{"id":14443,"date":"2018-08-20T07:15:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T11:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/verastic.com\/?p=14443"},"modified":"2018-08-15T01:47:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T05:47:43","slug":"introducing-sweet-potato-4-janet-ilonoh-oyebanji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/features\/introducing-sweet-potato-4-janet-ilonoh-oyebanji.html","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Sweet Potato #4: Janet Ilonoh-Oyebanji"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contrary to what it may seem like, this series is actually still very much alive. Vera just needed a break to catch her breath, but she’s good now. Today’s Sweet Potato is a fellow Marylander, and judging from the cuteness of her son, he might be forced to pay Ada Verastic’s bride price in the future.<\/p>\n

If you have no idea what\u2019s going on here, this post is part of a new series on Verastic, called Sweet Potato Files<\/strong><\/a>. In this series, each blog post features a Sweet Potato (blog reader), and the reason is that they (you) have been getting to know me for years, and now, I want to get to know YOU. <\/p>\n

Today’s Sweet Potato is Janet Ilonoh-Oyebanji; let’s get to know her!<\/p>\n

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1)  Tell us a little bit about yourself:<\/strong> I am Janet Ilonoh-Oyebanji. Igbo woman to the core, born in Kaduna, and married to a man from Kwara state, so I am an official representative of Nigeria!!…lmao. I also <\/span>have a very, very spoilt 2-year-old son who is the center of my entire universe! He’s my boss, CEO, and owner of my entire life. I work as a patient service coordinator for Johns Hopkins and headed back to school for a second masters degree and I am TERRIFIED!!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Janet and her small oga<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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2)  How long have you been a Sweet Potato?<\/strong> Almost 3 years.<\/div>\n
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3)  How did you discover Verastic and why do you keep coming back?  <\/strong>On Instagram oh, and I’m not even sure <\/span>how, considering <\/span>I’m not there that often or even check out blogs for that matter! I keep coming back because you are so relatable!<\/span>  I love how you get excited about the little things in life, I am the same way.<\/span><\/div>\n
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4)  What’s your favorite thing about Verastic\/what do you love to read\/see most on Verastic?<\/strong>  All of Ada Verastic’s growing up stories encourage me that I am not alone in dealing with a 2-year-old. Your write up on mom guilt definitely hit close to home for me, because I quit the first 2 jobs I got after staying home with my baby for 7 months and deciding to go back to work. He is 2 1\/2 years old, and I still feel guilty for going to work every day and only having Saturday and Sunday to spend with him. I end up overcompensating by not making any plans on Saturday and Sunday, so if you have faaji<\/em> (enjoyment galore) on Saturday or Sunday, you already know who will probably not be there! …LMAO.<\/div>\n
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5)  Where do you live? [State and Country]<\/strong> Jessup, Maryland.<\/div>\n
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6)  One quirky thing about you?<\/strong> I LAUGH A LOT!…and it’s a problem sometimes because I laugh even when <\/span>I’m angry, so it’s hard for people to take me <\/span>seriously!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Janet

Hot mama on her Wakanda parole<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
7)  Three words you’d use to describe yourself?<\/strong> I’m loving, d<\/span>riven, and s<\/span>pontaneous<\/span> (because I get bored easily).<\/span><\/div>\n
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8)  What are your hobbies\/what do you do for fun?<\/strong>  Dancing, t<\/span>raveling, l<\/span>istening to good <\/span>music. (Naija music on youtube is on repeat from the time I get to work at <\/span>8 AM till I leave at <\/span>5 PM!) … keeps me hyped and partying in my seat because I cannot come and die <\/span>abeg!  I also love <\/span>sitting on the couch all weekend and watching cartoons in my pajamas..lol.  <\/span>Unwinding at the end of the day with a good Naija movie when my small <\/span>oga has gone to bed!<\/span> Irokotv has definitely renewed my faith in Naija movies, so I can watch 1 movie and it ends in less than 2 hours and it actually makes sense!!..<\/span>aaahh Jesu!  And c<\/span>ooking. I like cooking.<\/span><\/div>\n
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9)  If money and fear were not an issue, what would you be doing right now?<\/strong> I’d be traveling the world.<\/div>\n
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10)  What would you like to see more of on Verastic?  Or what kind of new content would you like me to add on Verastic?<\/strong>  Fashion things!  Styles to make with Ankara or lace and contact info for Naija tailors that are not professional hand fallers! LOL.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n
\"Janet

Janet and her big (and small) oga<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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11)  Anything else you want to share with me (us)?<\/strong>  I quit my job in 2012 and relocated to Nigeria to complete NYSC!.. one of the BEST decisions of my life!.. it has steered and shaped my life in more ways than one. I met my husband on day 2 inside camp oh, just when I was starting to wonder what kind of witchcraft my village people have used to push me from America to HOT Abuja sun to be insulted by soldier men!! And we have been together ever since. My experience working as a counselor with Boko Haram victims at Wuse General Hospital has pushed me back to school to get another Masters degree, but this time, I am actually pursuing my dreams of being a Clinical Mental Health Counselor, with plans of returning to Nigeria to practice because the lack of mental health professionals and the rate people are committing suicide as a result of very manageable variations of mental illness is saddening.<\/div>\n
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From me to Janet:<\/h3>\n
My darling! Let me start by saying that you love your exclamation marks oh!!!!!!!!!! Lol. Even after editing your responses, there are still a lot of exclamation marks. In my uncle’s words, I’ll say “wondafoo!”  That said, let me thank you first for being a Sweet Potato for the past three years. Chineke gozie gi (God bless you).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Thank you also for your current and future work in mental health, especially in Nigeria. Every now and then, I shiver when I think about all the individuals suffering from mental illness who are just labeled as “mad,” or worse, “cursed.” So it’s very nice to know that a Sweet Potato will be making a difference. Go get it, girl!<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
So NYSE is where they’re finding di (husband) now, ehn? Fellow Sweet Potatoes, una don hear? And lastly, on mom guilt, girl, don’t get me started. And I do the same exact thing as you: I skip weekend events because I just want to spend more time with Ada Verastic. Between working on and off the blog, there’s barely any time left. Oh, the guilt! *tears*<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Per wanting fashion posts, well, I don start oh! I have two style posts up here<\/strong><\/a> and here<\/strong><\/a>. Have you seen them? Also, I hear you on wanting connections to Nigerian tailors. I’m working on it (and much more).  Thank you, Janet. I appreciate you, and I wish you all the best. <\/div>\n

___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

If you are a Sweet Potato, I would like to get to know you too. To be featured, simply send me an email, and I\u2019ll send you the questions.  You may email me directly at hello at verastic.com or send it via my contact page<\/strong><\/a>. Read this initial post for clarification (and inspiration)<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click HERE<\/strong><\/a> to read every post under Sweet Potato Files or click on each feature below.<\/h2>\n

Sweet Potato #1: Enyemaka Nnodimele<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Sweet Potato #2: Nkiru<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Sweet Potato #3 and 3.5: Mojisola and <\/strong><\/a>Modesire<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contrary to what it may seem like, this series is actually still very much alive. Vera just needed a break to catch her breath, but she’s good now. Today’s Sweet Potato is a fellow Marylander, and judging from the cuteness of her son, he might be forced to pay Ada Verastic’s bride price in theRead More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_14738191_14738191":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[613],"tags":[1456,1227,1440],"class_list":["post-14443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features","tag-featured-on-verastic","tag-features","tag-sweet-potato-files","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIntroducing Sweet Potato #4: Janet Ilonoh-Oyebanji - 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