know, photographers to take my picture all the time? That's going to create a lag in how quickly I, you know, get my stuff out. Because sometimes it's like, sometimes some of the things I write are inspired by the pictures that I take. I look at. Ediri Obor - 25:09 I had this one post, I think I titled it now that this wasn't called Naked. It was underneath. Oh, Beneath your Beautiful. I didn't necessarily have any post in mind, but I just. That day I. Taking out my hair. I had my natural hair on and I felt so bare and I just. So taking the picture, it inspired me to just write about just us in our very core, you know, besides all the. Besides all the faces we try to put up, you know, just who we are when we take off all our. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 25:48 Masks, you know, just going forward, what do you see in your future? Ediri Obor - 25:55 So with the way I've kind of looked at things, I'm not able to do everything I want to do now. That's one, two. I have once again accepted the fact that it's a process. Things are not going to happen overnight. And also realizing that I can still be all the things that I want to be. I think I ultimately see myself producing. Yes, I do. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 26:33 For what medium, though? Like. Ediri Obor - 26:36 I don't know. I hope television is still around, but even if it's not television, it would be the web. So things like in the distant future, things that still, like, I really know I want to get to is so things like, I see all these, like, Ebony Life TV and, you know, the Nigerian movie industry is growing every day. I see a lot of potential there and a lot of possibilities. And I'm like, I could. I still can be a part of this. So I still want to be able to create web series like Skinny Girl in Transit, the one MTV Sugar does, which is so educative. But I see myself on the other side of the lens, you know, creating things like that. And on the side, being a business blogger. That's what I'm going to call myself now, being a business blogger. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 27:33 Okay. Ediri Obor - 27:33 And having photography be something that I do on the side as a passion. But, you know, once in a while that just brings in that extra income. But ultimately the acting, all of it, my central will be producing. It's all. I feel like it's all gonna come together and that will be like the one thing that I do in my life. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 27:57 Awesome. I couldn't think of a better way to end this. Ediri Obor - 28:01 Me too. Me, too. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 28:05 Thank you so much, Adira, for coming on the show. I've been thoroughly intrigued and enthralled by your story, so thank you very much. Ediri Obor - 28:13 Thank you for having me. I'm so, like, pumped. I'm, like, so glad I came on this because it's almost like I've answered questions that maybe I haven't thought about in a long while. Yay. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 28:25 Thank you. Ediri Obor - 28:26 Thank you so much. Oh, my God. Efe Mike-Ifeta - 28:30 And that's our show for today. We hope you had an amazing time just like we did. We have links to all of Adiri's work on our website, and you could also check her out on Instagram at Adiri's Underscore Corner and also at her blog@www.lifewithaderi.com. Until next time, stay blessed.