EXCLUSIVE: READ DSNA's INTERVIEW WITH LANGUAGE ENTHUSIAST AND MULTILINGUIST, ZEE

As part of our FYB of the week series, the Diplomatic Suites News Agency interviewed Language enthusiast, Content creator, anime lover and multi linguist, Zee. We hope you have a refreshing read while you go through highlights of Zee's stay on campus. Enjoy!

DSNA: Hello FYB, you are welcome to DSNA interview, kindly introduce yourself  and all that encompasses you?

ZEE: Hello, I am Azeezat, my friends call me Zee. I'm a Language enthusiast, Content creator and Creative writer.

DSNA: Hmmm, that is nice and interesting. Perhaps you might also have more info to add to your introduction, can we know them?

ZEE: Oh Okay. I'm a shy person but not amongst my friends. I love baking because it helps me de-stress, I've been into arts and crafts since I was a child. Anything I lay my hands on, I'm already thinking of what I can make out of it. I'm the only girl and middle child; I have two brothers. I love anime and food, if I was stuck on an island with only two things I'd go for these two and I'll never get bored. I have a Medium page that I use for my write ups and I use my Instagram account for my languages and content creating.

DSNA: Wonderful! I love your idea of always thinking of what you can make of anything you lay your hands on. 

Looking at the fact that you have an instagram account which you use for your contents on languages, can you please let DSNA know what spurred your interest in languages and how you have been able to use the social media to promote your ideas?

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: READ DSNA's INTERVIEW WITH ART LOVER AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, ABRAHAM IWUH

ZEE: Alright. I understand where you're coming from. I started learning languages early 2020 when lockdown started. My first thought was that I didn't want my yoruba lineage to die out so I was really focusing on yoruba at first but then one day while I was scrolling through my instagram, I came across a post an organisation (ICLR: International Center for Language Resources) put out and I was immediately interested.  

The thing is when I got an E in French in part 1 second semester, I'd already promised never to touch anything languages again. Aseju ni learning languages, Google translate ti wa okay. That was what was in my head. 

Fast forward a little bit, I registered for the program and started learning French, Arabic and Japanese. French because I didn't want to believe that the E I got defined my brain, Arabic because as a muslim why not and the Japanese because I was getting really obsessed with anime😂😂.

Okay so, about how I started content creation with my languages. It was one random day that I went all out trying to make one coffee drink like that (something I don't even drink). I finished making it and looking at the video, even though it wasn't perfect, I posted it anyways and wrote my caption in French. It got a really good response so from then on every Tuesday I posted a food content with French captions and if I tried to make a Japanese dish then I'd use a Japanese caption instead. Initially I had wanted to start the content creation using my languages to discuss mental health and world issues and that might still be a thing to feature on my page later on.

DSNA: Wow, I just love the fact that you didn't allow your issues with a language deter you from learning more In the field, I love your personality. Now lets return to school!

Basically, you are in your final year and it has not been easy, to God be the glory, I would like you to take us on  a journey of how your stay on campus has been; the excitement, ups and downs, the challenges, stress and the memorable moments, can you please share them with us?

ZEE: Thank you, it has only been God😂😂

4 years is not beans. When I first entered OAU, I was in for Local government studies but you see this International relations, I wanted it. I spent weeks before resumption doing back and forth between Lagos and Ife just so I could get my International relations. When I finally did, I wouldn't stop talking about how I was going to go through OAU without stressing myself. In my mind, I had it all figured out and that first class looked easy. 

My entire part 1, I was feeling fresh and fly because my CGPA was looking good. I wasn't worried. The only thing I hated about part one is all the 100 meter dashes that we used to do from philosophy to amphi to 1000 seaters on top course that's not our department's own.

