“My mum was incredibly resourceful and there were loads of aunts and un...” — Jay Blades Quote

My mum was incredibly resourceful and there were loads of aunts and uncles around who helped.

Secondary school was a bit naughty for me. The class I was in was called 'L' for learners but was known as L for 'Losers' so that's how I got treated at school. The Ls weren't allowed to do chemistry or anything that included something sharp or hot, so no bunsen burners, no woodwork. It was deemed we would mess everything up.

I was running a charity that taught teenagers about furniture restoration. The Guardian online did a piece with me and it went viral.

I went to a predominantly white secondary school and experienced a lot of hate and racism.

We're good at taking care of little kids, and spend a lot of energy teaching them things like how to read. But when kids get as tall as their parents and can look them in the eyes, we tend to drop the ball - at a time they most need a loving consistent community of adults, be it parents, aunts, uncles, or others.

I grew up in Senegal, where more than 50 percent of the women bleach their skin, and skin bleaching is a huge deal. I grew up seeing my cousins and my aunts using it.

I had grown up in a world dominated by women - I had aunts and sisters and great-aunts - and I just felt like I lived in a completely female world.

But in the east the sky was pale and through the gray woods came lanterns with wagons and horses, bringing Grandpa and Grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins.