One and Only Adebori

Sometimes I sit back and think about how much being a law student has reshaped me. It’s not just the long hours of reading or the constant pressure to be academically sound. It’s the mental strength it takes to keep going when everything feels too much. The closer exams get, the more intense everything becomes. Everyone’s stressed, everyone’s watching, and as the class rep, I don’t even get the grace to show it.

They expect me to be composed, organized, and most of all impartial. And I try. I really try. But it’s hard. Hard to carry everyone’s burden when you barely have the space to carry your own. People come to me with complaints, questions, even attitudes and I can’t afford to break, because one wrong step and they say I’m biased. That I’m doing too much. Or not enough. They forget that I’m still a student like them, still human, still struggling.

And sometimes, I feel like my looks made it worse People assume life is easier because of it. Like beauty cancels out pressure. Like I don’t still cry at night or feel alone in a class full of people. They don’t know how heavy it is to carry both responsibility and perception at the same time.

And then there’s love. That unexpected part of the journey. The feelings that sneak in when someone shows interest or pays attention to the tiredness I try so hard to hide. And as much as I know I’m capable of loving deeply of being intentional, loyal, and present I find myself holding back. Not because I don’t like someone, or because no one is willing to give me that attention, but because I’m not emotionally open right now. The weight of responsibilities school, exams, being class rep has built walls I’m still trying to climb over. It’s not that I don’t want love… it’s just hard to let it in when I barely have space to breathe.

At the end of the day, I’m just a girl. A law student, yes. A class rep, yes. But also a girl who’s doing her best. A girl who’s tired. A girl who still believes in love. And who’s still trying to find balance in a world that demands too much from her.

EID MUBARAK 🕌

International Women’s Day has always felt complicated for me. As someone who doesn’t quite connect with traditional ideas of femininity, this day used to bring me more stress than celebration. The expectations to be soft, graceful, nurturing often felt like an ill-fitting costume rather than a reflection of who I am.

But today, I’m choosing to see it differently. Being a woman isn’t about ticking boxes on what society says femininity should be. It’s not about perfecting some delicate balance of strength and softness. For me, it’s about honoring the layers of who I am the messy, uncertain parts included.

I don’t always feel like I fit the mold, but I am still a woman. And today, I’m reminding myself that my womanhood is valid, even if it doesn’t always look or feel the way I think it’s supposed to.

So, this International Women’s Day, I’m celebrating the women who don’t always feel like they belong the ones who question, the ones who push against the grain, and the ones who are still figuring it all out. Because we’re just as much a part of this day as anyone else.

I’m not an artist,I’m the art. Radiating confidence in black and white