I moved from London to Bristol in 2004 and I’ve lived here ever since. I know Bristol like the back of my hand.
My family are originally from Somaliland, and Bristol has a thriving Somali community which is a lot closer than that of London because of how big London is.
The community here is just as diverse as back in London, but so much more compressed so I think that’s what my family found really appealing.
My friends and family would describe me as passionate about the things I love, like my family, writing, and Somali culture, and a bit all over the place.
I like to know what’s happening with my people. We’re very close-knit, so it runs in the family to know what’s going on with each other, and it’s nice to know what’s happening without having to go out of your way.
You can ask someone what’s going on and anyone would know. I also like reading books – big chunky books, and learning new skills like computer programming. It’s something that doesn’t directly apply to me but it’s something that I’d like to learn.
I don’t have traditional hobbies; I’m not a sports guy, but I really enjoy cerebral things. I enjoy trying to make my best self.
I’m studying Criminology at university at the moment, but I’m also looking to pursue creative writing in my own time.
Once I graduate, I could go down the route of human resources, or go into the police and both seem really interesting.
Writing is something that sort of happens in small pockets. I’ll have a few days where I can write for hours and hours on end.
I try not to make writing a chore. It’s always more of a cathartic thing for me. It’s something I’ve done since I was a little kid.
Babbasa was sort of handed to me on a silver plate because I was helping a friend out and overheard a conversation with Pravanya.
I was very intrigued about what Babbasa could do, and how they could make me a better person, and how I could help out the community in Bristol.
I gave Babbasa a go, gave my everything to it, and am here now having hosted their Needs & Aspirations panel discussion at the Our Bristol, Our World youth conference.
To begin with, I wasn’t very good with big crowds, and it sorted paralysed me with a fear of failure or fear of getting things wrong. It was easier for me to stay in my comfort zone.
But doing the focus groups and getting all that information for the conference and hosting that panel and intermediating people helped to bring me out of my shell.
The experience allowed me to understand that I was too comfortable and that expanded my horizons. Ever since then I’ve been trying to widen those horizons further, because it’s a lot more fulfilling to try new things, and it’s better for your CV.
I got to work on my time management too. I think it’s been nice to be held to deadlines because I can compartmentalise everything that I need to do. It’s something that I’m proud to say I can do now.
Zoe and Prav said that public speaking is one of the things that I can do well. I think I still need to work on it, but I can now say that I’ve done it.
For now, I have two end goals – one is more realistic and one is more aspirational.
Realistically, I’m looking to finish my degree and go into human resources or criminology-based jobs.
My aspiration, and what I hope to get out of Babbasa is getting a mentor and making writing a much better prospect for me.
I would love to finish a book, but I’m trying to work my way up to that. I’m going to try and work up from short stories into novels. But I don’t want to ever make it a chore for me.