Today we’d like to introduce you to Rokia Kaba.
Hi Rokia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a 21-year-old Muslim girl from Guinea, West Africa, who, just like everyone else, is going through this roller coaster called life. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs over the course of my life. I grew up relatively quickly, so I did go through a lot of life’s trials and tribulations earlier than some. Although it was painful and exhausting to go through, today I understand that I was only being trained. I was being trained to be able to do what I do today, which is to help other people across the bridge of hardship, fear, doubt, depression, anxiety, etc. because of my own experiences, I know what it feels like to be in the dark. Thanks to God, I was able to find the light. A lot of people are not given the opportunity to find the light when they are going through the lowest times of their life, so I knew that I was blessed. The light that I discovered was a blessing given to me from God. In addition, I knew that I wasn’t given this light just to keep it to myself. I was given it as a mission to spread it to others. There are people out there who are still in the dark, and I just knew that my purpose is to give some of the light to anyone who needs it in any way. My way of doing that is through motivational speaking.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a first-generation West African here in America, life tested me pretty early on. My early years were filled with bullying and self-hate. Just like any other kid, I wanted to fit in. I went to the extent of changing who I was in order to be accepted by others, and unfortunately, it worked. I started to live a life that wasn’t my own. I was doing things that were outside of my character, hanging out with people who didn’t have the best influences on my life and essentially digging myself into a hole that I didn’t know would be so hard to dig myself out of.
Throughout my middle and high school years, I was transitioning into a person that I knew would be “accepted” in the society I lived in. By the time I got to college, I didn’t know who I was anymore. The beautiful and innocent girl who found a thrill in her education, who was selfless beyond measure, and who was unapologetically herself, had now disappeared. I had turned into someone that not only I didn’t recognize, but neither did my family nor my early childhood friends. I went through a series of depressions and anxieties throughout my early college years. I was displeased with who I was because I wasn’t myself. I knew that happiness and peace of mind was only reachable through authenticity. This is when I began the process of re-finding myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am currently a college senior majoring in Business Administration at Temple University.
Contact Info:
- Email: motivationbykia@gmail.com
- Website: motivationbykia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motivationbykia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rokia.kaba.7731
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/motivationbykia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcEIJh4mp2gEpjFJexQ6dvg
