My Style Camera Action Journey

A Journey to Freedom

This is the story of a Working- class Lagos girl with big dreams of changing her world and impacting the lives of others. She's not your everyday chick. She's the passion chaser with a white-collar job. 

Oh no it's 6:40 a.m. Gosh! I over slept again. Argh!! I need to get myself out of this house before 7:00 a.m. or I’d be so late.

Didi rushes out the door after a 5 minute bath, and a 10 minute dress up. She rushes into her car and is off to work. Not long after she's stuck in traffic, and is staring at her wind-screen, wishing she could fly over the traffic with her car. Wow! That traffic, at the Ajah roundabout. At this point, she's 5 minutes away from her office, but it feels like she's 10 hours away. 

She has considered abandoning her car and walking down, her office is just a stone throw away anyway. That won't work since she still needs the car. Now she's officially late and grumpy, she looks downcast as she walks into the office at 7:45am, when office call time is 7:30 latest.

Her boss is staring at her like 'Today Again’. 

My drama filled life. This is what happens, when you work two Jobs, in Lagos. You get paid for one and you constantly work hard to build the other.

She gets to work, with a dozen things on her mind. Almost thinking out loud, she’s playing her plans in her head. It’s a fresh start this New Year (2016), my long to-do list is endless. How in the world am I going to get all this done, while working my 9-5 job (or you mean 9-7 job and sometimes 9-5 on the weekends).

Hmm! You know how your blogging career crashed when you thought you could do it all?

Oh well! That doesn’t matter “When there is a will, there is a way” Yes she had blogged about young talented people, carving a niche for themselves in the creative industry. She wasn’t frequent with posting on her blog, she never promoted the blog, and she sometimes forgot she had a blog. I wonder how she expected people to know about it.

Now it’s time to get this thing out once more. Didi the workaholic, so what’s your plan for the next Aprilseed initiative? What about the Event that keeps popping up in your head, can you finally get it out there? You wouldn’t be the only one; people come up with beautiful ideas in Lagos, every other day.

They say make the Vision clear and run with it, you’ve spoken to your sister about this a million times, and she is 100% supportive.

You can do this Didi, you can do this. With a good plan you can.

All these questions and answers sef, you see you like to over-think things, just host this fashion event and get it over with. A lot of budding fashion-entrepreneurs need this. Nigeria needs this… Oh stop the save the world speech and just get it done.

She calls up her friend Rose; she answers with a shout “Didi”… whats up! Didi loves the excitement in her voice, she replies Rose how far na? What about our discussion the other day, can we meet up this weekend at our usual Pizza spot? We need to prepare the proposal. Rose replies with a Yes, sure we can.

Fast forward to Sunday, Didi and Rose are having lunch. Rose is the friend who always has the wild ideas and a critic point of view about everything. While they discuss about Didi’s project, Rose is amazed about the idea and is wondering why Didi will want to put in so much work into an event. She asks, are you now an Event planner? What did you say the name of the project is again? Didi replies I’d use the name of my blog, “What we Love” What a boring name for an event, Rose replies in her usual critic way. Think of something else abeg. Didi decides to brainstorm for a name later in the week.

Rose is still concerned, so she had to ask, “This particular group of people you are reaching out to, what do you have to offer them? Didi takes a long breath and replies; I don’t have to have what to offer, it is a platform. All I need to do is get people who have something to offer to feed those who need what they have.

The project without a name has a purpose. Allow me serve it to you in my next post.

P.S 

Dear Woman you are special, strong, and brave, you are good at multi-tasking, and you’re purposeful. Don’t let anybody tell you the opposite. Just do you.

Edidiong Eyire is a Banker; she is also the founder of the April seed Company. Aprilseed is a Youth Empowermentorganization. Style Camera Action is an initiative of Aprilseed.

To connect follow her on instagram- @eddy_eyire and @stylecameration for updates on the next project.

