Page 96 - Start Up_V. 2

STARTUP

THE ART OF DEARTING

efore we proceed to the good stuff,
look back at the title. What comes
to mind? Take a minute to read it
one more time. Soak it in. Try reading
Bit out loud. If that didn’t work then
don’t worry. By the time you are reading the last
sentence of this writing, the ideas within the title
will mean something to you. Hopefully.
For all who have been raised by a typical Zambian
parent, and have gone through the rigorous
task of choosing a career, this will most likely
interest you. It also then goes out to the Zambian
parents, guardians or parental figure who have
shaped the beliefs of many great minds using
what they have known to be the norm. So let’s
get to it.

Now allow me to submit that I use the term ‘art’
loosely and more broadly, to mean skill. More
specifically; a natural, God given, ‘I could do this
in my sleep’ sort of skill. As per the dictionary
definition, art can be defined as ‘the various
branches of creative activity, such as painting,
music, literature and dance’, or ‘the expression
or application of human creative skill and
imagination typically in a visual form’. My interest
lies in ‘human creativity.’ And for the critiques,
the ‘de’ prefix is used with full understanding to
mean separation from, removal of or reversal;
you know, like decontaminate. That being said,
my title is really a play on words to mean “the
manner in which a person’s natural skills are not
recognized nor developed, or even completely
shattered, never to be resurrected”. I think you
would agree that that would have been a terribly
long and draining title. Now that we are on the
same page, let’s bring it home.

Think back to the time when this question was
asked you; ‘what do you want to be when you
grow up?’ and the nominees are- doctor, lawyer,
accountant. That was the go-to list right? Some
would include economist or pilot, depending on
what you thought sounded more prestigious. The
point is these types of careers were the standard
for success. If you were not strong enough to
stomach the task of handling human illnesses,
you think to yourself that Law would do. After
all you like reading novels and your grades in
English are above average. Or maybe numbers
were more your thing so Accounts is definitely
for you.

93 The Africa We Want