Echoes of Covid-19 lockdown

Covid-19 pandemic has personally forced me to look inwards for creativity-Temitope Olanre-Alade,  Director Of Studies, Ibile Vogue Academy

Story By ADAEZE AMOS

It is true that Covid-19 or Corona Virus came with some health issues or challenges, but if you truly look inwards, it also has some other sides too. Temitope Olanre-Alade,  a TV Presenter/Official Costumier at Orisun TV, a   Director Of Studies at Ibile Vogue Academy says that "Covid-19 pandemic has changed the whole world. Personally it has forced me to look inwards and find creative ways to  have meetings, teach my students, grade their assignments,  communicate with my faculty, run my business, take orders, sell and run the home front too. Before now my use of e-commerce was very passive, but now it has to be the main platform for any entrepreneur who does not wish to loose her clients."
The English Studies graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife recounts the echos of Covid-19  lock down. " In fact, the first three days was a total shutdown for me, all I did was to eat, watch movies and sleep. I slept so well that I could hear my body say thank you. I actually needed it,  but after then came a phase of boredom. So I commenced early morning walks with my family, but then we discovered that the roads were a bit busy with residents of my estate also walking. This made keeping social distancing a bit of a challenge. The truth is most of us weren't walking to keep fit, but rather to kill boredom and get some fresh air. So we decided to do our walks in the evenings which was a lot better."


Temitope, a celebrity, a mother, a wife and a graduate of Fashion Internal Versifier from City And Guide Of London Institute says that "staying at home during the lock down helped me to clear out and clean up cabinets and closets. This time I had to do it myself. So, I was able to see cooking utensils that were old or damaged and needed to be changed. Working together as a family also helped us to bond and discussed issues  that bothered on everyone's progress," she giggles.

Buttressing her point, she asserts  that "my life style before lock down was extremely active, with a super-busy schedule back to back every week. I was  always on the move, shuttling between two to three states every week. So, during the lock down I was able to catch my breath from running my usual crazy schedule. I had enough time on my own to spend wisely.  I had notes to update, I needed to keep in touch with my students who were in three different institutions. I ordered a desktop tripod and it was delivered the following day, so I did my scripts for the on-line class and in three days I had recorded six classes and so I launched my on-line fashion class. Not yet as good as I wanted but it wasn't a bad place to start."
The Entrepreneurial Business Management graduate of Pan African University says that she has started learning the Covid-19 ' new normal' .  "I have started to  learn how to manage funds, how to manage the groceries foodstuffs, electricity consumption and beverages. I have learnt how  to work from home, how to have virtual  meetings, how to get up and work without being timed and  how to be more creative and proactive with our marketing. My gadgets have become more than mere communication tools, but my offices and classrooms. Even our religious spaces are now virtual. And of course I have learnt  to seek Gods face the more," she enthuses.

The Vocational/ Technical Educationist// Empowerment Coach and Media Consultant insists that "all of these has helped me adjust my thinking and I know as an entrepreneur that  the e-market place is extremely competitive and calls for aggressive and creative marketing and selling skills. It's a revolutionary experience for me as a fashion educationist and a fashion entrepreneur. And at the end of Covid-19 pandemic  I'm sure we will all come out better, stronger and smarter people."