Visit www.aprilseed.com email- info@aprilseed.com for more information.

April Seed Vision

I won't say I've been gone for so long, and I haven't posted for decades...WWLTD blog will always be known for my first step, my baby step in putting my thoughts on paper. 

I didn't go away, I was always here you know, in the spirit. Lol.. I went out to work hard on Aprilseed. Good things don't come easy. You can say that a million times because when Aprilseed was founded in the Year 2014. I didn't know I'd tell a story like this in 2017.

This Blog is my first born but Aprilseed is my second born(My first son)

I was born in the month of April, its not hard to understand where the word April came from. A unique being born to impact her world. Made in Gods own image. Made to perfection, sculpted in pure awesomeness.. now I'm toasting myself. But that's how God sees us. 

Aprilseed was founded to showcase young talents in the Creative industry and it has lived up to its expectation.

Let me tell you about Aprilseeds first initiative, The Style Camera Action Event held on Oct 22nd 2016. 

SCA 2016 showcased Fashion entrepreneurs in 4 categories : Make-up Artistes, Photographers, Fashion bloggers and Stylists.

This event held at The Silverbird Galleria, Ahmadu Bello way, V.I Lagos.

It was full of fun and was a unique opportunity for the contestants. 

Four groups consisting of Four categories contested for the Star Prize.

The contestants had Live make-over sessions on stage with judges observing and judging their work. 

We love Oct 22nd 2016 and can't wait for the next edition this year. 

This was a great experience and I had to put this down here to explain why I haven't blogged in forever. If this can pass as a good excuse.

These are my favorite photos of the event if you ask me.. checkout www.aprilseed.com for more.

Best Life Ever

A life of fulfillment is the best life anyone can ask for. Sitting here and typing this words, I ask myself 'What really makes a person fulfilled'? Is it the endless hours of working a 9 to 5 job with so much reward or endless hours of doing what you are really passionate about, without even getting a good reward. I'd pick the second option anytime.

I definitely find doing what I love fun. This brings me to the questions; What do you really love? What would you do in your next life? What can you wake up at midnight to do without feeling uncormfortable or frustrated. Then you must really love that thing. To the younger folks reading this, the best advice you can get for free is to make sure you spend quality time training yourself to be better at what you are passionate about. You may live a life of regret if you are too laid back thinking everything would automatically work for your good. Working hard at your skills would eventually pay. Whether it's a game, an instrument, an art or any skill at all, as far as you find it interesting then it's totally worth it.

Despite the fact that being educated is extremely important, always find out what you can do that'll set you apart from others. This would give you direction on the part of your destiny. 

Everyone has that special gift they can be identified with. Your passion lies within your gift. 

I promise you, you'll never regret giving your passion your best shot because it would eventually be rewarding in the end. The endless hours would seem like you are playing a video game in the history of life, because there is no better way to live life than to do what you truelly love.

Just My Thoughts

5 Tips You Need to Build a Good Network

Building a network is a good way to grow in every area of life. You'd always need people, and when I mean people, I mean the right people. 

How do you build your network of creative and influential people? 

Here are 5 quick tips

1. Try to meet 5 new people at every gathering, party and event: When you meet a new person always find an area of interest where you have same views, that way you can gain from each other.

2. Build your Brand: Always bear in mind that your a special brand. You are unique and there are special qualities you have that others don't, so sell yourself at every chance you get.

3. Attend functions and gatherings where you can connect with like minds: You must surround yourself with people in your industry. People that think and function like you do.

4. Make sure you keep contacts: Keeping contacts and information should be a habit. You'll never know when you need a helping hand.

5. Smile: You attract the best people when you smile. This is the best tip and one that I need to work on as well. Smile before you get into a room, smile before starting a conversation, smile while having the conversation. Smile at all times. It's a Magic Gate-pass.

Opportunity and Preperation

This is one Great phrase that's been on my mind. You have one chance at a great opportunity, and two options. It's either you Win or Fail. 

