My 2023 Story: From Upheavals to Uphills
As I sit behind this computer screen to write this review, my heartbeat feels erratic, the heaviness on my head appears heavier, and the dark thoughts that cloud my mind silently judge me. Funny how I’m smiling through all this!
This is my first-ever publicly written review. I lead a private life and believe that after self-reflecting, the next thing to do is to effect corrections or recommendations that came with the epiphany. But who am I kidding? I read Victoria Oladipo’s EOY review and realized that the essence of this review is to serve as a bibliography of your life — things that you go back to or reference your current strides. You can’t do that if your reviews are in your head and your head alone.
So, what was 2023 like for me? The events that unfolded in 2023 were unprecedented, from lows to finding balance, a few highs, and several unfortunate moments. In this review, I’ll break the happenings into specific aspects of my life rather than bullet point the events that transpired.
Life at the Beginning
I began the year with so much enthusiasm. Naturally, I am an ebullient fellow, but I got tired of the happenings in the year’s first quarter.
2022 ended with me making specific plans to improve on three things, namely:
- My Data Journey
- Financial health & management
- Relationships
My data journey this year experienced some transformation. I became audacious, started working on lilliputian projects, got a certification with Datacamp, Hackerrank (in SQL at all 3 levels), and Kaggle, and became consistent with query languages like SQL. Also, I returned to Python for data engineering after 14+ months. So yeah, that part went well.
But finances went downhill this year. I have never had a year where finance was an issue, but this year differed from others. I lost several paid affiliations as a contributing blog writer or ghostwriter in the first quarter. Trying to get another proved abortive, and what was worse was having none to whom I could bedevil with this woe of mine — none!
I keep a very taut yet large, friendly circle. In other words, I have less than a handful of friends but a large pool of individuals who are acquainted with me. I’d discuss more about relationships when we get to that section, so let’s save our breaths.
“For we do not allow the ashes that flock around us become the clothing that we adorn as we beautify our nakedness.”
School
Truthfully, this session was one of the toughest ever because it was my last as an undergraduate. Oops — finally out of a tertiary institution (I guess we can call it a mental institution, too, because you get to train & discover your mental turgidity)!
Despite the craziness accompanying this session, it was one of the most calming and fulfilling years since my sophomore year. I was neither scared of what my grades could be, what a lecturer might lay in wait for me, or whatever crazy approached. I was calm, so calm that my friends feared for me.
Also, I’m glad for this academic year because I got to write my research work (project) myself. It was one of the greatest highlights for me. I got to relearn a concept in chi-square than what I was familiar with. My project supervisor was the best, and I kept impressing him with my work so that there was little to no need for significant alterations in my research work.
In case you’re worried about my grades getting affected. Yeah, they did — positively 😂! Unlike Nimi, who’s looking forward to her final year as an architecture student, I no longer worry about assignments, tests, and projects. Those “je ne sais quoi” moments as a university student are over.
Relationships
One of my year’s objectives was to improve my existing relationships. Honestly, I tried. It’s not easy juggling between school and family, pursuing the foresight of a career, and keeping up with people. My relationships in 2023 were in phases: the cut, the fall, and the keep.
- The Cut: Here, I discovered that it’s not some grave sin if you let go of certain friendships that neither improve nor benefit you.
“Learn to remove the weed surrounding your wheat, lest it plucks off the nutrients that affect their growth.”
- The Fall: This part was the hardest. In late February, I encountered someone of the opposite sex, which made my head turn. Yeah, I fell in love or thought I did (I still can’t decide which it was). For less than 6 months, I was on a ship (choose your terminology, but ‘twas what ‘twas) until I decided it was time to come ashore. It was a steep learning process because nothing prepared me for that moment. I built some form of tolerance, relearned what it meant to be patient, experienced some form of care from someone different than ‘ma famille,’ and discovered a part of me that only a few ever see (my vulnerability). While it lasted, it was one of the best memories of 2023 — I couldn’t have had it anyway.
- The Keep: Friendships are great, but keeping lovable and cherishable ones is arduous. My friendships got tested a lot this year, as did my loyalty to ‘em. Whew, it’s incomprehensible how I pulled through, but I did.
Throughout the year, my perception of friendships solidified. Since 2019, I have held the opinion that we associate with people because of the benefits that we derive from them. These benefits could range from monetary, physical/sexual, academic, emotional, and physiological gains. There’s always some form of use somewhere, and whenever that person declines to fulfill their responsibilities, that association suffers.
I made new, exciting associations throughout the year, and I plan to do better next year (2024) in a more passionate manner. Another thing I want to do in the coming year is attend industry events and automate my life in a way that doesn’t burn my associations.
Commitments
I got to devote my energy to certain things from AIESEC, Cowrywise Ambassadors Community, Unical SDG Student Club, Solas Learncamp, and others.
- AIESEC: AIESEC was one of the greatest highlights for me in 2022. I took on a few roles, had my fair share of what it meant to lead a team, applied for a couple of parts — got some, and lost less. I went from being in marketing to business development before my resignation. Yeah, I had to leave for reasons best known to me. Still, if you’re an undergraduate student, I believe you need to join AIESEC to foster your growth and experience in real-time what it means to be in a fast-paced environment.
