SUMMING UP 2020.
Did I mention that I’m on holiday? If not, then here's the memo. We closed shop on Friday and by Monday I hopped on a train headed to the coast. I arrived safely thank you for asking and the last four days have been a cocktail of heat and beauty. The coast will forever be my favourite place to be even though the heat is something that I will need not only time but a whole manual to help me adjust to it.
Since I’m on holiday, my day to day activities oscillate from eating junk, sleeping late and of course hopping from one social media platform to another. I’m living my best budget life if I do so say myself. As I scrolled down Twitter I met this tweet, “How would you sum up 2020 in three words?” I figured since we are wrapping up the year and every Tom Dick and Harry is in the thick of holiday planning it would be a good idea to put this on your plate?
How would you sum up the year? A thought-provoking question if you asked me especially because of the year that was. My three words would be A learning curve. 2020 for me has been a learning curve. The year began with me landing a very lucrative job position, I’d have said that I don't think I deserved it but then again I serve a faithful God and have you seen me? Yeah, you'd agree that I deserve all the good that comes my way. With my job came a lot, an overwhelming amount of work that had me questioning a lot about the person I am and the value that I not only harness but that which I bring to the table. I was lost and I’d count days to the end of the month hoping that I’d I won't be kicked out. I was battling the imposter syndrome. A year down the line and I still hold the position, the lesson here was that you can do it. I had to bite and chew but I still managed to swallow.
While I was still trying to learn the tricks of my trade, the coronavirus arrived home. This was shocking, to say the least, we knew of its existence but it was in China, I mean how could it get to us? But it did and with it, a number of lives were lost. With the pandemic, I leant that the only constant thing is change. Change! Never in a million years did I ever imagine that I’d work from home. I never thought that I would hold a professional title but work in an informal setting. The 8–5 idea had been sold and ingrained to me so much that I believed just like others that the only place one could work was at work. My living room is now my place of work. I have a home office now!
Covid-19 also taught me the importance of money or chums as is our preferred slang. I have been working for the past two years but it's only this year that I started saving. Let that sink in. Vocabulary like an Emergency fund or budgeting were foreign to me. I spent it as fast as I earned it, talk of living life in the fast lane. When the pandemic hit most companies and organisations resorted to retrenching their staff. Many people lost their jobs, their safety net, their source of livelihood and for yours truly this was a wake-up call. I needed to educate myself on matters money ASAP.
Family is not blood. This was rather a harsh lesson for me. We lost a colleague who had mastered the skill of making everyone feel special. If I’m being honest it has been difficult to reconcile his death because of this. He was not family just a colleague but it still hurts just as bad. Jonah, you will be forever remembered.
My final lesson was to leave room for magic. In her last blog post in 2016, Meghan Markle listed down a few of her year's resolution and the last thing she mentioned was that she left room for magic and she did become a duchess. Alot has transpired this year and as we get into 2021 I’m allowing room for hard work, kindness, smiles, hurt and most importantly magic.
See you on the other side.