Blessing • JUL 4, 2018

Welcome back, everybody! Firstly, I’d like to apologise for it has certainly been more than a month since the first “The Kettle’s boiled” article; let’s just say I had a pretty hectic exam season, but do not fear! I am back, pumped and ready to jump into things, so here on out expect a new article the beginning week of every month. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Up next is me! My name is Blessing Rose Ayenge. I am a student, blogger and future entrepreneur but right now, I’m also part of the Oarsome team as creative assistant. It actually all started off as work experience. Emily was a judge at the dragon’s-den-style Academy Awards that my school was participating in. I remember hearing the word ‘entrepreneur’ in her introduction and so, naturally, I had to meet her! I got her email, contacted her after a couple of weeks and before I knew it, I found myself doing a really cool project with and for her…and I’ve been doing even more cool projects with and for her ever since. I’ve done a variety of things from interviewing previous colleagues to doing a phone campaign, but my current project is creating and uploading content onto this website.

Here’s what I had to say when asked the following questions:

1. The Kettle's just boiled, what are you having?

Peppermint tea- it’s my current favourite

2. What's the single best thing about your job?

I’m not sure if as a university student you could say I have a job so I’m going to tweak that question a little bit. The best thing about being a student is becoming an expert in an area that I love.
There are, however, a couple of things I do on the side that you could describe as being a job. The first is being a student ambassador and the best thing about that is the different students I meet; from year 5 to year 13 they all bring something to the table, make me laugh and genuinely inspire me. The second is working for Emily. The best part about that is doing something that I love for work; writing!

3. Who has had the biggest impact on your career to date?

Emily Webb. That is a no-brainer. She gave me work experience, introduced me to cool and amazing new people, encouraged me to start my blog and has given me a part-time job! From the moment I met her she has given me advice whenever I needed it and saw things that I’d never really noticed myself and turned them into something of focus. She complimented my style of writing in the very first email I sent her and since then I have been doing a lot of writing, as well as other creative projects, for her. And she’s done all of that while being a friend too.

4. What is the best advice you've ever been given?

“The Queen poos too”. I’m sure you can see why this one has always stuck with me; as well as it being humorous, it reminds me that we’re all human. We all go through tough times, joyous times and embarrassing times. Similarly, we are all capable of doing whatever we want to do and we are all worth it.

5. Who is your inspiration?

That’s a two-part answer. The first are my parents. An obvious answer but a genuine one nonetheless. They have worked and still work incredibly hard, for themselves, for my family and for me. They came from Congo, built a whole new life and doing so while learning a whole new language. I hear the stories they tell me and I really see them as super-humans. And with learning German as part of my degree I know how hard it is to learn another language and for them to do that, I have the utmost respect and gratitude for them.
The second part to this answer is you, it’s everyone. Everyone inspires me. Whether it’s a story I read about online or a story I hear from a friend or simply the fashion sense that I see you wearing on the streets, everyone inspires me. There is never a time when I meet someone and talk to them and they don’t make me realise something or I don’t have a story to tell because of them. Everyone brings something to the table and that is a fact.

6. If you had to give someone an award, who would you choose and what award would it be?

The trickiest part of this question is choosing just one person! I did the rest of the interview, came back to this question and still didn’t know what to write but after a good 10 minutes, I’ve decided to name one and the 5 that I have in my head right now, I’m just going to tell them face-to-face (or by phone or text). If I was to give an award to one person right now, it would be my dad. He really is a super-hero and he makes everything ordinary extraordinary and I feel like he deserves to be recognised for all that he does.

7. What was the biggest challenge that you had to overcome?

Comparing myself to others. Honestly speaking, it’s still one that I tackle today but from a much better position than before.

8. What advice would you give to your younger-self?

I know you're afraid, but do it anyways.

9. What one thing would you like to be remembered for?

I have many dreams that I want to achieve but I would like to be remembered more for the type of woman I was rather than what I did.

10. Our goal is making hands happy, so, what makes your hands happy?

A good moisturised feel and painted nails!

To check out my blog, go onto www.potentialtoreality.co.uk or click here!

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