Think you need superpowers to change the world?
By Yewande Akinleye, 2014 ProInspire Fellow
I’d like to share a secret with you…yes you. I don’t often expose myself like this, but right now I feel as though I can confide in you. Quite frankly, I can’t keep this to myself and I hope that you will be inspired once you know my secret. So what’s this secret? Well first let me give you some context.
When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with famous African and African American leaders – those who changed the world with this seemingly omnipotent ability to inspire people. I drew pictures of Nelson Mandela, I blasted songs by Fela Kuti and Bob Marley, replayed over and over again documentaries that followed the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Marcus Garvey. I endlessly scanned through pictures of Wanguri Mathaai, Maya Angelou and Shirley Chisholm, relishing in the boldness of their physical features coupled with their audacious spirit. I was convinced that each of them were super heroes, touched by some magic moment in which they received their powers and took off to save the world.
The idea of having “superpowers to save the world” was first dispelled when I read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, in college. I searched the pages for the moment when something magical happened in his life that caused him to become so great, but there was nothing “magical” to be found. After that, I consumed more and more autobiographies of great leaders, this time not just Africans or African Americans but all influential leaders – those like Mahatma Gandhi, presidents past and present, and discovered that not one person wrote about a magical moment. Yet, I was still not convinced.
Fast forward to my current life, I now work for a nonprofit that focuses on helping low income youth in high schools across the nation gain access to college. I always knew I’d be someone whose work focused on helping others. It was part of why I was so enamored with those leaders. They all devoted their time and abilities to the well-being of others. Now, as I sit and help the leaders of my organization strategize and organize to make sure the mission is truly benefiting those in need, I have to think about my own story, my own journey. The story of the low income Nigerian-American girl who has had her fair share of ups and downs, yet managed to find herself in a position to help influence and enhance the life of youth in this world. I’m giving back and making an impact by joining an industry that is focused on making this world we live in a better place.
Then it dawns on me, the magic moment, the thing I was looking for in the stories of the lives of great leaders like Nelson Mandela. It is simple. In fact, Gandhi said it outright: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Each and every one of those leaders were ordinary people but they knew they wanted to see the world change into a better place and they decided to act on that passion. I too have acted on that passion and will continue to do so for the betterment of mankind. Whether big or small, the nonprofit industry is one of the few industries where intent is counted as a highly valuable skill. Just by wanting to help someone, you are already acting as a catalyst for change.
So what’s my secret? If you haven’t figured it out already, here it is: You don’t have to be special to make an impact in this world. I’m not particularly extraordinary, but I am helping to do extraordinary things and you can too.
Yewande Akinleye is a young Nigerian American woman who believes in the individual power of every human being to create positive change in the world around them. She lives in Washington DC and grew up in the DC metropolitan area. She started her career in the nonprofit industry in 2009 and has continued to develop the skills necessary to create impact in the industry. Her hope is to one day be a driving force in the efforts to develop leadership skills in women and young girls in Africa.