Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Mary Opara of MaOp Music Is Helping To Change Our World

Do not be so hard on yourself. If you fail at first, try again. Don’t give up on things because it does not turn out the way you think it should at the beginning. Always remember that without a test, there cannot be a testimony. Failures lead to success.

As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Opara.

Founder of MaOp Music Mary Opara is an expert Singer/Songwriter who specializes in contemporary secular, mental health music support, and Christian songs. Mary Opara is also a Dr. of Nursing Practice in Psychiatry/Mental Health. She has been writing songs and singing since age twelve. She is a winner of Maranatha -Rhema Music Awards 2022, featured in NBC, Boston Herald, Yahoo Finance, over thirty digital online platforms, sixteen music blogs, and two music magazines. Her mission is to use her music to inspire by giving comfort, hope, joy, and peace to individuals going through plights in life.

Thank you so much for joining us on this interview series. Can you share with us the backstory that led you to this career path?

England, United Kingdom is where it all began. I was born in the London borough of Islington. I was the second of 5 kids, 3 boys and 2 girls. Growing up, I happened to be captivated by anything music, and grew up loving the arts. I love to sing, dance, and would write songs at an early age. I grew up with mixed cultures of both British and Nigerian. I grew up to be a very versatile individual. I watched as my parents strived to be the best they can be and admired their ways of life, of which were inculcated in all five of us at an early age. We grew up Christians and that became our moral compass as to one important conclusion that I came up with-treat people the way you would want to be treated in life, with respect, kindness, and love. From my incredibly young years, I would perform for any music related activities, wherever there was a microphone and anyone who would listen, I would sing. We moved to Nigeria to meet with our now deceased maternal grandma, whom we loved dearly. We learned wisdom from grandma. With this move, we learned the language and culture and did few years of schooling over there. High school was years of fun in Nigeria. I was popular and the females in high school would come to me to learn songs and the lyrics to different songs. I performed for a sizable number of the school shows, for the graduations and other ceremonies. After our years of stay, we all one after the other eventually moved back to England. I visited the USA, loved it so much that I went back to England, packed my bags, and moved to the USA, and have been here ever since, for 30 years. Most of my adult life, I have lived in the USA. I am currently married and have four lovely children. The curiosity about the human mind as a child ended up becoming my line of profession. I currently work doing the assessing, diagnosing, and treating/managing care for patients with Psychiatric/Mental Health disorders. I loved the field so much that I ended up with a Doctorate Degree in the area. All this time, I also kept my love and passion of music going at the same time, writing, singing, and recording songs. I now had the ability to do it across the three continents-Europe, Africa, and now, North America in which I currently reside.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?

The funniest or most interesting story that has occurred to me in the course of my career would blow your mind. It is too embarrassing, so I think that I should keep it to myself. Lol.

What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?

The best advise I could give a young person is never to give up. Starting anything in life, is always extremely hard. When the going gets tough, it is easy for one to want to give up. I would tell them to keep going. Without a test, there cannot be a testimony. There is nothing wrong with failing. The most important part of success is to get right back up when you fail. Tell yourself daily that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and if you keep looking for that light with purpose, that you will accomplish your dreams. Every successful person out there will tell you that the beginning was never easy.

Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?

My husband has been very impactful in my life. He has and will always be my greatest cheerleader. He has encouraged and supported me every inch of the way. Since I met him, he has been nothing short of an angel to my life. He protects, loves, respects, and cares for me in ways that I did not even know were possible. With him by my side, I have grown in my spirituality. I was able to get all the nursing degrees that I have today. With his support, I have been able to write, sing, record songs, and perform in different countries. Also, with him, I have been fulfilled as a wife and mother to 4 adorable children.

How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you’re working on right now?

Mental health and music have both been passions of mine. So, it is exciting to be able to use my expertise in to bring goodness to the world. I have always been a strong mental health advocate. I must stand up for what I believe in. I see clients daily that have experienced Bullying in diverse ways, and at various times in their lives. Some people experience it as kids, some as teenagers, some as adults. This Bullying occurs in schools, work environment, and even in their homes. As a mental health practitioner, I understand the intense pain, and emotional turmoil that people that have been bullied, experience that sometimes even leads to suicide. I try to appeal to the bullies to- Stop the Bullying with a determination to get people to get involved and “Stand up” to Bullying when they see it and not “Stand aside.” I also appeal to the Bullies to please stop the bullying and save lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQQ-Rhfk3hM

Can you share with us a story behind why you chose to take up this cause?

