My mother’s tongue

My mother always said my mouth would get me into trouble.

Knowing too many words for my own good and just when to use them is my greatest asset – or the bane of her existence. But I like to think when she said trouble, she meant that it would get me exactly where I wanted it to.

When you’re young you ask a lot of questions. As you grow you learn to keep your mouth shut a little more. I didn’t. I questioned everything and still do today. When I told her I was going to be a copywriter, she looked at me and said: they’re in trouble.

Although she has no real understanding of what I actually do, she knows I’m a writer. But she also has no idea that the reason I believe words are so powerful is that she taught me mine were. As a British Ghanaian, I benefit from being bilingual – English and Twi. However, it’s my mother’s tongue that gave me a true understanding of what words can do.

Thanks, mama.

I’ve been playing with words and hustling with ideas before I could even spell my last name. From made-up stories in my square-lined maths book to a handwritten essay on lined paper about the cultural impact of Mean Girls – the blank page is a foe to many yet a frenemy to me.

Now I’m here, at Reed Words, doing words like I’ve never done them before. Is it strange that I’m sitting in a room full of writers? Absolutely. I come from the world of design agencies where there’s never more than two or three of us in the same room – if you’re lucky. So I’m excited to join a team that loves language just as much as I do. Language may only be a handful of letters, but it’s helped us build worlds, change lives, and create the impossible.

But the best thing language gave us, in my opinion, is a voice. I’ve dedicated my career to helping brands find theirs. In hope that my words cause some good trouble.