We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kechi Okwuchi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kechi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’m a burns survivor and I’ve always loved music. Music therapy at Shriners Burns Hospital healed wounds that surgery couldn’t heal. I sing all the time and my friend after urging me in vain to audition for music shows sent one of my singing videos to AGT online auditions. I got on the show and became a finalist. That was an impossible dream come true for me. Since then I’ve released a single and a full length album and I’m working on new music.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I got into music after I became a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2017. Being a burns survivor, it was very important for me to know that I was there not just because of my story, powerful as it is, but also for my talent- my voice. I didn’t want to take up someone else’s space out of pity. But after the Judges Cut, Simon Cowell said after I sang that he felt it was important to tell me that I was in the show because I belonged, because of my voice and not my story. This was the validation I needed and it propelled me all the way to the finals and beyond the show. I went on to release my own music, to have a career of Inspirational and Motivational speaking, to become an author when I released my memoir “More Than My Scars” through Baker Publishing and to be a Burns Survivor Advocate with Shriners Hospital and also a Bullying Prevention Advocate in collaboration with Be Strong – a bullying prevention organization. I’m currently working on new music and also exploring writing another book.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think the best way to illustrate my resilience is when I look back at the sheer numbers of surgeries I had to have after the plane crash, specifically after I moved to the States. I have had over 100 surgeries in total, but between 2007-2014, I had most of my correctional procedures here in America. These surgeries were extremely vital steps towards the regaining my independence, and they were back-to-back and very painful. There were many moments where I grew exhausted from being in constant pain. In those dark and hard moments, I would think of all the things I loved to do but couldn’t do well because my body wouldn’t let me, like riding the scariest roller coasters, or gripping a microphone in my fist, or opening my mouth wide to sing, or looking up at fireworks, or even something as simple as wearing high heels. And I would remind myself that all this pain was for a purpose. I was experiencing all this pain now so that Kechi of the future would have a better quality of life, and although I couldn’t see it yet, I knew that future Kechi would be grateful.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Authenticity and self love are the driving force behind my entire creative brand, specifically regarding body image. The ability to be oneself, unapologetically, in any space one find themselves in, is a quality I strongly admire in others, and one I strive to improve in myself with every choice I make, no matter how mundane. When you life without pretense, and you learn to love and accept yourself as you are, flaws and all, you are less likely to be swayed by the ever-changing beauty standards of the world. This is why I share myself as I am with the world, a burn survivor who does not allow her scars dictate the way she dresses or lives her life. In so doing, I hope to encourage not just fellow burn survivors, but anyone with scars or trauma, visible or invisible, to feel seen, too, and to be okay with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kechiofficial.com
• Instagram: @kechiofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKechi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kechiokwuchiofficial
• Twitter: @kechi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdnRGk3SnTI474M8kFFHJhA
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kechiokwuchi?

Image Credits
@tiffanycouture on Instagram