30 seconds in the mind of Mary Kanu

H A I L  M A R Y!

Dig in with Mary Kanu!

Mary, 22, is a Southampton Politics and International Relations graduate. Now she's back in London to conquer the writing and publishing world. I wanted to put some random questions to her to find out what she's all about.

What is your greatest fear?

This'll probably never happen, but being buried alive! It really disturbs me when they show people buried alive on TV and in movies. If I'm under my duvet I feel claustrophobic so I think that's linked to a fear of being in dark enclosed spaces for long periods of time.


What is your earliest memory?

Wow, my memory's really bad, I guess some good memories are waking up at 7 am to watch Saturday morning TV. When shows like Live and Kicking and Diggin' came on that was my time, my mum would call me to eat and I didn't want to be disturbed.

What are you like onstage?

I used to act for the National Youth Theatre, so when it's acting and role-plays I enjoy doing that it's fun. But when I have to be myself, I'm a dork! I was at an Open Mic Night singing but when I had to speak I couldn't and my friend had to speak for me!


What are you like to live with?

On the surface I'm neat, but below the surface, say if you open my wardrobe then everything will fall out!! I can be immature too but lets not go into that!

What gadget do you think should be invented?

I've always wanted some kind of machine that would read my mind and type up my work for me. I don't know if there's a general disconnect between my brain and writing or typing for me to translate what I'm thinking in my head down.

My Experience of Catch 22 so far

It's been 5 weeks since I joined the Catch 22 Academy in London's Bernie Grant Arts Centre and what a journey it's been, my life has completely changed!

Just 6 weeks ago I was working part time in my home-town of Bradford, cold calling people trying to get them to take advantage of the government grant for getting their homes insulated.

I was writing in my spare time and working in a school doing some pretty amazing art projects such as creating tape sculptures and Egyptian murals.

I applied for the course believing that I could achieve my ambitions if I put the effort in to what I really wanted in life. Within a week of my Catch 22 interview I came to London.

My first four days included attending the course and searching like crazy for a place to live. In fact the first Wednesday I came there was a tube strike which made my second day a challenge in just getting around! So I knew I had to find a place nearby - which I did on the Thursday but couldn't move in straight away, but at least I got that ticked off my list pretty quickly.

Catch 22 Magazine  gave me the tools to believe in myself. It can be scary to push yourself but you have to get round certain corners to progress and that started with me. This has been the best decision for me and even looking back, everything seems to make sense now.

Next I had to find a job; So the endless applications began...more on that next time.

Might be cliche but this song sums up my experience so far, I love Sam Tsui's covers: Sam Tsui "Don't Stop Believing"