My life as an artist was not planned but rather born out of necessity. Four months before I signed up at Safari Park Hotel as a dancer, I had been fired from my first job as an electrician at Simmers Restaurant in downtown Nairobi. Two weeks towards the end of the four months, I received an eviction notice to vacate my single room in Umoja Estate in Eastland. Eastland, widely known as slung eastlando, is home to a mix of middle and lower class citizens. The lower middle class is primarily made up of civil servants and, over time, taken over by the lower class mix and hustlers. I had been in arrears for two months. I had survived by avoiding my landlord by simply dodging and staying out late until midnight before coming home. An audition was underway and I asked to be able to try my luck as well. So when they gave me the opportunity to try it, I gave it my all. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayView I was so excited that I needed this job. Anything that could put food on my table. I was tired of asking friends and loved ones for help. Literally the day before the audition, the dinner I ate was a wedding dinner. In Kenya, it is an invitation to all. If you've ever done yours in Kenya, just know that you invited everyone unless you had security to guard the doors and keep out uninvited people. At the audition, the supervisor is tired of seeing the same thing from everyone and is now asking me to do something different like a summer jump or something.” Just so you know, the last time I tried something like this was a long time ago, when I was about 10 years old. But you see here, I had nothing to lose man. I had no more meals and was at risk of being deported in two weeks. I'll be damned if I lose this opportunity. I had hit rock bottom, so to speak, I was desperate enough to do anything to make money. Yes, I was scared to death but that's not what I said. I told him I could do it. I got mentally excited and told people to get out of my way and went. Well, I spun in the air, except my head was only a few inches off the ground. I barely landed on my feet while part of my butt was connected to the ground. Everyone gasped, shocked that I would even dare to pull off such a stunt without any skills. The supervisor asked me if I was okay. You'd think he'd feel sorry for not asking me to repeat. That's exactly what he asked me to do. He asked me if I could do it again; a little hesitant, I said I could. As he stepped back to create even more space, he looked at me and I think he was scared. He asked me to stop for a second. “Are you sure you can do this?” » what I heard was: go home if you can't make it. I shouted, yes, yes, I can. With all the courage and bravery I could muster, I started again. I ran and jumped into the air, did a summer flip and was there, standing. Everyone stood up, clapping and cheering, some shouting “yeah” out loud. I stood there, I couldn't move, it was like I was glued to the ground. I heard the voice in the applause say, "Well, young man, you've just proven how much you want this job." You have your chance for now. You have two weeks to catch up. If you don't do it, unfortunately, even with your determinationevil, I won’t be able to keep you at that time.” And he left the room. I tried to wipe away my tears to hide my emotions but everyone seemed to know exactly what was happening. This is how I started my artistic life. Six months later I was training acrobatics with a few of my friends and over the next 6 months we completely transitioned from dancing to acrobatic training. That’s when life got interesting. All three of us had just quit our jobs to train as acrobats and it's not like we were going to college or an acrobatics school, we were here training on our own and following along and d borrowed a lot from other acrobatic groups that we knew around us. We went at it heavily and without restraint. We trained like there was no tomorrow, twice a day and for long hours. This lasted 6 months non-stop. This process has sufficiently prepared us for the time to come. In the first 6 months, we received a boost from a benefactor of Ksh 30,000, the equivalent of USD 300. After 6 months we had no money and now had to work to get money for food, house and everything else. As we progressed in our practice, things started to get very difficult for us. It was at that moment that we realized how art and especially how acrobats were perceived in the city. We barely made any money despite our offers to audition or perform the first show for free. In some places and in some cases we had to settle for a plate of rice and water and called it a day. I mean, it was better than nothing if you ask me. We fought hard and never gave up, always remembering that one day will be payday and especially when it will be the hardest. The days went by and passed, some days I remember having only 20 shillings in my pocket as we returned home from Dandora, one of our training centers. I was so hungry and wanted to spend it on a roadside donut. My friend reminded me that it was the only cash we had and that we had better save it for later in the evening. 10 shillings was enough for us both to buy boiled 'Mandondo' beans which we would then eat with ugali and the remaining ten shillings was enough to buy a joint to bury our troubles. The morning will get better and life goes on. Hard work pays off. And over the next year, we were thrust into the spotlight as upcoming artists and, sure enough, our payday came. We got our first overseas contract after 2 years and four months of sweat and tears. It was hard work and we were so happy to see that heaven had finally accepted our offering of nothing but prayers and sweat and offered us this chance to venture out and earn a substantial amount of money from our career. My life as an artist was born out of necessity. I just needed a job or something to earn money to buy mainly food and then housing. Four months seem like years where you don't have to do anything to get money for even your most basic needs. When you have held such a position in life, mentoring becomes very important. Most people who have succeeded in life have done so with the help of others who have been through the same or similar situation. We had none of that and we are.