Red-hot Coel

The young woman was cheered onto the stage. She began with a joke about being asked to give a lecture: "Universities have accused me of never attending them!" There were plenty more jokes to come - but also some important truths.

The talk was about her life and her struggle to achieve success. Above all, it was about not fitting in.

A misfit, she says, is someone who does not feel at home in society. But it is also someone who sees the world "in a way that's different".

Her story is disturbing, but also hugely inspiring. Her Ghanaian parents separated before she was born. Her mother worked as a cleaner to support her and her older sister. At her primary school in Tower HamletsPart of London's East End, it has a higher rate of poverty and unemployment than any other borough in the city., she was the only Black girl in her class.

When she was 18, she became involved in the Pentecostal ChurchA Christian movement which emphasises direct experience of God. It has over 700 different denominations.. She dropped out of university to spread its message of forgiveness and loving kindness. 

At 22 she went to study at drama school. She was the only person in her class whose family did not own their house.

"The way I looked at myself and my life shifted," she says. "My family has rented our whole lives... It gives you a drive, an ambition, because nothing is certain. That is a resilience no person with stability can replicate. You can't forget it. There's blessings to the struggle."

For her graduation, she wrote a one-woman show about a HackneyAn area of London that neighbours Tower Hamlets. schoolgirl. This became the TV series Chewing Gum, which won two BAFTAsAn award given at the British Academy Film Awards ceremony. .  

Not long afterwards, she was sexually assaulted by someone who spikedWhen someone puts alcohol or drugs into someone's drink or food without their knowledge and permission. her drink in a bar. This terrible experience inspired her to write the TV drama I May Destroy You. When it was released in 2020, it won four BAFTAs and two EmmysEmmy Awards are awards given for work in the American and international television industry. . Time named Coel as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.¹

Is triumph always rooted in adversity?

Yes: The harder the struggle, the more impressive the victory when you come out on top. Difficult situations make you draw on all your resources and show the world what you are capable of.  

No: Some people are born with incredible talents which bring them huge success. They may have to work hard to realise their full potential, but they do not necessarily have to suffer as well.

Or... You may not have to overcome adversity to succeed, but it is far more satisfying if you do. We tend to take the things that come to us easily for granted, rather than appreciating them as we should.