“Ynidco Is” appears to be a children’s book, both whimsical and colorful, but just as cliché goes, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ The novel, written by Sandra Olajide, packs a lot of punch and is a story, similar to the fantasy world in Alice in Wonderland. Ynidico is a young girl who struggles with the confines placed on her by adults and a reality that doesn’t seem to nurture or acknowledge her unique gifts. It is this struggle that causes her accidental journey into a timeless reality, where past, present and future operate simultaneously. In this space, called ‘Everwhen,’ she meets another young girl, Issy, who, with her incredible secrets and enormous powers, agrees to help Ynidico back to where she came from. VAIN interviewed the imaginative author whose creativity is turning the wheels of the minds of individuals of all ages.
VAIN: To have created a fantasy/science fiction filled-novel, would you say that you’ve always had a large imagination as child?
Sandra Olajide: “I was as imaginative as they come. I always imagined that I could have my reality the way that I wanted it. And for the most part, I would say that I have.”
What was the inspiration behind your book?
“When I was a tween, and when my own children were at that age, I found that I came to a point where, I began to question life consciously, how I felt myself in it…versus the expectations of me and from the world surrounding me. How I was going to maintain this very real connection with myself –who I knew I was and who I wanted to grow and become- versus the peer pressure, parental pressures, just the pressures of the world…”
Absolutely. That’s pretty profound.
“…There isn’t enough being said about it; I think that by reconnecting with that moment and allowing parents to re-experience and reconnect with that moment, we could actually help our youth move through that transitional phase – that rite of passage if you will – fully intact and learning what they need to learn and at the same time having a very conscious knowledge of themselves and who they were in the process.”
What shapes your philosophy about maintaining self-consciousness?
“We all come to certain transition points when we are asking questions about life. I think that now, more and more, children need to be given more than a traditional education to hold them in good stead. Through the experiences that I have had in my own life and that I have watched my own children go though, I think that they really need to have something that we as adults recognize in them to help them not to forget the very core of themselves. I think that we are more in touch with that as children. “This is an obstacle, let me move around it imaginatively and intuitively…” [as children,] We respond to life in a much more pure fashion.”
How did you come to such a deep understanding of self?
“Before we become disenchanted and jaded by what life is throwing at us, there is a natural way we have of responding to life’s circumstances. Whether its with our imagination or creativity, however. It’s important that we maintain that connection because it allows us to maintain a part of ourselves that is very strong really fundamental and doesn’t change. We tend to lose our focus and get taken off path and learn that other things are more important.”
What triggered your self-consciousness?
“At the age of 18, I became pregnant with my first child. After his birth, I went back to school and found it so difficult to really spend the time with him that I wanted to spend and to take both of us on the journey where I was working a job that I wanted to be in, where I was being fulfilled but also left me free enough to be with him, raising him. And, one day, I got a call from someone who heard me sing in a concert when I was twelve. Asked me if I was singing and if I was interested in auditioning.”
So you did it?
“I auditioned. I was thrown in the deep end with a lot of musicians who were 10-15 years my senior, and I think that that changed me. It made me realize that you can set your mind on having your life be a certain way, and it can happen. From then on I realized that little things were happening when I set my mind to them, when I desired them allowing opportunities to come my way and taking them.”
Taking into account your life experiences, what would you advise individuals to do to?
“I think its more important to focus first on the self and to act from the self first, outwards towards the world and if you are in touch with that and you really know yourself and can be creative and intuitive about how you meet the challenges of life, then I think that life becomes less about a path of challenges but a journey.”
NAME: Sandra Olajide
CAREER: Singer, Songwriter, Author
FOCUS: Yndico Is, the first book of a series, introduces the story of a young girl, Yndico, who struggles to maintain her self-conciousness in a reality that demands
WEBSITE: www.yndicois.com
EDUCATION: Some College; A student of life experiences
CAREER ADVICE: “Be what you are”
ROLE MODEL(S): “My father. With a grade six education, lost his mother at an early age, was passed from relative to relative and yet, even though my mother was absent from our lives, he did his very best, got up every single day and put one foot in front of the other and did every job he could to keep body and soul together. He really taught me the meaning of integrity and having passion, soul, and compassion. He embodies tenacity; the will to get up every morning, come what may, and feed and love his children.”
“My children are inspiration to me because I see them and I see life and if I fail them then I failed life which is bigger than all of us.”
BOOK: “Yndico Is”*
PUBLISHER: Seventh Synchrony
PAGES: 97 (Paperback)
COST: $14.95
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT: www.yndicois.com Amazon and Fred Segal in LA.
*“Ynidico Is” by singer, songwriter Sandra Olajide is the first book in a series written. The second book in this series is to be released in early February. Visit the web site for more on “Yndicio Is” music, video and blog.
STORY BY: Melissa Holloway
PHOTO BY: Sara Cozolino
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