Get ready for what's before you. You never know when opportunity might come knocking. Put in great hours of practice. Make out time to learn and gain knowledge. You have a greater chance at your opponent when you are ready.

Most times we are relaxed, hoping and waiting for a miracle. The thing is a miracle won't happen if you are not prepared to receive it.

With great expectations, work with courage and discipline. Be persistent in acquiring skills and knowledge.

I love the saying,

“Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity”-Henry Hartman

Go get your dreams but make sure your are not too late. Make sure you gave it your very best and even if you had to loose, the reason is justified. You did your best anyway.

The Best is yet to come. 

Just my thoughts on paper.

Big Win at CommonWealth Games

Congrats to Blessing Okagbare for making us proud at The Commonwealth Games.
In the final of the Womens 100 metre race, the 25 year old won the race beating Jamaica's Veronica Campbell Brown who came second.
The fastest woman in CommonWealth won the race in 10.85 sec. She stands out with her bright blonde hair. See pic below

Great Story of Eniola

A 23 year old who makes importing look easy. He Started his importing business with N10,450 from home.
He makes N250,000 profit monthly by importing and selling Mobile phones, Accessories and jewelries.
The most interesting part of this story is that he was just a secondary school product from Akure and started this business with little capital.
Capital was his initial challenge. He had to lend from his mum to start the business.
Being a good entrepreneur is all about determination, discipline and persistence.
Check out cheapimportationsecret.com for more details.

New and Fresh-'UBA Next Gen Account'

A Brilliant idea from the UBA group for the younger generation. The UBA Next Generation Account has been introduced for teenagers and young adults.
This should encourage young people to develop a saving habit at early stages in life.
Check out pictures from the launch at Intercontinental Hotel on Monday, with young artistes such as Yemi Alade and Sean tizzle performing and wowing the crowd

Aint Nobody Got Time..

Time is not to be wasted. Get your mind ticking like a clock. The common fact about time is that it never waits. So you've got to do what you've got to do.
Someone once told me in a Time Management class 'Every year you're going to be wishing you where a year younger and did what you had to do last year'. Its totally true, at least for most adults.
Live for every moment, seize every opportunity. Make it all worth it, because you'll never get it back.
Time is just as precious as money. Make plans, follow them through. Take every given day seriously because its such a blessing.
This year marks the birth of The AprilSeed Talent Management group. My dream is to build dreams, and make them work. I never say never. If I fail, I only keep trying.
AprilSeed is all about identifying and nurturing young peoples talents. I believe that the time factor is important in identifying people's talents. The earlier the better.  The earlier an individual is discovered, the more positive and productive they would be.
A child grows to understand what he/she is made for. Guidiance just makes self discovery better. We can be more productive people, with more productive youth if we start early.
God Loves me so much, he made me a blessing.
Stay Blessed.

A World With No Problems

Imagine a world with no problems. A world where people have no major issues. A world without aspiration, without anything to challenge you or trigger the fire in you.
The worlds greatest men are birth in times of great challenges.  This is why a problem should be looked at from a positive perspective. A problem only gives you a chance to come up with a solution and develop more solutions for people with similar problems.
Problems also birth ideas. Only a really troubled person who has been so caught up with the issues of life, would birth the worlds lasting solution. Innovative people are problem solvers.
For several years I asked myself 'What can you do to make living life better'? and I answered, anything you do that touches lifes, that improves the well being of people, is worth doing.
I often think of Great men who changed peoples lives through their inventions, productions and Creativity. The impact of Mark Zuckerberg in our generation, would always be felt.
I know so many people have not been given the opportunity to express their true potential. Theres no limit to what a person can do if given the chance or opportunity to do what they know best. If not given an opportunity, then by all means create one.

I've been silent for a while, I just popped in to drop my thoughts. I'd hopefully be more active with my projects in progress.
Remember. ..Impossible is Nothing. Keep winning.