My seniors then used to mention how part 2 will drain CGPA but I still kept on with my mantra of "OAU can't stress me, first class is easy". I wish someone has actually sat me down to say "ogbeni see, this is how things are going to be"

What now gave my part 2 CGPA k-leg again is I was chasing boy instead of putting my all into academics. When I first saw results for SSC105 and ECN, I knew that my CGPA was going to suffer. It's not like part 2 was necessarily bad like that but if they had removed maths entirely from our syllabus then maybe my CGPA would be doing better now. Another hurdle for me and school in my second year was the fact that I was constantly suicidal and depressed so reading or even getting good grades wasn't on my mind at all. Also, this is where my wanting to make content on mental health stems from. 

By the end of part 2, I knew that I was the only one that could help myself.

Towards the end of part 2, I tried to volunteer here and there because there was this big wave of how "volunteering would look good on the CV". I volunteered for Slum Education Initiative, the first IFEMUN and Home Advantage Africa. Although I'm not exactly a people person, I had fun volunteering during all those times. You know that saying about how really good things are waiting outside your comfort zone? That was what it was with the volunteering I did. I was able to step out of my comfort zone and I really enjoyed volunteering. 

In part 3, I fought tooth and nail to get good grades, although my first semester wasn't something to write home about. By the time results came out for first semester, I spent majority of my time after class going back and forth a lecturer's office because my script hadn't been marked correctly. I'm forever grateful to God that it got sorted out.

I keep on saying that my second semester part 3 was all God because I don't think I was present for that thing. Most of the reading I did was last minute, like the day before the test or exam kind of last minute and when I saw my results, I was shook. It was most definitely God that marked those scripts. 

Looking back now at my chants of "OAU can't stress me", I cried a lot oh. I'll just sit down somewhere after class and cry or walk to my room jeje and cry. I feel like I jinxed myself when I was chanting that thing in part 1.

See ehn, the only thing I don't like about this part 4 is the project aspect of things. It's supposed to be easy but procrastination and project aren't friends. 

I don't know what to say about my finals now that I'm here except that I grateful. Will I add another year if there was an option to? Definitely not, will even remove gan if  possible.

DSNA: Hmm, your story is touching and funny at the same time, I am glad you ended up on a grateful note.

ZEE: Thank you🤗🤗

 DSNA: You are always welcome. As an International relations student about to earn her Bachelor's degree, can you please tell us what aspect of the field you find so interesting, it could be on African affairs, global affairs, peace and security or even a course, can you please let us know a little about the field?

ZEE: Definitely, there are courses that I have done that I really loved. 

I'll start with  IRS 310 (Developmental problems in the third world). I hated this course at first because of one of the lecturers taking it and how I thought he'd done me dirty in one of his courses from part 3 first semester. My only business with it was how to get an A but as the classes rolled by and I had time to settle down to read through the materials given to us, I really started to like the course. I started to see things through a different light and began to realize that there could be ways to alleviate problems in the third world. Solutions that could be implemented and that would benefit the Global south over the Global north. I was so wrapped around this course that I was annoyed afterwards for a while because I didn't think I'd written enough. 

The next course I liked a lot was IRS316 (Dynamics of Middle East Politics). I've always been fascinated with Middle East Politics right from start and the lecturer taking the course really made the course interesting. Everything from their battles to their makeups was interesting to me and for the first time, I just really thought that when I was going to write my project, that I wanted it to be on Middle East Politics (that's not what I'm doing now though).

IRS324 (Asia in World Politics) is another one I was fascinated by, although we couldn't dive too deep into the course because of time. Anything China, India-Kashmir clash and Asian politics, I'm ready to enter the conversation. 

In part 4 first semester, I loved IRS 403 (Nigerian Foreign Policy) because it was very fascinating to see and listen to where Nigeria's problems stemmed from. Very fascinating.

IRS 407 (Contemporary Strategic Studies) because of let me see behind the scenes of how a country operates when they want something they can't have, studying that course let the world look like a playground to me and states acting as nothing but petty. There's really not enough time to study these things but this course is something I wouldn't mind exploring as a degree on it's own.

IRS 413 (Technology, Ecology and Environment in World Affairs) because I liked seeing how states handled politics surrounding the environment. Fun fact, even when one state cares, the others are waiting in the shadows ready to sabotage their efforts. This is another course I wouldn't mind exploring on it's own as a degree. How energy and environmental politics can link with International relations. 

