Before Uzari, my career carried me through banking, fashion, aviation and energy. Industries where I often wore many hats in a single day. As a flight attendant, I travelled across six continents, meeting people from every walk of life and navigating every kind of situation along the way.
In business and in all that travel, I learned something quickly. I always had to be ready. But being ready was never about knowing the right things, wearing the right clothes or having the right makeup. It came down to one thing. How confident I felt in any given moment.
That realisation stayed with me. It sent me searching for the true source of that confidence, and in doing so, it opened a door to the whole of who I am. The things that shaped me, grounded me and fuelled me. Every path led back to the same place. To my mother.
Unconditional Love
A single mother from my teenage years, my mum did everything she could. Through her care, her provision and her presence, she made certain her children never doubted her love. We had our moments of conflict, but never once did I question whether she loved me. That security gave me the freedom to explore who I was, always knowing she was there.
Faith
Belief in a higher power sits at the foundation of most African communities. My mother raised me in the Christian faith, and that grounding has shaped me profoundly and steadied me through every season of life. Knowing there is something greater than myself, I have always found the strength to push beyond what I thought possible.
Trust
My mother is conservative and reserved by nature, yet she never once placed limits on my dreams. Whatever direction I chose to follow, so long as it was honorable, she trusted and supported me. That trust taught me to trust myself, and to believe in my own capabilities.
Self Care
We didn't call it self care back then, but every lesson was there from an early age. It lived in cleanliness and respect for the environment, in prayer and meditation, in fellowship, education and the pursuit of knowledge. Self care, I learned, is simply everything you do to feel whole. Everything you do to feel complete.
Culture and Heritage
Understanding my heritage and the lives of my ancestors keeps me rooted. It let me see both their vision and their limits, and to know I could dream beyond their dreams while honouring the roads they walked to get me here. I carry that respect with me everywhere I go. To this day, I still catch myself curtseying to my elders when I greet them.
Family
Family is so much more than blood. It is your community, your friends, and sometimes even those you have never met. Nurturing those bonds reminds you that you are never truly alone, and caring for them fills your life with purpose and meaning.
A Generous Heart
This one I learned simply by watching her. If she had it, she gave it, gladly. Giving it away never meant she didn't need it too. Often it meant someone else needed it more. It was how she cared for her family and her community, and it taught me that you don't need to have a great deal to make a difference. Sometimes changing one life is enough.
A Positive Attitude
Even through her tears, my mother saw every hardship as a lesson. She believed the solution to any problem was always within reach. You take action, and you move forward. Her optimism in the face of difficulty gave me a fearlessness of my own, and a calm that steadies me when life is anything but.
For a young girl, confidence is never built or broken in a single moment. It is shaped by a thousand small ones. Quiet, often unintentional acts that slowly teach you who you are and how to move through the world.
Looking back, these are the lessons from my mother that mattered most.
Yasmin, Founder
Also Read: The Uzari Woman