WE LOVE.. 'GLAM LABEL'

Alafe adebimpe is a young and talented teen who is passionate about fashion. Whatelove, loves fashionable youth.

Bimpe is the creative Director of Glam Label. She fell in love with fashion when she was an intern at a fashion house. In her own words 'I started with tacking buttons,sequins and all other handwork. Its been over a year now and i'm loving every bit of it,every bit fashion has got to offer.'

She spends time sewing niece pieces and exploring fashion. She has a passion for sewing and designing, and she's determined to work hard at it.
In the next five years, she can see her fashion line going international,and winning awards.. Yes! She can'

Check out pictures of her creative designs.

Keep it up Glam Label...We Love you.

Follow @GlamLabel on twitter
To order trendy ankara bags,bangles,earrings,ipad case,hair accessories,slippers,Ankara frames,female apparels,pillows,neck piece... She makes EVERYTHING and ANYTHING!!!

Your Life your Rules

Your life is a journey. You pick what you need and drop what you don't need while on your way.
You owe nobody anything, but you owe yourself a chance to succeed. You have the choice of failure and the choice of success. If you succeed you'll end up blessed and lucky. On the other hand, if you fail, you'll probably end up frustrated.
You call the shots. You have the say. No one else really does, not even those who brought you into the world. God has the ultimate plan, but you are the major orchestrator.
Be careful of the decisions you make, but don't be too careful. Beware of wrong company and the friends you keep, but don't be too choosey. Check the information and news you receive but don't be too picky. Make sure you are where you ought to be and not in the wrong place with the wrong crowd, but don't be too paranoid.
Be who you are and what God wants you to be.
You can never take back the moments past, you can never take back experiences and words said. You can never take back time past. Be sure your life is meaningful and you have a Great story to tell.
When you part make sure good songs would be sang about your life.
BE YOU...BUT BE SMART

MEET TEMATINZ

Omoniyegha Tema Tinzu(a.k.a TEMATINZ) is my first talented feature on my blog.
I'm happy to introduce to you the multi-talented young man. A student of University of Lagos Nigeria, who caught my attention with his unique and beautiful jewelry designs.
The arts behind this designs is amazing and really fashionable. You can wear this pieces on your traditional attires as well as your casual attires. It all depends on how fashionable you want to be. You can try them out however way you want. TEMATINZ has got it all figured out with his designs.

To get in touch with him you can follow him on twitter-@tematinz, same as on Instagram.
Here as some of his designs.

MENTOR THE YOUTH

The youth in our country need to be mentored. They need people to look up to. They need guidance and direction. There are no easily accessible mentors to help them achieve their Dreams. They end up giving up on them. There is a saying 'your destiny is in your hands'  you don't have to be shown how to get to ur destiny. But guess what? We would have more focused people if  we develop platforms to mentor our youth.
We need to take the responsibility of helping each other grow.
Did you know that you can benefit from being a mentor to someone? Mentoring has been proven to improve health, give you a sense of belonging and purpose, create a feeling of achievement and makes you feel appreciated. People who mentor others at the workplace are likely to grow fast in the organization.
Students who are being mentored are likely not to drop out of school, do drugs, and depend on others. It builds self esteem in the youth, creates a sense of direction and focus. It also helps them maintain healthier relationships and encourages confident and bold attitude to life.
To maintain healthy mentor-mentee relationships,  you would need to build your network, develop new skills, make new friends, love yourself, be willing to learn from people, be in tune with the younger generation and the things happening around you.

