Children also really inspirational! Yes, we have kids whose talents and ways have made them inspirational. These ones have been able to stand out differently in their disposition to life. Meet Zita Chidera Ezeno and Chikaima Ezeno, as they unveil their uniqueness in a chit chat with Fides Media Inspirational personality page anchor.
My name is Zita Chidera Ezeno, from Akpo, Aguata L.G.A.I am a hundred level medical student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. I am the first of seven Children. My parents are Dr Patrick and Mrs Amaka Ezeno, Esq. Chikaima Esthel Ezeno is my younger sister.
Chikaima Esthel Ezeno, is my name. I am thirteen years old and presently a JSS 2 student of UNIZIK High School, Awka. I want to be a lawyer like my mum because she inspires me a lot. Everything about Law gets me attracted, the confidence they exude, the way they dress and all. I have been playing musical instruments for quite some time now and I play close to eight musical instruments. Saxophone happens to be my best instrument, being that it has a lot of technicalities, the rhythm and sound it produces inspires me. It is also rare to find people who play Saxophones, I am a person who naturally likes to do things people cannot do (laughs).
FIDES: How did you start playing musical instruments?
Zita: I love to sing, and I can say, God blessed me with a good voice (laughs). Then, I began learning the piano from when I was in primary six. But when I was enrolled into a boarding school for my Secondary education, there was no opportunity to play instruments, so I lost everything I learnt. You know, whatever you stop practicing leaves you. However, my parents had to enroll my siblings for the music class, and they did not go to a boarding Secondary like I did. Each time I returned for holidays, I usually try to join them in the music practice, but it was no longer as it was. But then, after graduating from Secondary School, in July 2019, I attended a concert organized here, and they played wonderfully and that kind of rekindled my love for musical instruments. Infact I began learning afresh. Right now, I play piano and guitar and I am still learning to play others. But I prefer playing the guitar a lot, its very portable, easy to express volume and emotions.
Chikaima: for me, everyone in my family loves music, from my parents down to my siblings. Infact my parents love Art; my Dad sometimes writes poems too. So, their enrolling us to learn music boosted my love for it. I have been playing musical instruments from when I was little. And now I play several of them, like piano, Oja, recorder, saxophone and some others.
FIDES: What inspires you more to sing and play musical instruments?
Zita: well, many things inspire me. First is nature, nature is music itself. There was a time I was opportune to see a movie, titled ‘’August Rush’’. The main character in the movie was able to sense and feel music from everything around him. From doorbells, chirpings of birds, etc. So, if you know music, you will understand that it is everywhere, and our lives are inextricably linked to music. And then the advantages of music, also inspires me. Because with music, one can boost confidence, music helps you to make use of our creative part of the brain, it is also therapeutic, and we use music to convey messages.
Chikaima: I have loved and have had passion for music since I was a child and nature has inspired me a lot. And with music, I have been able to appreciate nature more.
FIDES: is music a career path or just a hobby for you?
Zita: Like my sister said, everyone plays one instrument or the other in my family, we love music. It is not just a career path, but we use it for our pastime. Its somehow a hobby that brings us together, a kind of bonding point.
FIDES: People have been affected a great deal, especially young people due to shut down of schools and all. What is your word to them?
ZITA: (sighs) I go on social media sometimes and read posts young people send online and all that you keep reading is “I am bored”, ‘’I am tired”. I keep wondering within me, why? Because throughout the pandemic, I have never been bored, its been from one self-building project to another. The problem I think young people have is always complaining about the problems and never seeking solution to those problems. So, what we need is a change of mindset, that even when we are in a bad situation, we can always make a bright side of it. With the shutdown of schools, naturally there is not any enthusiasm to read, quite understandable. We in this part of the clime, place too much emphasis on school, but schooling is a little and infinitesimal aspect of education, because education is supposed to be all round. Now, my advice to young people is to understand that schooling is not everything. Why not use this opportunity where there is not this normal routine of going to school to develop other aspects of your life. For me, I write poems, short stories, novels and I post stuffs on Facebook, I also make hair wigs. Just dabble into anything that can improve you. And then, we should not forget that our spiritual life is the overall.
Chikaima: I advise young people like me should improve their skills and make use of their time and not to go around doing bad things.
FIDES: People in this part of the world see playing musical instrument as mainly for men, what is your take on that?
Zita: I see that basically as a stereotype. Take for example tech designs, web designs, programming and all are male dominated but in the actual sense, we have women who do better than men in such fields. So, the thing is everything starts and ends with our mindset. When we change our mindsets, everything changes, once our minds are ready, anything you set your mind on, you can achieve it. As far as it is something you are passionate about, you can achieve it, no matter the stereotype.
FIDES: Generally, what are your words to young girls like you?
Zita: My words to young girls: there is a saying that a palm wine tapper does not tell of all his experiences atop the palm tree. My advice is: part of our problems is our thoughts; things we accept into our spirits, the things we see, visual contents that we expose ourselves to. Some of those things are the pedestal for evil in society. However, there are still good persons left. I will therefore advise that they pursue their dreams, the endeavours which they find joy engaging in. They should not engage in bad things. There are ladies who engage in prostitution and other evil things, but my advice is that they should not look up to such persons.
Despite numerous prevalent evils, they can be outstanding and be shining lights in the world. They should be exceptional in whatever they do. They should not consider their gender as a weakness to whatever they want to be. They should make every necessary effort required to succeed in whatever they do. That is my advice to them. They should also be careful and be wary of the companies they keep. They should endeavor to dress in good outfits and not clothes that make them semi-nude. They should distinguish between clothes for different occasions. While walking on the road, they should pay attention to their environments and not block their ears with headphones. God will bless them.