2020: The Fast-Paced Horror Thriller
I was grinning when writing this for some reasons:
- This article is the first time I’m writing a “year-in-review” piece,
- There is an indescribable level of joy that writing gives me,
- I feel vulnerable right now, and I love when I am, haha. That’s when I feel the most powerful.
Highlights of the year:
- I entered the year with a job in digital marketing,
- Lost the job at the beginning of the lockdown,
- I got a job at the end of lockdown,
- I am working in traditional advertising for the first time. I have always wanted to work in an ad agency,
- I bought more birthday gifts this year for friends for the first time. For someone who loves giving, that was the highlight of my year.
2020 was an exciting year. You know when we say, “It was a rollercoaster?” 2020 was it. It’s one of those horror thriller movies that won’t end, and by the time the protagonist wins, everyone is worn out and exhausted. Do you get that feeling too?
I would have published this two weeks ago, but I was waiting for a win. And being a realist (I am an optimistic realist), I am not sure whether it will come before the end of the year.
I have never written a “year-in-review” because I don’t think any year before this has been eventful enough to do a review. This year was my homecoming and coming of age, and for the first time, I have something to say or something I think is captivating enough for people to read. If you know me or follow my social media, you can imagine what I will be talking about in this piece.
This article will be in 3 parts:
Myself,
My relationships, and
My career.
Myself: you might wonder, “why talk about “myself” and not the usual career-focused years in review?” Well, I think everything should have a holistic approach.
You might be surprised why I chose to talk about myself first. The reason is simple: I believe I am a human first before any other thing.
This year, I learned so much about myself, and some of the discoveries were humbling. I realized that I am not the smartest or most intelligent. I also learned that I have a lot to learn — personal life, marketing and communications, and managing money.
So many events/encounters, most notably the one I’d with my boss last week, made me realize that I might have been living in the castle where I thought I’d it all sorted. The conversation made me realign to see the world holistically — what things are and how you think things are.
The conversation centered on looking at things for what they were and not how I think they should be. He (my boss) snapped me out of that dreamy state. Note that it’s not wrong to be a dreamer, but you shouldn’t allow your daydreaming to affect your present. What do I mean? Perhaps you want a better job; you shouldn’t let the obsession of getting a new job disturb your current job’s performance.
I think people need to see life as it is. It’s not fair or ideal, and so when giving takes, you should focus on how life is and reality. I tweet a lot and spend a lot of my social media hours on Twitter. One thing people do, maybe unconsciously, is approach topics in an out-of-the-world. They forget that you are dealing with people who have emotions and flesh.
My Relationships: I always tell people that I am a low maintenance friend. What does this mean? I don’t need to talk to you regularly for me to see you as a friend. I was shocked when I saw that people did take their relationships seriously. It became apparent when I started asking people if they saw me as a friend. Out of the 20 people I asked, only two said they saw me as one. I was heartbroken. After all, I thought I was doing well with my relationships because I was getting to know more people, hanging out more with more people, beginning to laugh and play with more people on social media. Of course, why shouldn’t I be considered a friend? Why? My dear friend?
Then, I did an internal audit and found out that I was in the wrong. I wanted the perks of friendship but was not ready to commit. I was a one-night-stand friend. I mean, who does that?
I want to retrain myself to be better with relationships, and how do I do this? Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe by being more intentional? Hopefully, we’ll see by the end of 2021; I am alive by then, answering this question. Sometimes, I feel like this is my natural self and cannot change anything about it. Do you think this is something I could correct? Why does it even need correcting? Why can’t I just be me?
My Career: I find it uncomfortable talking about my career concerning my jobs because I always feel like I am not doing enough or not getting the best experience. So when talking about my employment, I talk metaphorically because I never want it to be about me.
But then when I go out and talk about what I have done, people say I am pretty good at what I do, so what’s with the self-doubt? Could it be because I don’t see what these people have seen in my work first hand? I am usually careful not to allow people who haven’t had access to my work to excite me because I think it’s counterproductive. It’s like getting high on cheap alcohol.
That aside, one thing I am focused on right now is doubling, maybe tripling my income. How do I do this? By aggressively skilling up and making sure that my work and I are being discussed in places that matter. Again, how do I do this? By putting myself out there and the work I do. It will take a certain level of vulnerability to reach. The question is, am I willing to be vulnerable? Well, let’s see how it goes.
Also, I want to do challenging and rewarding work. What does this mean? As much as I am doing great work, I should also get a good reward for it.
Realistic goals for 2021:
- Doubling/Tripling my income,
- I want to work in growth by the end of 2021,
- Stop being a “one-night-stand” friend. I want people I can call my own. It’s too lonely out here,
- Maybe get into a relationship (or two). I have never been in one.
- Get an apartment of my own.
Tell me, how was your year? I planned to write “omo” as the whole article, but apparently, here we are.
