"I'm destined for a lot of greatness...and I'm grateful for having that feeling within myself."
Tuesday 4 June 2024, Canterbury High Street, United Kingdom
Who are we talking to? Fatima
Who's doing the interview? Dante
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DANTE: So the first question is what are you passionate about and why?
FATIMA: I would say I'm passionate about many things. Sometimes I feel like I'm passionate about too many things. But running, so track 100, 200 metres is one of my biggest passions. It's always been since I was a young girl. Although I feel like running is my calling, I really have an interest in performing arts like drama and dance and music, and with music it's not like something that's new, but it's just, it's me. And obviously I've played instruments as well and I just feel like music is a big part of who I am, who my family is as well, as well as like with drama and acting, these are interests that I can share with my sister as well, so she can be really inspirational for that a lot. But yeah, the sporting industry, the performing arts industry and even like dabbing in writing as well. English literature is my favourite, favourite, favourite subject. The gothic specifically.
DANTE: The gothic genre, yeah, love it. Is your sister older or younger?
FATIMA: She's older by two years, but she's my mother in many, many ways. She raised me a lot. A lot of who I am today is just with my sister and my dad.
DANTE: That's beautiful.
FATIMA: Thank you.
DANTE: Was there someone or something that happened that sparked that passion?
FATIMA: With running, in primary school, I was the slowest in my friend group. And when I left primary school, I thought, "I'm gonna be the fastest. It's something I wanted to kind of do for myself, because I'm a virgo. I'm kind of the type where it's like if I'm not the best at something, or like someone else is better than me. I appreciate that, but I now need to step up my game as well. So that was my spark for running. But I would say that I'm a natural runner, I'm naturally athletic, so it was like that was the trigger. But then once I was doing it, it just felt like me and I felt really good doing it and it wasn't just running, it was just sports in general and being active. It was a very good way for me to express myself as a child and it still is now.
DANTE: That's beautiful. Next question: how does it feel to think about your future?
FATIMA: It feels scary, but I also have faith in it. I'll go through a lot of things in the present and it'll have me scared about how this is going to turn out in the future, but I've always kind of had just an inner feeling that it's like something great is coming, like I'm destined for a lot of greatness, as well as my family, and I'm grateful for having that feeling within myself. But yeah, honestly, like I have a mixture of emotions when it comes to my future, but overall it's like I'm ready for it, I have faith in it, in whatever it is.
DANTE: That's so beautiful, that's such a beautiful answer. I think that feeling of being that, feeling like there's something greater or something coming, I think that's a beautiful feeling. And I honestly think it's passion and like, I think passion is something that I think people that are passionate don't realise it's, you know. I think passion isn't just an emotion. I think it fuels everything else, and it's like the energy that goes into all the other emotions and when you're passionate, I think you feel things really intensely, very, and I think not just typical emotions, but also that kind of intuition is also fueled by passion.
"I've never been the person to tell people or like showcase [my talent] to people, and before it was like a shy thing, like just altogether being seen."
DANTE: So I'm excited that you said that. Okay, next question, what is something you're excited about that's happening in the near future?
FATIMA: Summer, basically. Just having more time to focus on running and focus on my own interests as well and have that free time to relax from uni, because uni has been very, very stressful. But yeah, kind of just getting back into my grind, into me, that's what I'm trying to set in stone for summer and prepare for winter.
DANTE: Yeah, how's your sleep schedule been?
FATIMA: Bad. Yeah, very, very bad. It's actually chronically bad. It's something I'm trying to fix because I wake up late, like the earliest 12pm when it was ? Earliest was like 3pm and then I sleep, when I just sleep so yeah, I've been going through it when it comes to the health wise and everything
DANTE: You're working on it. What is something you've been dreaming of that maybe you haven't worked towards or accomplished yet, but it's always on your mind.
FATIMA: It really is showcasing my talents, because I know that I'm talented and again I'm grateful for it. I know what I've done, but I've never been the person to tell people or like showcase it to people, and before it was like a shy thing, like just altogether being seen. But I feel like I owe it to myself to showcase that I am a runner and I do like writing and I do like drama and I like dancing and I like doing a lot of things and I feel like I'm really good at it and I'm only going to get better at it and I would love to share that with people, like that journey that I'm on.
DANTE: I think like talent is annoying for me sometimes because you know there's different levels of privilege that you get to grow up with and some things are nurtured so young that it's like are you talented or was it just nurtured?
FATIMA: Right.
DANTE: And I think sometimes the word talent kind of annoys me, because I'm like you know, who knows, I could have played piano if my parents could put me in the classes. You know, I don't know, but I think to have come from wherever you've come from, but continuously be drawn to something and really feel that, I think that's more talent. It's not even how good you are. I think it's that passion and that force that keeps you coming towards it and failing because some people are so afraid to fail that they won't even start but to be one of those people that actually attacks it. I think that is the talent. Like that is the gift, is the fact that you are here and you're doing it and you want to do it, and it's like just hearing you talk about it I can tell that it's coming.
FATIMA: Yeah, because just to add to that, like hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
DANTE: Absolutely no, that's beautiful. What was your childhood dream job?
FATIMA: Being a younger sibling. I wanted to be anything my sister wanted to be Like. If she wanted to be a singer, I wanted to be, a singer If she wanted to be an actress. That's what I wanted to be, but I wanted to be a runner, since I was like nine. That's when I decided, so it's kind of been more than half my life now.
