FOR ALL THE AFROLICIOUS PEEPS

Re-tracking the journey of self discovery ..by Dotun Ikugbagbe

Dotun Ikugbagbe is an Engineering Student at Drexel University, Philadelphia and he developed on the article i earlier wrote and his article read thus:
In the spirit of my day and at this very moment, I am thinking of my journey in life thus far and where I dream to be in life. Twenty three years ago, a child was born and I grew up with desires and passion about what I want to be someday.
As friends and family from all over the world sends there greetings and wishes, I can only be grateful to God and appreciate the fact that I am alive today to grace my twenty third birthday. I also pray that I grace many more days in life. Throughout the night all I was thinking about is my identity and my role in the world today as an individual.
I thought of the best way to address the question: “Who am I?” Maybe this is infact the best time to think about something of such, but I figured that most students and young adults live through their lives without a sense of purpose.
I haven’t had the chance to really express myself fully with this regards before, therefore I decided that I will share my thoughts with my friends and put forth the same question out there to you guys to see if you really know who you are.
It is a matter of fact that we choose to identify ourselves based on race, color, geographic region, sexual orientation, gender, creed, and culture. Yet, it is more important to note that we are also defined by educational system, our country or the country that we live in, the current trends in the world, different life experiences, and our ambitions (i.e. what we hope to be someday).
In view of this, I choose not to limit my thinking to just race, my culture, or color. I like to further define who I am by my creed, life experiences, the kind of educational system with which I was brought up, and lastly the current trends of the world that we live in, which continues to shape every citizen of this world one way or the other.
Growing up in Nigeria, Africa was a remarkable life experience for me. At 13, I decided not to sit down and see where my future led, but rather to lead my future and also to be able to define who I really want to be.
I wanted to travel and immerse myself in the ‘real’ world.
Furthermore, I wanted to become a positive agent of change in everything I do because of the continued realities the world is facing. The motivation to lead my future comes from recognizing that disasters affect all countries, both rich and poor; therefore, young people must equip themselves with the necessary skills to respond effectively to these catastrophes.
This is an aspect that shapes my life a lot and also creates a responsibility for me. In other to be able to respond and affect people’s life positively, I must maintain an ongoing desire and patience to teach others and also have the capacity to learn from similar and also different perspectives.I see myself as an innovative and open-minded individual who is obligated to make the world a better place.
To achieve this goal, it is essential to prepare myself with a sound education and cultural understanding.
As an exchange student in Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, I developed my self-awareness and personal vision. These experiences provided the space and support to answer fundamental questions such as “What is important to me?” and “How do I want to contribute to the world?” I have clarified and expanded my ambitions through mentorship, personal vision exercises, and inspiring environments that challenged my view of the world and my role within it. By attending conferences in more than six countries, working abroad, and becoming immersed in diverse environments, I developed a stronger and more holistic view of the world, which enables me to more easily incorporate new perspectives, see interdependencies, and identify ways to positively impact any given situation.
Additionally, as a goal oriented person, I chose to major in Electrical Engineering because it deals with the question “why” and develops innovative technologies, thinking, and practice. Earning an engineering degree will be a head start in my development as a leader who is prepared to address the world’s complex problems.
This also defines who I am and in my quest of self discovery. As evidenced through my personal life, belief, and character, I am who I want to be regardless of my race, color, gender, or culture. I have a quest to develop myself everyday into what I want to be. My story and life are my vision and the power of my vision lives within me, in my day-to-day thoughts, activities, words, and actions.
I continue to make every effort to develop as an individual, increase my theoretical knowledge in a wide range of functional and soft skills, and to grasp every opportunity to put my vision into practice for the betterment of mankind.

posted by Femi Kuforiji @ 12:25 AM