Marvellous
“Being a woman means having a strong sense of my uniqueness and identity; being confident in my own body, and adapting to the changes that comes along with it.”
Marvellous is an empathetic advocate and a resilient leader. Despite all that she has overcome she continues to stand tall and move forward. She is a medical student who is determined to create space for those who are less privileged, while using her voice and platform to push for equality. She is the co-founder of the “Bold Girl Initiative” - an initiative which empowers young women to uncover confidence and strength in their growth. Marvellous has been defying the odds since she was an infant. She has persevered through health complications, toxic relationships and more. Now she’s determined to take on systemic oppression to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to thrive, regardless of who they are and where they come from. Meet Marvellous. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
N: My name is Marvellous Nnaji. I'm a medical student, a writer, poet and a humanitarian. I reside in the Northern part of Nigeria.
I'm the co-founder of the 'Bold Girl Initiative' which is an initiative that was established to raise young women, particularly teenage girls into becoming bolder, affirmative and passionate about their growth.
I'm someone who is passionate about making lasting and positive impacts in the lives of many and I've been achieving this through my inspiring write-ups, social media contents, and advocacy.
I'm a purpose driven person who derives fulfilment in advocating for equal opportunities for all, and also protecting and promoting the lives of the less privileged and vulnerable, irrespective of gender, class, physical challenge, ethnicity and religion. This has influenced my activities through active volunteering, public speaking, mentoring and outreaches.
I have several digital skills, and I'm highly knowledgeable in soft skills, which I have over the course of time received many certifications for.
You can call me an all-rounder.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
N: If I'm to describe myself, I'd say I'm a strong lady, a passionate leader, a resilient fighter, a mentor, a smart multi- talented soul, a life long learner, an introverted perfectionist, and an ardent lover of God.
I'm an empathetic person who is capable of looking through the soul of others and reigniting their hopes, no matter how hurt and broken they are.
I'm also someone who has a lot of self-respect. I know my worth and I value myself, so because of that, I know how to stand up for myself, I have a clear understanding of my own boundaries and have the language to defend and maintain those boundaries.
I'm indeed so much in one person.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
N: My favourite thing about myself is my strength and resilience.
The ability to stay strong and stand tall despite everything I've been through, indeed makes me unique.
Whatever life throws at me, I pick it up, build my confidence and keep moving.
As a tough person who has made it through tough times, I'm indeed proud that everything I've envisioned of myself, I'm finally working hard towards achieving them and just striving to become a bigger and better version of myself.
In all, I don't look like what I've been through, and that makes the favourite part of me.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
N: Going through life, I've faced a lot of challenges along the way.
It all started from birth. I was born at a very premature stage, and a lot of people stipulated that I wouldn't survive in such condition.
According to my mum, I was so small, and underdeveloped to the extent that she couldn't even show me to people that came to celebrate my birth. A lot of people gave up on my existence but I survived. Yeah, I did!! As a result of this, I was given a tribal name meaning 'a child that was destined to live'.
I grew up to become stronger and conscious that my survival was for a purpose, and I should keep striving to achieve that purpose.
At a certain time, I started facing serious health challenges that left me frequently in and out of several hospitals. At this point, anxiety begin to set in. I was terribly stressed mentally and physically, but remembering that I had survived other challenges in the past means I could still scale through all that and remain optimistic.
I went through all this while trying to cope with a certain female friend back then who drained me emotionally and mentally. It wasn't easy at all, but I had to be strong.
I don't really share my story because I'm more of a person who listens and tries to profer solutions to other people's problems, rather than someone who tells people my story; so the few persons who really know what I go through, can tell that I'm a very strong and special person, with God's given strength and agility.
Also, being able to always scale through these challenges, and feeling even more resilient, ambitious, and ready to take on the world has taught me so many things.
It has taught me to be strong, and balance my emotions with logic. It has taught me to feel confident in my ability to not just adapt to changes but to rise above them and be a more productive version of myself.
It has taught me to be compassionate towards others because you may never know what they are going through, even with the constant smiles on their faces.
It has taught me to be grateful to God and everyone around me, and also invest so much in myself that I'd forever be appreciative I didn't give up at any point in time.
I'm still a work in progress but I'm definitely getting there.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
M: I'd tell my younger self that it's okay to feel certain things, it only makes you a stronger person.
You are worth every joy, happiness and the best of all life has to offer, so don't try to impress anyone; just be true to yourself and set standards which are unique to you, but also identifiable by others.
I'd tell my younger self that, and much more.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
M: Being a woman means a lot to me.
Being a woman means having a strong sense of my uniqueness and identity; being confident in my own body, and adapting to the changes that comes along with it.
It means I'm able to feel and look through the pain of others, and look out for everyone irrespective of gender, or status.
Being a woman, means I have the ability to be strong despite all my weaknesses. It means that I'm much more than just chromosomes; I'm able to own my voice and use it to challenge and impact others.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
M: Malala Yousafzai. I love her advocacy for the education of females/the girl child, and for standing up as voice, even when others couldn't.
I'd tell her how her story inspires me and drives me to stand up not just for myself, but for others without voices . I'd also let her know how her selfless devotion for equality posed as a source of hope and inspiration not just to me but to a lot of ladies round the world.