The main reason that I decided to embark on the cause is the increase in the loss of lives of innocent young people due to suicide. When individuals go through what they experience with bullies and cannot take it anymore, sometimes it leads to suicidal thoughts, sometimes plans, and even sometimes attempts.

Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?

I want to believe that in my many years, that I have impacted a lot of lives in good ways. One that stood out, is a client that presented full of life and charm. To my surprise, he told me that my loving and caring nature, as well as my good advice, and therapy, as a provider, stopped him from taking his life. He had felt misunderstood all his life. Kids were bullying him for years when he was younger and how it affected his self-esteem. He had already planned to take his life right before he decided to take one more chance with a mental health provider and ended up with me.

Are there three things or are there things that individuals, society, or the government can do to support you in this effort?

Individuals should not be afraid to talk to someone that might be able to help them when going through tough times. Individuals should not feel ashamed to see a mental health professional for any mental health disturbances small or big, especially in situations when they start contemplating suicide. As a society, we need to have more compassion for one another. That for starters will make our efforts easier. We should all stand up to bullies and not stand aside when we see bullying happening. Also, encourage victims of bullying to get help, and individuals that have been bullied in the past as well, to also get help instead of feeling the need to do what was done to them to someone else. Th government, I wish would take a more active role in anti-bullying and suicide prevention especially in youngsters in schools. This is where the foundation is laid of what people become. Social injustices should be part of every elementary school curriculum.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”

1. Do not be so hard on yourself. If you fail at first, try again. Don’t give up on things because it does not turn out the way you think it should at the beginning. Always remember that without a test, there cannot be a testimony. Failures lead to success.
2. There is nothing wrong with being assertive or vocal about things. You do not have to be uncomfortable with situations and say nothing about it. Initially, when I started out, there were situations that I could have spoken up against butt felt like I should not. As you get older and wiser, you learn to speak up about different situations in life.
3. Always have a good friend or family member as a support system. Someone that you can rely on in times of need. It can be someone in the family, a neighbor, a pastor, counselor. We all have days that we get too overwhelmed with matters, and sometimes we have problems that are hard to deal with. Sometimes, verbalizing how we feel helps us feel much better. Also, knowing someone cares to listen to you is half of your problem solved. For instance, when I have challenges at work that I get overwhelmed by, I turn to my mother for wisdom and guidance.
4. Find a distraction when you feel overwhelmed. Do something you love to do. Find a hobby, singing, dancing, playing an instrument, doing puzzles, drawing, exercising at a gym, knitting, cooking. The different ideas are endless. Those things that give us joy are good for our mental health. When having bad days, listening to Christian music is always very soothing. It helps my moods shift from unhappy to happier.
5. Do not compare yourself with anyone else. Everyone is on a different journey in life. Go at your own pace. You should not feel the need to compete with anybody. Whether you think your competitors are liked more than you are, get more views, or interactions on social media, should not affect your self-confidence. Run your own race to finish your own race.

You’re a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

A movement across the nation for “Stop the Bullying.” Going into the public and private schools to reach children get to them at an early age and teach them the long-term effects of Bullying on individuals. Individuals sometimes end up depressed, anxious, addicts, and sometimes even suicidal at the time, some even with completed suicides all because of being bullied. It also affects people all through their lives by affecting their self-confidence. Anti-Bullying should be a class taught in every school. It should be made part of every school’s curriculum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WMMlwo0D1c

Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?

“”We feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” As a provider, every positive difference we make to someone’s mental health is a much-needed drop in the ocean. I feel good daily when I make a conscious decision to be kind, considerate, empathetic to everyone I encounter along the way. Being a human being, sometimes most of us, come short of the good we set out to do, but not because it is intentional, but because life happens.

We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would like to meet Ed Sheeran. He is kind and fights against social injustices in the world. I would like to do a remix of the song that I wrote- “Stop the Bullying.” with him. I know he is a man with a good heart, and as much as he gives to charity and speaks up against social issues against all people of the world, he would certainly be a good voice to help me shake up the anti-bullying campaign. I know that he has in the past spoken out against bullying to Australia, stating, “It isn’t big to make others feel small.”

Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!