- Cowrywise Ambassadors Community: I love Cowrywise and everything about it. Being an ambassador was the highlight of my school years. Even more was knowing that I was part of the team that rewrote the landing page that attracted over 3000 ambassador signups (interests) this year. Still, this year, I became a Co-Lead for the Ambassadors Data Team, which was satisfying. I enjoyed being in an environment where everyone had the same objective (even with different data interests), and I was in a position to help others improve, even by 0.001%, in their respective data roles. Consequently, the weekly check-ins with Simi, brainstorming and modifying our approaches, improving learning curriculums and ensuring growth among the data team members were more satisfying.
- Solas Data Learncamp: My 90 days as a class support was another major highlight for the year. Solas Data hosted a 12-week summer training in Data & a few of us got selected as class assistants (i.e., in lieu of the tutor & mentors, we kept the community afloat and mediated with the tutor/mentors on behalf of the rest of the community. For my group (#love), I did more than that; became a mentor myself — since most of the concepts taught were familiar faves of mine. One important thing was the dimension to being a leader experience I had. In this camp, the average age range of the demographic was between 25 and 35, and upper-class boundaries were 40+. I was managing people 20+ years older than I am, which humbled me.
- Techrity: I joined the Techrity Foundation as a volunteer blog writer and wrote two articles within two months — one is live, and the other is in review. Techrity allows me to see content marketing and writing from a nonprofit perspective. I look forward to savoring more of this experience in 2024.
- Unical SDG Student Club: I didn’t do much here as much as I’d love to. But I want to be part of sustainable development initiatives in the coming year.
These commitments shaped me throughout the year and were the straws that broke the camel’s back in the ‘ship’ I was previously in. It was a wholesome experience individually.
Work
It is established that my work suffered in the first half of 2023. I encountered difficulties that significantly impacted me, marking my initial experience with financial setbacks and the struggle to secure a stable income. Although I was fortunate to land a few sporadic projects that kept me afloat, I was trapped in an unyielding morass, an experience that deeply demoralized me.
Ironically, a realization struck me — the pervasive influence of people’s perceptions regardless of their awareness of your trials. Their judgment prevails, even amid evident struggles.
In 2023, I learned the hardships of financial scarcity, unsure about tomorrow despite scraping by today. Apart from monetary woes, job rejections became common, yet I toughened up in facing them.
However, the year concluded with a pleasant turn of events. Towards its end, I received an offer from an MNC to be a process analyst (business), which was undoubtedly the highlight of my year. As my friend Sylvie humorously remarked, “They didn’t allow you to be completely done & dusted before snatching you away😁.” Additionally, I acquired freelance opportunities as a ghostwriter for various organizations, albeit confidentiality-bound.
Religion
As I type this, my fingers hesitate, aware of the weightiness of discussing religion. Many assume I harbor no faith in any deity; even my friends suspect I hold a grudge against God.
It’s unfortunate because I bear no such resentment. In 2023, I experienced a significant spiritual awakening. While I didn’t set out to read religious texts, I delved into research about Christianity and Islam and even touched upon aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism. My perspective shifted — I’ve become a skeptic. I no longer accept beliefs without logical proof.
My approach to religion isn’t as generic as before. Now, I’m in that aware mode where I can easily detect when a preacher’s words feel awry and would call him to order or avoid such teachings.
Et al.
The year began with several setbacks, and it was so along the way. Lost a friend and a cousin in one month. The memory gnawed at me for weeks until I accepted the reality.
“For as living things that ride the earth there holds but one thing that’s true, there’s not but one of us who is greater than the grim reaper nor is there any who’s above death. To all is one thing true: death is no respecter of men and chooses its captives at will.”
My French improved significantly, and I used it with my lover then (it was heartwarming & gut-wrenching, too, when I used it to split ways). I did several things this year and look forward to improving in 2024.
In 2024, I want to:
- Engage more with diverse and intriguing individuals within and beyond my industry
- Contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) initiatives
- Go to camp (NYSC)
- Resume using Cowrywise’s mutual funds’ feature
- Streamline my current associations
- Make informed and strategic financial decisions
- Don’t wanna have an interest in women’s affairs, please 😐
- Seek further clarity in matters of faith
- Read a few books and spend time outside a phone/laptop and go to a Cinema in place of Amazon Prime & Netflix
- Embrace a more open presence on social media, notably Twitter and TikTok
- Volunteer
2023 is many words for me, but in one, it was TRANSFORMATIVE!
Bon Anee
Glossary
- MNC: multinational corporation. A company that operates in several countries and has a global presence
- Transformative: something that causes a significant and fundamental change, leading to a profound impact or alteration in someone or something
- Lilliputian: something that’s extremely small or tiny. Owes its origin to the Gulliver’s Travel short story by Jonathan Swift
- Morass: exemplifies a complicated, confusing, or entangled situation
- Skeptic: someone who maintains a questionable/doubtful attitude towards anything, often requiring proof/evidence before accepting a phenomenon
- Scarcity: indicates a period of lack or being in short supply of resources or something
- Je ne sais quoi: a French phrase for “I don’t know what.” Represents a situation/person/moment that’s uncertain or difficult to pinpoint
- Ebullient: enthusiastic
- Arduous: hard, demanding, strenuous, and requires a lot of effort
- Savor: enjoy or appreciate a thing fully
- Awry: gone wrong or deviated from the planned course
- Bon Anee: french for “Happy New Year”
- Ma Famille: french for “My Family”
- Grim Reaper: literary personification of death
- NYSC: National Youth Service Corps. A one-year mandatory national service program for graduates in Nigeria
- Sophomore: a student in their second year of college
- Vulnerability: the state of being open to emotional or physical harm
