NEW CHAPTER - Keep Going

If you had told me five years ago that I would be embarking on a journey with Foster + Partners, I probably would use the phrase 'you must be bluffing.'

Yet today I find myself in that very position.

Life can throw many opportunities your way. I've never found it easy to decide on which one I should take by the scruff of the neck, let alone which one I should leave behind. The cliché term is to trust your gut and in a sense that is what I have done on most occasions.

So when I got the chance to exit my fence of fears, I took it at the last moment. The time had come to introduce myself to someone who had inspired countless aspiring black architects.

I had formulated a question in mind, as I weaved my way through a crowd of eagerly awaiting people. We stood face to face after exchanging greetings. After a slight pause, I picked up the courage to ask, 'If you could go back to give your younger self-advice, who had just won the RIBA Bronze award, what would you say?'. He first chuckled and then said that it would be hard to answer something that could never happen. Yet he still respected my question and answered honestly saying, 'I would say ... keep going and never look back'.

While this was something I had heard before, it resonated differently in that large lecture theatre. In retrospect, it made me question my mentality and outlook on my process. See, I have consistently thought about correcting my past mistakes, but now I wish to look forward. Learning from the challenges set before me and using them as lessons to teach other people along my journey.

For me, the real test begins now. I have to put my thoughts and ideas that I built over time into practice. There is little time to waste, and I have to go against the grain, work hard and be resiliently dedicated throughout.

I promise to hold the wise words from David Adjaye dearly.