Everyone knew Ada as “Wap Settings”
They called me “Wap Settings” when I was growing up, back before smartphones became what they are today.
People around my area and even at extra lessons knew me as the person to call whenever a phone or device was misbehaving.
Some days, two or three people would knock on our door asking if I was around to help them set up one thing or another.
I usually did it for free because I genuinely enjoyed it.
My mum would sometimes ask, “Won’t you collect money from them?” She was right. If you are good at something and people are already lining up for your help, there is value in it.
But I would just laugh.
I had been fascinated by computers too. Even when getting one was difficult, I could connect the keyboard, mouse, CPU and everything else and get a desktop running.
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I was doing that as far back as primary three or four. Seeing how much I loved computers and gadgets eventually led me to a computer training centre, where I sharpened what I already enjoyed doing.
Then COVID happened and I discovered crypto and blockchain. I paid for a class, learned the “jobbing” side of it, applied for more than 1,000 opportunities and got rejected again and again. I still kept going.
I joined communities, learned from people, tried trading, made money during the tap-tap era and eventually lost some of it trying to grow my earnings through degen trading.
I tried other things too, including AdMob, AdSense and content creation. I started writing and making AI explainer videos before the current AI video boom, learning mostly by experimenting.
I contributed to Endless Protocol, learned how to grind on Discord, improved my content and earned some money before the project eventually wound down.
After years of trying different things, I received an email from an international organization I had almost forgotten about. They were offering me a job.
I completed my monthly quota and received my first salary. I checked my account again because I could hardly believe what I was seeing. The feeling was surreal.
All those years of learning, trying, failing, starting again and figuring things out as I went had finally paid off.
That moment made me remember my mum asking me all those years ago, “Won’t you collect money from them?”
Maybe I finally did.
