Recently we started a new Trailblazer Series of articles to celebrate and showcase young creatives and leaders. One of the aims of aStepFWD is to be a catalyst for more intergenerational harmony in the UK and beyond. We’re seeing a huge coming together via our UK Christian Chart and are excited to see more.
We were fortunate to have Chantelle Datiari write the first piece (see article on 19 year old Kenrick*) and spoke to her about taking on the full series of Trailblazer articles. We were even more excited when she accepted. No less of a trailblazer herself Chantelle is an aspiring international lawyer, currently studying French law in Paris.
For Chantelle, her defining moment is one she has no recollection of. Her mother passed when she was a baby, she had never really understood what this meant though. She never allowed herself to accept that she had started life at a disadvantage. Instead, she was guided by the resilience of her father: adamant that success would still be in their story, he raised her and her two older siblings himself – instilling in them the philosophy that everything is possible, because they are capable. “Life will be kind to you if you’re kind to yourself: if you believe unwaveringly that you’re capable, and deserving, and work for what you want then there’s no reason why you won’t excel”.
She became an observer, seeking to understand those around her and endlessly reflecting on how to be better. She studied how the other, less curious, kids would behave, she analysed the social dynamics at her predominately white grammar school, she moved to France to study and discovered yet another new world. Despite excelling academically, she remained aware that there is always more to know – more to see, too much to understand. She learned to be adaptable to each new type of person along her journey because: “if you understand others, you understand yourself: and that’s where you’re able to be kindest to yourself”.
She’s a linguist: “languages expose you to new worlds and a truer understanding of others”. She studies a law degree in French with native French students – because why not, if you can. Believing we all have an obligation to “live our best lives” and offer our talents to the world, she puts her studies to use drafting contracts and translating legal contracts from French to English. Generally, she works freelance as a writer, editor and translator because words are her joy. Believing words need to be shared, she co-founded Kamaria Press, a not-for-profit publishing house for underrepresented writers.
Through writing, she learned what it means to really feel, and to truly explore who you are: she now seeks to know others and their stories, she wants to understand why and how people feel.
“It’s only when we pause to assess our true feelings, our true selves, that we are able to take a step forward”.
* This article was updated as of 1st November 2024 to include name change to Kenrick Benjamin Thomas.