DANTE: Okay, what's some songs that you've been listening to lately, or any song that is meaningful to you?
FATIMA: “Silent Storm” by Marabou and JRD. That's one of my favourite songs of all time. I could name so many songs right now, but that one will always stick out to me.
DANTE: That's beautiful. Is there a reason?
FATIMA: It reminds me of someone and it's kind of like our song as well.
DANTE: Describe yourself in three words.
FATIMA: I would say genuine. I would say genuine, multidisciplinary, and humble.
"Enhancing or just refocusing my relationship with the Most High and my ancestors and i.e. myself, that's what inspires me."
DANTE: Lovely. Do you have a nickname?
FATIMA: Tima. My name's Fatima, so people just say Tima, Tima, but online, like people see me online as “Tima Toph,” and Toph is obviously from “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
DANTE: That's your favourite character?
FATIMA: Yeah.
DANTE: Why is Toph your favourite?
FATIMA: I just, I resonate with her, like her hard-headedness as well. Sometimes I can be like that and obviously I'm an earth sign, so that alignment with her was always going to be there. But there was a particular scene with her and Katara and I don't remember it, but you know when those girls are making fun of her in the makeup episode?
DANTE: Yeah.
FATIMA: Yeah and then just her response to that. And honestly, when it comes to "Avatar," all the characters are my favourite, like I just love them all, but Toph, like that's me. I don't know there's something about it.
DANTE: I think Toph is one of the best written because she's supposed to be this kind of badass hard that doesn't care, but she cares probably more than anyone.
FATIMA: Right right, and I resonate with that, I really do.
DANTE: Yeah, it's almost like the world has made you tough, but inside you actually are really soft and that is kind of the cards you've been dealt versus who you feel like you are on the inside. So, like Toph is constantly battling that and just needing that to be reaffirmed, which Katara does constantly.
Like I remember the episode where they um, where they had that argument because toph was doing all the scams and you know she was like “Stop being my mom, like you're not,” but it was really just because like, they revealed that they actually liked that Katara was motherly, because she needed that. She wanted someone to know she cares about her.
So, okay, I love Toph. What's something that's been on your mind recently?
FATIMA: Money because I'm trying to go on holiday for my birthday, because I'm 21 this year and I'll go on holiday, you know, and I haven't left the country in a really long time and I'm honestly dreaming. I've been dreaming of being like in a beach, and it's quite dark, it's like sunset-y, and I'm just in the not too far in the ocean but I'm in the ocean and I'm looking up and it's like I'm just yeah, I envision that all the time and whenever summertime comes. That thought just always comes back to me really and I want to really put that into fruition this year. But I need money for that. Because I need to book that flight.
DANTE: Where would you go?
FATIMA: Spain.
DANTE: So where did you get your inspiration from?
FATIMA: I would say, firstly, my family and music and watching YouTube videos from people who have similar faiths to me when it comes to God, because like, praying as well, so enhancing or just refocusing my relationship with the Most High and my ancestors and i.e. myself, that's what inspires me. I always feel inspired once that's happened, to like a higher energy.
DANTE: Who instilled that in you? Did you find it? Or is that your family?
FATIMA: My family, my dad. So we were raised on like African spirituality, just spirituality in general, things of that nature.
DANTE: Okay, I love that. Can you remember the moment that you fell in love with one of your passions? It sounded like it happened young.
FATIMA: Yeah, yeah, for running, yeah, very young. But for drama, like acting, I actually got my first acting job when I was 13 and I loved it, like I was really proud of myself for getting the role and anything. But I was the only child onset and I remember feeling like really homesick, even though we shot it in London. But I've just always been a homesick type of person and I was like the only—did I just say I was the only child on set?
DANTE: Yeah.
FATIMA: So yeah, and that kind of made me feel uncomfortable, even though the people on set were great and they were really kind and they treated me really well.
I loved being with them, but I still just felt that uncomfortability because I just wasn't used to it. So after I finished it I kind of held on to that feeling and I didn't want to do drama anymore. I don't know, I don't think I processed, I wasn't processing it well, and I just kind of suffered in silence with it. I didn't want to say anything to anyone, but yeah, so I left drama GCSE, but I didn't tell my drama teacher who's like one of my favourite teachers of all time.
I didn't tell her and when she found out she was really hurt. But she kind of just spoke life into me and was like you know, things like that. But I was set in my head that I'm just going to focus on track. I'm going to focus on PE. And I just changed. But it wasn't until like now, looking back at that, I wish I didn't do that. And it kind of just, I'm feeling a lot lately that I do miss drama because I haven't really gone back since.
DANTE: So that's what you're looking towards.
FATIMA: Yeah, so it's just something I don't want to shut the door on completely and obviously, like it had to happen, it happened for a reason and it was a learning lesson but it had showcased to me that I do really love drama.
DANTE: So that's all the questions. Do you feel good?
FATIMA: Yeah.
DANTE: Okay, that was great. I feel like I could talk to you all day.
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Photographers: Dante Richardson & Paolo
Photo editor: Dante Richardson
Photoshoot assistants: Hyla Etame, Vanessa Mbeko, & Jolanda Oruni
Interview editor: Hyla Etame
