I did a hard thing, y’all. I wrote a board book.
There is something special about doing hard things. Doing a hard thing changes you in ways you don’t even realize. Especially the hard things that are more of a creative endeavor that others might consider optional and not something you have to do. However, for you it is something your heart yearns for you to do and, as such, it feels like something you must do.
The self-doubt that creeps in when you are doing an optional hard thing is an interesting one. Because the questions you start to ask yourself are this - “Why am I even doing this anyway?” Why am I sacrificing time I could be resting, spending with loved ones or doing other “fun” things? Why am I choosing this optional hard thing that does not immediately result in something tangible that I can point to as a return on investment of the time, effort, energy spent on it?
Why am I even doing this?
Here is what I have learned - the process of doing hard things lays another brick on the grit wall of your life that serves as proof that you are capable of doing hard things. It is what your mind points to to remind you that you can indeed do hard things because you have done hard things.
And when you do optional hard things? Phew. Game changer! Those things that you do because they bring you an immeasurable amount of joy that somehow, someway, in turn, births exponential measures of joy in others… building a piece of furniture from plain wood, creating a flower arrangement, training for a marathon, rock climbing, baking croissants from scratch the Parisian way when you could easily buy them from the amazing bakery down the street and so on and so forth. When you do those things, there is a different level of satisfaction in the result - you did the thing not because you had to but for the joy of it, despite the difficulty and the challenges it presented. That, is a different kind of grit you are building. You are telling yourself, “I will fight for you and your joy fiercely, even when it is hard. Especially when it is hard.” And that, my friends, that knowledge that you can commit to doing something hard when you don’t have to just because you want to is a special reward of its own.
When I signed the book deal for my first children’s book I’ll See You in Ijebu, my publisher Barefoot Books asked if I was interested in writing for their Our World series that features a day in the life of a young child in their home country. I had never written a board book and imagined it would be pretty easy. It’s a board book with limited text after all. How hard can it be?! So I said yes and was excited to be paired again with my I’ll See You in Ijebu illustrator and sis, Diana Ejaita.
Well, it was HARD. Trying to capture the diversity of Nigerians and Nigerian culture in the simplest text for the youngest of readers challenged me and stretched my creativity in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Tapping into my love of reading bedtime stories to my kids when they were very little and the simple things I loved about growing up in Nigeria was what I leaned on to pull this through.
And I am immensely proud of the final result. While writing a board book was not something I planned to do, I am glad I said yes to this unique opportunity to share Nigeria with the youngest of little readers. I am proud that one of their first books will be one that opens the world up to them, even if it is just a little bit more. I am proud that when they hear the names Aisha, Ade, Chike, or Aku, when they are old enough to be out in the world, it will not be for the first time. I am proud that this optional hard thing now exists in the world as a real, tangible thing that I hope will bring joy to so many. Holding it in my hand and flipping the pages, brings me so much joy as I marvel at this thing that once existed in my head and now exists out in the world, because I chose to do an optional hard thing.
I’m delighted to have Our World Nigeria join the Barefoot Books Our World series that features over 20 countries! Perfect for fans of Goodnight Moon and The Day You Begin. 😊 I hope it makes it into your bedtime rotation.
Our World Nigeria comes out into the world on March 17, but now available for pre-order everywhere books are sold.
I am so excited to share a tiny slice of Nigeria with your littles. Thank you for all your support! Now go do that optional hard thing your heart is yearning for you to do. ❤️