All these are the courses that stuck with me and really drew my attention.

DSNA: I feel like calling you shana with all these, you made the courses look like simple and interesting journeys, I can clearly see that you didn't only pass through the department, you allowed the department pass through you through and through. On a lighter note, can you let us know what you do in your leisure periods?

ZEE: 😂😂😂😂 Shano ke, at all oh. 

For relaxing hobbies, I watch movies and series. I can watch them at home or sometimes I go to the cinema with my brother and if he's not available then I bully my cousin into taking me out. 

I'm really into skincare and I guess you can call me a skintellectual. Nothing beats relaxing like a cool face mask and sitting back to watch a recent kdrama. 

I visit friends when I'm free to hangout and just talk, sometimes I spend the whole day at their places and then I come back home. 

Another relaxing thing I like to do is read a good romance or psychological thriller book.

DSNA: Hmmm, well done, well done, well done, you are really an interesting person. Can you please tell me, DSNA and the department as a whole, your relationship with other constituencies in the department, your relationship with your classmates, how well do people know you, how well do you relate with people. Are you a free person, the shy type, an introvert, extrovert, let's know this part of you ?

ZEE: So, I'll start with relationship with people in my part and other constituencies. For other constituencies, there's someone who's in part 3 now that I've been friends with since he was in part 1 and it started because I was trying to help him out with what courses to pick and what lecturers were like. He's the only junior (sadly) alongside Sheriff( he's a part of DSNA) too that I'm friends with. I tried one time to make more friends with juniors and although we swapped numbers, I didn't do a really good job with following up. To be honest, I didn't even know we had this current part one until second semester. You know they came during that pandemic time, so I didn't even know until this semester that we had part 1's this session. 

In part 3 I tried really hard to be friends with everybody in my constituency, I don't even know who that person was. Who I was then. It was just in my head that the mission impossible could be possible, but the thing is not everybody will be friends with you and your values will attract your kind of people. 

I relate well with my classmates now, I'm not trying to be friends with everybody now and that seems to work just fine with everyone I interact with.

I'm a really reserved and introverted person and everyone that I'm friends with knows that, my friends have to convince me to go out majority of the time. I have this fear that I won't enjoy myself but once they drag me out and I enjoy myself, I end up being happy I got dragged out. 

I don't know if I'm approachable or not actually, i think because I'm reserved the vibes I give off is just "stay back" unless the person approaching me sees me laughing or smiling. I blend really well too so I would say my presence isn't noticed immediately so that might be another reason why I don't get approached as much. I'm really open to helping out so if I'm approached, people see it differently.

DSNA: Wow, all I have been thinking throughout this interview is that you are such a sweet, interesting and amazing person, we can go on and on with this and it will continue being fun but unluckily, we will have to conclude the interview. But before then, can we know your favorite motivational quotes, who your shout outs goes to, and we will like to have your social media handles too?

ZEE: My favorite motivational quote is a French, one I came across one time and it just stuck with me. 

A vaincre sans peril, on triomphe sans gloire. -Pierre Corneille

“To win without risk is a triumph without glory.”

Somehow we are always risking something be it sleep, extra free time or something to get that triumph that we seek be it that First class or just an overall better grade.

My social media handles are; Twitter: AzeezatAfolami

IG: azeezahhhhh

 And my shoutout goes out to Olayowere, Bimbo, Oyin, Tolu, Joy, Seyi, Temi, Lanre, Abraham , Faith and Idowu.

join us for more updates;

DSNA: Okay thank you very much for honoring our interview, thanks for your time, the cruise, the bluntness and all, we love you and appreciate you being our FYB for the week. Thank you once more!

ZEE: Thank you for the interview guys, I had funnn

To our esteemed readers,we say a big thank you for coming this far. Expect a spicy and interesting interview with us again next week as always.

Isedowo Oluwatosin Temijuayolo

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