THE CREATIVE YOU

When you do something unique and creative, you are bound to stand out.
Creating something just makes you feel like you have a purpose. You need to search within and open your inner-eyes wider to bring the best you can, into being creative.You would need to add color and strength to the pattern of thought you choose.
In any field you find yourself practicing, make it  a duty to be creative and trust me you'll be recognised within the twinkle of the eye.
I have tried to be creative, its probably not perfect yet, but if you have ideas you could pass them on *smiling*.
I definitely love creativity it warms up my heart.
I see a lot of creative youths this days that totally bring home their ideas and give insights to their piece of works and it's totally impressive.
I like to think of our youths as our confidence and the future of our dream-nation and this excites me.
If you have great ideas which you'll like to share on this blog, please don't hesitate to e-mail whatwelove7@gmail.com

Discovering your Talent

No doubt, people get confused about what they want in life and can't figure out how to get there. Especially in our community where young people get discouraged everyday from pursuing their real passion and interests. They are not enough resources and information and people end up running around in circles and not fulfilling destiny.
I remeber when i was a teen and someone drove up to me and told me i was really pretty and asked if i'd like to model. I thought it was funny, but i later gave it a thought and decided to take it seriously, even though i didn't get the job, i became  interested in it but i got duped on my first personal try and subsequently it became harder for me because i never got a good agent and never got a good job even though i loved it. How sad, but all hope is not lost.
I want this to be an avenue for young people to interact and for pictures of aspiring talents to be uploaded here, and given opportunities to grow in their fields.
WWLTD is on the look for great talents, and would not stop at that, but would also like to help connect them on this platform to mentors and employees who could train and develop them to becoming what they want to be.
Help make this happen. If you have teens or young adults at home that have interests and need to be encouraged, contact us by sending an e-mail to whatwelove7@gmail.com and they'll have no regrets.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I have always wanted to encourage people, to be recognised for something bigger than myself and for being a part of  something creative.
Living in my country, I've found out that those who succeed take bold steps and do not shy away from responsibilities, they are not afraid to make mistakes but would rather learn from it and move a step further.
I also observed that we lack the ability to uplift others but raher focus on ourselves. This medium would give us a chance to appreciate the younger generation and mentor them into becoming what they trully want to be.
WWLTD is interested in young talents and seeks to help  them focus on being happy and productive in their chosen fields, because truelly 'If you do what you love, you'll llove what you do'.
Send pictures of what you can create or love doing to whatwelove7@gmail.com and it would be uploaded on this blog.

Who Says Your Dreams are Silly

Nobody believes in you, until you actualise your Dreams. The journey always seems tough but you must first of all believe that you can do it and that inner strength would keep you going. Believing in yourself would also give you the courage to overcome the storms.
If you desire to do great in anything you put your mind to do, be it Fashion, Music, Acting, Technology, Poetry and so on, just stay focused and love what you do.

Whatwelove seeks to encourage young people from their teenage years to indulge in what they love, and not just what people around want from them. Join in this course by encouraging those creative minds you know to send pictures or videos of what they can do or love doing to whatwelove7@gmail.com or follow me on twitter- @whatwelove7. Pictures of their great ideas would be uploaded on this blog for people to view and encourage their work.

FOCUS

Focus on your future, let go of your past and embrace the present. Once you are given an opportunity, hold on to it and dont let it go.
When your are young, any opportunity given to you is considered a great chance and a stepping stone.
Teenagers need to know that life with purpose is time well spent.
Spend time trying to figure out the next step to take in life.
There are always challenges people face on the path to success, but you must not focus on the challenges, finding a way out of those challenges would strengthen you. This means that you must not make excuses for failure.
Staying focused is compulsory for anyone who wants to be successful.

YOU ARE YOUR OWN INSPIRATION

Having a brand new idea comes from the need to inspire yourself. Never wait to be told who you are and several reasons why you can not be who you want to be.
As I type this note, I am thinking how bright the future of our country could be, if each one of the younger generation chooses to be better at what they want to do.
Listen to the inner -mind inside you that says you can do better than what you can do today.
The need to focus on building yourself comes from the inner desire to build a great future.
When you have a great idea and a great dream dont let it die. Do it. Make it fun and you'll never regret it.
The aim of What we Love is to build more focused Nigerian youths. To change our sad stories to great stories.