By Fatima Dauda Kurfi
Gems on the Road…
My mother always told me that there is always one way a woman can be truly safe in this world; and that is to be fiercely, inarguably, and masterfully talented. -Marie Mutsuki Mockett
Talents are God’s gift and they are described as natural aptitude or skills at something. Most of us are born with one or more talents, but most people never identify or discover their talents. Since every child is born talented it is important to identify and discover your child talents early on and help them achieve their potentials.
We are all born with the propensity to achieve, succeed and thrive in our endeavors; we all have certain skills, talents that can be shaped, nurtured and encouraged. The human species has a vast number of these talents, skills, it remains a wonder as to how a person can reach the pinnacle of perfection of their talents, while others remain simply mediocre.
However, mentoring, coaching, home environment, parents support, all play a vital role in success. Having a good mentor, observing excellent role models, being provided with superlative tutoring and direct instruction also play a vital role in your journey to success.
Everyone has a story to tell, some about their relationship, career choice, love stories, success stories and failures. But as for me, my story is about my personal life that will serve as a lesson to others in life. My dream is to become a writer, my ambition is to study Mass Communication, and my career choice is to become a successful journalist.
Each and every child is special and unique; it is the parents job to nurture and discover their childs talents. It is the duty of every parent to find the time to discover and identify what makes their child unique and makes them special.
Every child has a combination of strengths and talents; parents can identify what this talent or strengths is for their child. Parents can easily identify child talents by paying attention to the kind of toys they prepare to play with or the questions they often ask. When I was a child I usually ask my parents how newscasters cast news without reading it. When I was a child I thought the newscasters memorised the news before appearing on the screen; not until I was later growing up did I learn that newscasters used teleprompter to cast news.
Other children ask questions like: what did doctors use to produce medicine? Some children make suggestions like dancing and singing should be added to their schools curriculum activities. From there, parents can understand their child is interested in singing. Right there, you can figure out where your child’s main focus is and from there you can start to nurture your child’s talents and also build their self-esteem by praising the effort of your child.
When I was a child whenever I wrote a few lines of a poem or a short story, my parents will look at it and say: Wow! What a beautiful write up with so much passion and talents in it. So, parents can build the self-esteem of their children by praising every piece of idea they create. And also show them that they really worked hard to put that idea into work, so that your child will know that it takes hard work to develop their talents.
When we praise a childs performance, we are telling them that status is the name of the game; when children are praised, they become inclined to take risks, and they wont be afraid to make mistakes and they will always learn from their mistakes.
Parents should know that they have a huge and big role to play in nurturing their child talents, because they are the first gem of every child. When you fully understand your child’s focus and talents then you are better positioned to provide resources to cultivate your childs interest.
When my mother noticed that I was interested in writing and reading books, every week she took me to the States library to find books that will improve my writing skills and to read books of the Nigerian famous writers such as Chinua Achebe. She also got me videos of writers and allowed me to watch their stories and interviews in order to observe them. She always used to finds the activities that I will engage in and learn about writing. She used to tell me that parents are the child’s best advocate to help them succeed.
By understanding your childs strengths you can help them grow and develop their talents or challenges when needed. Each child is unique and talented. Some people believes that Gems are rare and some believe Gems are not real, but if you ask me I will tell you that my parents are my first Gems! Those people are my role model; I didnt just wake up one day with the feeling that I want to start writing but I gradually developed the interest, with my fathers help.
My dad usually buys newspapers every morning and the first thing he did after reading them was to call me and ask me to read it. Sometimes he will ask me to read for him and that was how I started developing interest in writing and also improved on my vocabulary. I could recall that was the reason why I didnt face any difficulties when I was enrolled into primary school. I could speak fluently and I could write very well.
My writing skills started to improve when I started writing short story books when I was in Primary 4. There was a time I watched a Nigerian movie, I cant remember the exact title of the movie, but I recall the movie was about a wicked stepmother that was torturing her step-child. After watching the movie, I sat down alone and I started thinking, then I said to myself: this is not how the movie is supposed to end. I then took my pen and a book and started writing a story similar to the movie I just watched. I wrote the book in a drama form like a screenplay and I gave it a title: Return of the Devil.
I became a member of a drama and press club in my primary school and my teacher at one time asked us to produce a play and play out the drama. Everyone got thinking as to which drama to act out and that was when I came up with the short drama I had earlier written in my book; to my surprise, the teacher was very happy with the story; we shared the characters and thereafter acted out the Return of the Devil.
In addition, I developed my speaking skills by representing my school in debates and quiz programmes. I’m that kind of girl that doesnt have a phobia when it comes to public speaking, and for that reason my school always recommended me whenever it comes to delivering speeches.
To be continued
