Babajide, 37

Babajide does not particularly like the cold as he is originally from Nigeria, Africa. He came to America after high school to start college. His family is in England and he “is having issues with them” right now. He said “your best friend is not always who you think it is going to be” and “life is an adventure”. Babajide moved here in 2001, about 18 years ago. He said he is Americanized now because he spent 18 years outside of America and about 19 years in America. He studied biology as his major and chemistry as his minor. Babajide graduated from Winthrop University in North Carolina. He said that “back then…I was young and stupid” referring to not following what he loved to do. He said he was taught not to follow what he loves although he knew intuitively that he should. He talked about the battle that he faced between himself and his family over which path to take and explained that he always wanted to take the artist path. However, he kept being pushed into science by his family and his sister who were saying “you are smart...you are smart”. He said he stayed in the science field after a serious talk with his sister because he grew up in a country that was poor and had a “bad education”, meaning he was “not taught to balance idealism with realism”. Instead, Babajide was taught to “follow what will make you survive most”.

Babajide then discussed how people want to be happy all the time, but they have a misunderstanding of the world that the way to become happy is to get stuff. “Even a relationship becomes stuff”. He said that this “leads to depression, sadness, and anti-social living”. He also talked about evil and said that people do things that are not love to get profit and often you have to choose sometimes, “love or profit”. He said that due to the bad education of this world, it easy for people to forget we are not just beasts in need more stuff, but “we are magic” and everything we do, cooking, walking, we need to do it “as the magic that we are”. He said he is lucky he discovered his true love as a writer at age 29. Babajide has recently completed 3 volumes of short stories and said the best way to know him is through his work. When COVID-19 dies down, he will be looking for a publisher. He loves to express himself this way and inspire people. He used a hand gesture to show that he aims to raise the bar on people’s happiness at least a good amount, if not an extreme amount. Babajide was currently residing at a hotel that acts as a homeless shelter. He said he does not like it due to lack of privacy, as you cannot choose who you room with and prefers to sleep downtown. Before March, he was living very comfortably in a house he had by himself in Philadelphia where he wrote his work. The house went on fire due to electrical surges. He said he was getting very tired and weary of Philadelphia anyway and thought it was the time to come to New York. Babajide said that what he learned from his house burning down is that comfort is not the most prized possession and that when discomfort comes into your life, “you can transform that discomfort and use it as fire for your brightest dreams…dreams that you can’t even imagine”. He said that “always remember happiness does not have to do with stuff…love is immaterial…and beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.  He said that you have to pick something as your fuel and you should always pick love as your fuel. “Try to pick love in everything…a text message…an email”. He went deeper into explaining how you can find happiness inside of you. He used the Buddhist expression, “No mud, no lotus” and explained the seat must go in mud before it becomes a beautiful flower. He said there must be mud and you just have to use it for your lotus. Thanks for the spiritual enlightenment Babajide! We can’t wait to read more of your work! Good luck!

Story by Tara