For Vanilla Monyei, life after school came with its fair share of ups and downs, adulthood struggles and crazy crossroads. In this edition of Portraits of the City, she discusses the detours, surviving as a young adult, choosing a career path and the moments of breakthrough that shaped her creative career in Ibadan.
What’s your connection with Ibadan?
Service. I came here due to my NYSC posting. Aside from that, maybe having one or two friends.
What’s your typical daily routine?
I work a 9 to 5 job. I wake up, eat if I can, and head to work, and on days I can’t eat, I leave for work like that. When I get back, I eat if I can, and if I can’t, I go to sleep like that, and the cycle continues each day. On weekends, I try as much as possible to rest and stay in.
Tell us a bit about life as an undergraduate.
My life as an undergraduate was fun outside the school demands. I was an extrovert, and I had an amazing social life. I was and still am a social butterfly. School, well, not so much, but I tried my best (laughs).
After you graduated from the University, what were those first few months or years like?
Omo, after I graduated from the university, for the first few months, I felt like I didn’t have a purpose, and I was beating myself up. It was like reality dawned on me all of a sudden that “oh, I’m actually done with school”, and I promise you, the reality didn’t even set in after school, as much as it did after NYSC. That period after school was pretty hard because there was no more pocket money and food from home. I had to figure out life by myself. It was a few months of confusion because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I would always ask my friends for help. It was crazy.
Did you ever feel pressured to work with your Mass Communication degree, or were you always open to trying something different?
Before and after 2022, when I graduated, I used to feel pressured to work with my Mass Communication degree. But right now, I’m not interested anymore. Back in school, I thought about it; however, after school, I wasn’t looking forward to working with a radio station or any sort of PR role. I just wasn’t interested. I was open to trying something different, and yes, content creation has a connection with my degree, but it wasn’t exactly what Mass Communication entailed.
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How did you get into content creation?
I think I’ve always had this knack for expressing myself through talking and in creative contexts, especially with visual content. My first connection with content creation came from a job I got from my friend. It was with an Australian firm, so it wasn’t content creation the way we know it now, but in a way, it still was, because you have to visualise what the company was doing and put it out in graphics and short videos, and that was my role. That’s how it all started.
At what point did content creation and social media management become something you could build a life from?
Honestly, it was from that point, that first role. When I started out initially, I found it stressful. But it was something that I liked, and finding out that there was a job and opportunity in this space, having social media management as a job, was nice. Earnings in dollars also helped, and it was at that point that social media management became something I wanted to do.
How has it been living and trying to grow as a creative in Ibadan? Were there moments you wished you were in a faster-paced city like Lagos?
It’s been great. I think the only thing I don’t like is my 9-5 routine. I’d rather work remotely or hybrid at least. For now, I just try my best to keep up with the hassles. There are moments I wish I had considered a different job offer I had gotten in Lagos. Back then, I was at a crossroads, and even now, I often wonder whether I had made the wrong move in staying here with this role, rather than picking Lagos with its haven of opportunities. But honestly, I just love Ibadan, to me it feels like a mixture of a bit of Lagos and Abuja, and it’s calm.
I don’t like Lagos because of the rowdiness of just about everything, so choosing Ibadan serves me perfectly in that regard.
What were some of the hardest decisions you had to make while trying to figure out your career?
The hardest decision I had to make was choosing between the opportunity I had gotten in Lagos from a bank, or the offer in Ibadan, which is a social media management role. My current employers (Best Technologies) had my interests, and even though the pay wasn’t up to what the bank offered. I kept asking myself if it would have been worth it if I had gone for the bank job, and I asked myself, “How bad could it be?”
But I love my peace of mind. This was the hardest decision I had to make as it made me confront a difficult question: Do I want to follow my passion and earn less or push it aside for a bigger pay? It was crazy making that decision.
What major advantage would you say staying in Ibadan has brought to you?
Ibadan is peaceful and bubbly at the same time. That’s one advantage to me. I’m an extrovert, and so I like to go out. Then there’s the peace I mentioned earlier. I have had other job opportunities in Lagos that offer more, but peace of mind is super important, and Ibadan provides that. If I leave my house at 8:30 am, I could be at work by 8:50 am. That’s peace.
Can you share an experience that stuck with you during your early days of finding your feet as a social media manager?
After NYSC, I had to stay with my aunt in Abuja for a few months. I wasn’t really doing anything, and that gave me time to really think. I was job hunting for months, and in the end, I landed a similar role to the one I started out with. The big decisions I have had to make, and the fact that I chose this role over a higher-paying job. It’s like I came full circle.
Was there ever a gig or moment that made you proud of your decision to pursue a career in content creation and voiceovers?
Yes, my current role at Best Technologies makes me proud. I often look at the videos I edited, podcasts, voiceovers, and the general content creation I do, and it makes me really proud. Over the years, I have grown, and it is beautiful to see.
Can you describe a specific place in Ibadan that holds a lot of meaning for you?
Basorun holds a lot of meaning for me, though negatively. I lived there during my service year, and to me, it is a place of extreme tribalism. I didn’t have a good experience, and I fell into depression because of the things I faced there. To date, anytime I have to pass through Basorun, I get the crippling deja vu, and it is horrible. I do not miss my days there at all, and I hate having to go there. The main reason for this is that the school I was posted to as my place of primary assignment was very toxic, and at the same time, I lived under a landlady who didn’t exactly like non-Yoruba tenants. So my service year wasn’t entirely rosy as it wasn’t easy at home, and at work. On a positive note, I think of Bodija quite fondly. I enjoy its attractions and scenery.
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What parts of the city have become a backdrop to your journey?
Bodija and Oke Ado are significant places in my heart when I think of my journey. I have lived, created and thrived from these places.
Have you found a creative community in Ibadan?
I have seen, but I haven’t engaged as much. For all my extroversion, these days I find myself wanting to just stay indoors, rest and recharge for the next day. Community, for me, is finding the right kind of people to associate with.
What’s the one thing you’d like to say to young people finding their way through their early careers?
No Pressure. Seriously, don’t pressure yourself. There’s no rush. Society creates this environment of urgency but please, calm down and don’t be in a rush to do what everyone is doing. Rather, do what works for you. I feel like everyone has different ways of going through these building stages, and we’re all still growing. At some point, we’ll be able to look back and actually see that growth, but till then, don’t rush it.
What are some of your favourite activities in Ibadan, and some of your favourite spots for these activities?
I like going out to rave-style parties. I like to party, but the time and opportunity are something I don’t have these days, so I just remain indoors.
In what ways do you feel Ibadan has shaped who you are right now? What parts of you would be different if you lived somewhere else?
It has made me see people a whole lot differently. I used to be very judgmental, but it made me calm down and just observe. It changed my perspective on a lot of people. I feel like I’d have been very arrogant if I were in Abuja.
What do you love the most about Ibadan?
It is a mix of serenity and the bubbly lifestyle. You just need to go to the right places to see what you’re looking for.
If Ibadan were a person you had to describe with a word or sentence, how would you describe it?
Ambivert is the word I’d use, because it provides you with the best of both worlds.
Portraits of the City is a Moveee series exploring the relationship people have with places and how these relationships affect their personal lives. Do you also have a story you would love to share? Get in touch with us today.
