Exiting 2022: My year in view

Let’s just say that last year produced the greatest amount of tears I’ve shed in my adult life — and the amount of grace that I handled it with was magnificent.

I had very rare moments of pure happiness and satisfaction during year, from questioning myself about my life — like I was my own parent — to considering if I still wanted to go on with trying.

I laughed a lot outside , tried to be fine — but cried a lot inside and tried to do better. I constantly found myself “busy” from “working on one project to another”. My life was falling apart right before my eyes.

Thankfully , there were a lot of shoulders , but I had one consistent shoulder to cry on — and boy did that make such a difference. My friend use to tell me , it’s now that you’re down on your luck that you would see who’s really for you — I really don’t like to judge people based on this because I’m a private person but tbh it’s like it all mattered last year.

Though the year stung me all over , i think I can say that in some other ways I actually am grateful for the progress I made in many areas.

Art , craft , upcycling :

2022 is one year that I can say my art didn’t suffer, I learnt a lot about art , got mentored for like 3 minutes lol , experimented different mediums , created new upcycle pieces and sold my art officially. To think that this was one of the major things that I wanted to improve on and be more involved in — and I achieved it despite the events of the year — and I’m super grateful for that.

Exploring places :

So I definitely didn’t really get to do this in the way I’d have loved to, but I definitely did my bit . Going to Badagry for me was something that literally broke Pandora’s box wide open as regards tourism . The tour company I used was amazing and learning more about the slave trade was interesting. I also loved that I visited new places with people I cared about — again not to the extent I would have liked but yeah it worked.

My birthday:

Asides the small suffer-head I had to experience on my birthday — I think it’s safe to say that I absolutely enjoyed my birthday. It was so me. Lol. Being by myself in an ice-cream shop early in the morning and watching. road-users go and come whilst I slurped on my ice-cream was perfect . Enjoying a box of pizza and ice cream by myself was even more amazing. The good old ice-cream and pizza did the trick. Tsk tsk. I think the most amazing thing about it was that I got to spend it without feeling anxious about the future.

Finally my very amazing neighbors came through for me and that sealed the day — forever grateful for them.

Spirituality:

If there was any year that unlocked a certain part of my spirituality , it would be 2022. The funny thing is prior to that I had gone on for many months without stepping into a church , but right before my life fell into a rumble of chaos I found a church, and a church family — one that I can say was very important to how my year went.

Others:

Many people were part of my journey last year, but one stood out — and it shocked me because I’m someone that understands that people are going through a whole lot so I need to learn to be empathetic towards them too — but this person’s participation and care towards me blew my mind — and I’d forever be in awe of it. One of the highlights of my year was the kindness of people — things like that stand out. From words to gifts — people from my past and present.

Ending the year :

The year ended sweetly — and softly . I had fun — untainted fun lol surrounded by love and laughter. One of the reasons why I believe the year ended well is that I gave myself time to breathe and be still — and just allow myself enjoy the period of celebration. Oh I yearn for festive seasons.

What I learnt :

• I learnt to be still — take long breaks without feeling guilty.
• - I learnt to stop allowing things I can’t control — control my emotions.
• - I learnt to love harder.
• - I learnt to be more open to people’s point of views.
• - I learnt to rely on God even before I do anything — to let him lead.
• - I learnt to care less — and care more.
• - I learnt and am still learning how to balance the parts of me that are nurturing.
• I learnt a lot about financial planning and independence.
• - I learnt to stand up for myself and for others.
• - I’ve learnt a lot — and I’m still in the process of learning.

Nu yer — Nu goals.

Asides my other ongoing goals for last year that have spilled into this year like : pursuing my art and design — I’m definitely going to build up my fashion brand again through upcycling and also building my my YouTube channel . Oh and definitely traveling more — working in the tourism industry does something to you.

I hope that this year brings a lot more positivity, opportunities and happiness for us all.

To favour all through ✨.

Let’s see what the year has in store for us — shall we ? 👯‍♀️

Love always ,

E.