I’ll answer first, to tell you when and where my tech journey started, I will take you through the pages of my childhood.

Imagine you are sitting in an ocean of green with only nature’s noise as your companion. No ringing phones, no glowing screens, and no artificial vibrations – just you and the earth. Now what would you do if this was your only form of fun. Would you gaze at the lazy clouds drifting for hours on end? Or perhaps would find glee in playing with the soil and grass beneath your hands?

How would your imagination respond to that kind of stillness?

My Beginning

My interest in technology didn’t start with gadgets. It started with differences—the striking contrast between how others experienced the tech world and how I did.

Hello, my name is Oluwaferanmi, a name I carry with pride. Given to me by my late grandparents, my name means, “God loves me” in Yoruba- the second most spoken language in Nigeria. To me, my name is a constant reminder of connection: connection to my God, my family and heritage.

Though I was born in the UK, most of my childhood was spent in a place where the days were long and extremely hot. The air was always seasoned with the smell of burning petrol intertwined with the spices from thousands of food stalls. Every street had a different story to tell. The country that is rich in agricultural and diversity- Nigeria. Where my story truly began. After finishing primary school, my mother and I moved back to the UK. And that’s when the shift happened.

The Shift

When I came back to the UK I was faced with many challenges, but the biggest challenge was adjusting. Everything felt fast, digital, and unfamiliar. Fortunately, I made a new friend called Julia who helped me in seeing the positives of this new world.

One afternoon in Year 7, we sat under a tree and talked about our childhoods. I asked her a simple question:

“What did a typical school day look like for you?”

 Julia’s mornings began with her phone alarm buzzing beside her. She’d start the first 10 minutes of her day playing her favourite mobile game, then get ready while Justin Bieber played in the background. During breakfast, the CBBC channel would be on the TV, and later she’d use her iPad during the car ride to school.

My mornings? I was woken up by a flashlight’s beam attacking my eyes. I would get ready as the sounds of chirping birds and running water filled the silence. No ringing phones, no glowing screens, and no artificial vibrations.

While Julia rode to school watching videos, I listened to music on the car radio and watched the world go by outside my window. At school, she was greeted by a lit classroom and a digital “Do Now” projected on a screen.

I was greeted by a chalkboard filled with that day’s lesson material. Sometimes, there wasn’t even light—our school only received electricity from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.