Chigoziri Ene

Writing for the Sciences

Professor Zayas

Introductory Letter

Feb. 9, 2022

A Peek Into The Life of Chigoziri

Background

On February 3rd 2005, a little girl named Chigoziri was born in the City Lagos, Nigeria. Where she spent the first ten years of her life with her big family. She lived in Ibafo, Ogun State with her immediate family and was often found smiling or ready to crack a joke. During school breaks, she stayed at her maternal grandmother’s house in Lagos with her many cousins, keeping with the family traditions. Although not wealthy, she felt as though she was rich because of her big family. Due to special moments like wearing her Sunday dress to mass that went from itchy and puffy to more fitting and fashionable dresses, making it a very much anticipated fashion show. Or her dramas that she and her cousins enacted from sheer boredom during holidays. Or game nights, with Name, Animal, Place, Thing, and Food, being everyone’s favorite including hers, although she never seems to score higher than second to last. But as they say, it’s not all about winning. Or the snacks she always got after mass on Sunday. Suya, Gala, The triangle shaped Ice cream that she can never remember its name but absolutely loves, A stop at Mr Bigg’s, Parle G biscuits, A very sweet cup of Nutri C, and of course stolen spoons of powdered milk during siesta . Or her personal favorite, the commuting lifestyle of Nigeria. Her favorite mode of transportation being the Okada or rather the motorcycles. The thrill she got when she held on tight to the okada driver as the wind danced with her beaded braids she got for the start of new term or special occasions like Easter, her birthday, Christmas, etc, while trying to keep her legs from touching the hot pipe of the okada. And the haggling that always started each ride until her mom got a befitting for the ride. She was rich.

Coming to America

Two months after her tenth birthday, Chigoziri and her family emigrated to a very foreign land which she later came to know as America, her new normal. She saw snow for the first time. She came to love winter after some time. She found out that she was different, and not everyone had Afros. She learned that Nigeria was not the whole world. She discovered her new found obsession with headwraps, seeing as they make her feel regal. She learned that lip combos, are another new found fixation. She found out that she loved art but absolutely detested making art. She found that she hated having to correct people about her name’s pronunciation (Chee – guh- Zee- ree), and shortened it to Ziri for the sake of her sanity. Funny enough, she was only ever referred to as Chigoziri, when she was in trouble. Her family calls her Goziri, but that felt too intimate of a nickname to be called in the School setting. She found that she loved learning about American history, but doesn’t seem to know much of her Country or tribe’s (Igbo)  history, and has come  to really appreciate authors like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chinua Achebe, and more. She fell in love with Greek mythology, and the author Rick Riodan, and has read every book the man has published. Her favorite series being the The Trials of Apollo series. She watched as her desire to help people strengthened over time and eventually led her to looking for careers in the medical field. She learned that moving from Queens to the Bronx would increase her commute to school from a mere thirty minutes to an hour and half on a good commuting day. She came to love commuting despite always feeling tired. It was after all the time to indulge her addiction of uninterrupted loud music. It was the time to experience the authentic New York lifestyle. Authentic being a front row to a couples’ fight on the crowded D train, that ended with the boyfriend’s head being slammed on the door of the train. Authentic being getting lost in Manhattan, seeing as every street looked the same. Authentic being the delays and having to really learn how to read the map (And, yes there are different 125ths stops, so be careful!). Authentic being mastering the arts of speed walking, because you don’t want to experience the feeling of missing a bus or train. Authentic being subway performers that either sing or dance.

She found out that she loves Deep dish pizzas from Little Caesars, Funnel cakes, Cheeseburgers, Grill cheese sandwiches, Chop Cheese, BBQ chicken, Jerk Chicken, Empanadas, Pastelitos, and Ice cream in the winter apparently ‘hits different’. She eventually found out that she wants to become a gynecologist but the beating she got from her term in Sophie Davis was a bit eye opening. She knew the journey would be hard but not that hard! She found great friends in college and has kindly informed them that they are stuck with her forever seeing as they know too much and are really just her platonic soul mates.