Do I have any excuse?
Well, not really... Been occupied with some other stuff, had a lot on my mind and not been feeling too good. Writer's juice has actually not been flowing 'like dat like dat' too.
So here's a quick one I just thought to record here. Bella Naija called for 2015 Epilogues. Yours Truly, the typical DG {Daddy's Girl} thought to put in an entry and it got published! Yaaay!
So here goes a peek into the life of this young Nigerian. I hope you don't get bored... *wink*
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2015: Mary’s Coming
Out Year
When I first saw
Bellanaija’s call for 2015 Epilogues, I was thrilled. I thought “This is sooooo
me. I’m sending an entry”. Then I clicked the 2014 Epilogues and almost changed
my mind. The few epilogues I read were of people that had ‘achieved’ so much! One
PR expert, an accomplished writer, etc. I just said to myself “Abeg, ees not ya
type they are lukin for”. I didn’t think I had enough accomplishments worth
recording in an epilogue. On second thought however, I figured it didn’t really
matter. I wanted to detail my 2015 journey and that was that. It didn’t really
matter whether it ended up being published or not. So here’s to satisfying my
restless writer’s itch.
2015. It was a ‘Coming
Out’ year for me, so to speak. Interestingly enough, right from the beginning
of the year, I kinda knew it was going to be a special one. Not so much in the
sense that I’d be lying on a bed of roses all through, but that it would be
different. Maybe because towards the end of 2014, I’d observed a leaning
towards change, a shifting of ideologies, opinions, etc within myself. I just
knew there would be a shaking.
Let me paint a clearer
picture. I’m the typical daddy’s girl; a ‘good’ girl living life strictly
within the confines of an over-protective upbringing. My entire life was a
triangle: Home, School, Church. Basically no social life; every parent’s dream
child, abi? So 2015 was a deviation from norm. Call it a ‘breaking-away’ and
you wouldn’t be wrong. It started out with the perfect alibi: NYSC.
I was to serve my dear
country in Oyo state. One would think my father would be glad I wasn’t taken
too far from home, but no o, he insisted that it was either Lagos (where we
reside) or nothing else. Only after much pleading did he agree. Off I went to
Oyo, to serve my fatherland…and to spread my wings! Yay! At the NYSC camp,
quite a lot of folks were concerned about being posted to Ibadan. JJC like me
who had never travelled beyond Lagos and Ogun state (only because of Church
camping activities *covers face*), I did not know one place from another. All I
was concerned about was finally getting a chance to be independent (even if it
was just for a year). As it turned out, I was posted to the ancient city of
Ibadan, and to my utter delight, had my primary assignment at the State TV
broadcasting station as a News reporter (Being a graduate of mass communication
with a passion for broadcasting, how blessed could I be, yea? ). And so the
stage was set. The city of tin roofs was going to be the location for Mary’s
Coming Out.
Settling into a
routine with my roommate in our one-room apartment, I realized independence
wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Don’t get me wrong. I loved it; every bit
of it! I just came to realize (in a very REAL way) that it’s not all sun and
beaches. Having to make decisions that were hitherto left to the parents and
yes, having to pay bills (yikes!). I also found that I had the freedom to do
quite a lot of things, and I learnt that with that freedom comes
responsibility.
I was on a roll. I
wanted to do and undo, taste the world and like I said earlier, spread my
wings. You know that feeling when you’ve been cooped up for a long time, and
then suddenly you find yourself FREE! Lol.I got adventurous; went chilling with
guys (I know this does not count as ‘adventure’ in today’s world, but in my
world; the world of a shy ‘always-indoor’ babe, it definitely is!), took rides
from strangers, etc. Not all my adventures were fun-seeking though. I enrolled
in a German class (and never completed it), went on risky news reporting
assignments (My father would have a fit if he knew I went on an assignment to
cover a political campaign that turned violent or the scene of a petrol tanker
that fell and spilled its contents) and spoke my mind more often.
I must confess, 2015
saw me recognizing the woman in me. I began to see I had the potential to do so
many things. I was no longer a little girl, and indeed, many ladies younger
than me were already doing great stuff. That was another beautiful thing about
NYSC in 2015. I got to meet so many young people who were already achieving big
things for themselves and impacting the world around them. I was challenged to
leave my comfort zone; to leave the life I’d always known as safe and launch
out.
So many beautiful
things began for me in 2015. One stands out particularly, but errm, I’m keeping
it to myself. Anyways, service ended in July. Since then, I’ve been working in
a PR agency (still very much in love with broadcasting though), started my
blog, looking forward to brighter tomorrows and generally living life. I’ve had
to ruffle a few feathers as the new me. Folks who were used to the ‘good’ girl
weren’t too quick to accept that she’d grown; till now a few still struggle
with it. But then, I’m still here and I’m still evolving.
Taking risks or diving
into unfamiliar waters may not be easy, but at the end of the day, you don’t
get to do great stuff by playing it safe. I look back on my moments and times
in 2015 and marvel all over again at the things I did. I look at me sometimes
and go “Meeehn! You really did THAT? You get liver o!”
I still see more
changes for me ahead, but I’ll never forget the year the shell cracked. The
year the comfort zone was breached. The year 2015.
Way to go girl...👍👍
ReplyDeleteXOXO... Thanks bae!
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