For as long as I can remember, I have been the subject of uncountable jokes about being on a banjo. So, to face the joke, I tried to learn how to play a banjo. As I walked into Guitar Center to learn how to play a banjo, I called my musical prodigy brother to give me a quick 411 on the instrument. Instead of telling me that my soft fingers will develop calluses while trying to learn a chord, he simply asked “why are you trying to learn how to play that odd instrument anyway?” I sarcastically told him that I was joining a bluegrass band, because I honestly didn’t have an answer.
I didn’t get my answer until the second hour of my banjo lesson when the instructor referred me to an article that states “learning the banjo can be as easy as falling off a log or as hard as getting a good ol root canal”. Then, the blue-eyed instructor stared me down and explained how much easier it’ll be for me to be on a banjo if I wanted to learn it for my own desire, rather than learning to please people or for clout. If I took a chance on the banjo, learned it for myself, learned it at my own pace, and stuck with it despite the growing calluses on my fingertips, I would be playing a bluegrass song in a little while. However, if I was only learning to please others, I would be a mediocre player with blistered fingers and little to show for it.
Being on a banjo is quite similar to living a successful and fulfilled life. To live on a banjo is to live for ourselves, on our terms, at our own pace, and to stick to our path despite the difficulties and of course, look hella stylish while we’re at it (because we still want to look back on those throwback photos like “thank goodness I looked good”).
Life on a Banjo is a lifestyle platform, put simply a 411 for living life with style. Stylish fashion, stylish travel, and stylish mindful living. As a 20something owner of a very expensive piece of paper (my diploma), I’m still trying to navigate the waters of this adult lifestyle. Life On A Banjo is where I share everything that young adults are learning and unlearning as we try to live on our own terms. Some days I’ll vent about my solo trip to the middle of nowhere and on other days, I’ll invite some successful adults to a Girls v Food event to expose the secrets on how they went from struggling grownish adults to living life on a banjo aka on their own terms.
Cheers to living on a banjo,
Laolu Onabanjo
PS: No, I still don’t know how to play a banjo but that’s because we realized that I have zero talent/skill/tact/ability for musical instruments.