My year 2020 | sponsored by @xpilar, @sultan-aceh, @steem-agora, @art-venture, @stef1, @steemcurator02 and @nutbox | @doppley
But still...
2020 has been a crazy year so far. I really couldn't find a better adjective to qualify it, it's as messed up as it is exhilarating. The beginning of 2020 seemed promising as I constantly told myself it was gonna be the best year so far. I happened to have gained admission into one of the most renowned Universities in my country. I did and I still don't understand how considering I barely passed the age requirement. The year began filled with hopes and I could visualize myself achieving my goals, being the best version of myself, as I literally filled my head with pep talks every single day.
Taken during my matriculation :), didn't realize I wasn't smiling XD
Turns out I alongside everyone else had placed too much hopes and aspirations for the year it began to feel like a burden on it's part. Doing some thinking, it's almost identical to how humans operate, whenever we are burdened with tasks accompanied by high expectations, it instills some fear into us. The "I don't wanna mess up" kind and eventually they get the better of us…. I recently concluded a journal where I personified the year. Perhaps, it felt that fear also.
My school life
My school life before the pandemic happened to be a bit of a mess. I don't do so well in a new environment, being overly introverted. I hardly spoke to anyone and just wanted to be left alone.I almost went crazy, working myself out every day and getting so little sleep at nights, no thanks to my insomnia. I lost a lot of weight, not like I had much before :). I spent about three months in school and by February we began to get whiffs of some new virus in China. By Feb 26 we confirmed our first case. To cut the story short, no one ever expected the virus to make it's way to Nigeria. Believe it or not Nigeria is blessed, so far no virus(recent foreign outbreaks) has been able to survive here, so saying...till this day some even believe the virus(covid-19) is non-existent in the country. Wanna know why?... we're getting there, chill!.
Sadly, as a result of the state of emergency, institutions had to go on mandatory breaks. It happened just about two weeks to my first semester exams. Boy! I was so glad….at first.
Even more heartbreaking, till now even with the technological advancement, no measure has been put in place to ensure students have access to lectures nor have exams been conducted. Such a shame right?
The country was put on lockdown...with no form of support or aids from the government which brought about agitations from the mass, I consider that "the first mistake".
I re-discovered steemit around this period, although I had created an account sometime before. I initially stumbled on the platform with no guidance or idea of what was going on, and seeing it's a bit wonky to grasp the concept at first sight, I left.
April, may, june, went by so fast each day accompanied with terrible news about the spread of the virus and countless deaths that followed in various countries over the world including Nigeria(supposedly). I really don't remember much. Well, there weren't many events I consider/ would want to consider memorable. The only memories I've got is of me staring at the ceiling each night, frustrated at my inability to sleep while everyone else was probably in wonderland and then having to fight dysania every morning.
Then came July, agitations from people made the government relive the lockdown a bit. Tired from staying cooped up at home, i alongside my siblings and parents decided to take a trip to the nearest beach(which happened to be miles away) to restore our sanity and calm our nerves. It was fun, that...I admit.
me at the beach
my mum and lil sis
The days crept by lazily and slowly August came by. August is a festive season for muslims in Nigeria, where the Id el Kabir is celebrated. It's usually splendid, although I'm not a Muslim but I usually partake in the festivity. We traveled out of the state to merry with our grandparents and relatives in the village.
Then came another memorable day, on the sixth of August, My mum's birthday. i nearly forgot it was her birthday as I wasn't even keeping track of the days as they went by.
September went by peacefully, carefully and OCTOBER came. October didn't happen to bring good tidings to the citizens of Nigeria. We fell into a state of anarchy and lawlessness. Violence and riots broke out, properties and life lost all in the pursuit of a just cause. I found things floundering on the part of the government, against the backdrop of anarchy and violence, futile attempts were still made to silence the people and they only aggravated the situation and made matters worse.
It all began when a video where a SARS(Special Anti robbery Squad) official shot a young motorist for reasons no one clearly understood, pushed his body out of his car and drove off in the dead man's vehicle abandoning his lifeless body began circulating all over Twitter.
Which brings me back to covid-19 situation. If the virus existed in Nigeria, considering the number of protesters, at least 70% of the entire population would have been infected with the virus. Why I doubt the virus is active here.
If you even used Twitter once during this period you wouldn't miss the #Endsars tags and tweets.
October 20 2020 will forever be known as a black tuesday in Nigeria. The day Nigeria massacred her people, in a darkness broken only by the blue lights of cellphones, gunshots rang out followed by the cries and wails of innocent Nigerians, young people who had gathered to protest the (supposedly) Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) a notoriously abusive arm of the government.
It happened during this time a lot of steemians, Nigerians to be exact took respective breaks from steemit as the numbers of active members for the period reduced drastically, I inclusive.
November had me wondering if I had a kick me sign on my back or something. I happened to have made some bad decisions and course of actions and hence lost a lot of money on bad investments and phishers but well… I would usually try to convince myself it's better to try and fail than not try at all and what better time is there to explore options, make bad decisions and burn some cash than now :). (Another reason why leaving a greater percentage of your assets lying around in banks does you no good, one more reason to invest in steem).
And finally December!
Thanks to God, we were able to witness the last month for the year but sadly, One person wouldn't be able to see the new year. I lost my grandfather on the sixth of December. It was a sorrow filled day for me but still I'm grateful for his old age, he was strong till the very end (Rest in Peace Gramps).
Even if I write a 5000 word post, I still wouldn't be able to highlight my experiences for year 2020 but seeing it's rather becoming some sort of autobiography, I'd better put my pen to rest.
2020 might have been "messed up" but it had it's good parts also. I stumbled upon a poem once by Leslie Dwight What if 2020 isn't cancelled The year might not have been much but it forced me to adapt to change and make better choices. It gave me a chance to make better use of my time, critically analyze my weaknesses and hence made me a better person. It may not have been the best year so far but calling it the worst would only be a liar's paradox. Thanks to @stef1 for organizing the Contest: "My year 2020" and all other sponsors : @steem-agora ,@xpilar , @art-venture ,@worldofxpilar , @Nutbox . Seasons greetings to you all :) . Thanks for reading my post
What if 2020 is the year we've been waiting for
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw - that if finally forces us to grow...
Here in my bed I lay wide awake, the gentle cold breeze rocking my curtains and beckoning on me to sleep but alas! My buddy "insomnia" seems to have better plans…..
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it is very unusual year, that has both positive and negative side. I believe if not this circumstances, we probably never read your post too. This year forced you to come back to Steemit isn't it?
I believe in your age you are eagerly were waiting for the time of your Uni but everything has been changed. Luckily the number of covid is less in Nigeria than in some other countries but the economical impact is great like everywhere.
The year flown away and we all hope for better future. Thank you for this post and wishing you Merry Christmas :)
I wouldn't say forced, but it had a part to play.
Well said, I feel the major blow we received from the virus is it's economic impact. Nigeria, being a mono-economy with it's over dependence on oil as a major source of revenue remains as unstable as ever.
Thanks for reading my post and happy New year in advance.
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Waoooo que historia tan interesnate viniendo de un joven. Me impacto mucho esta historia. Hay quienes se quejan de todo, tu eres valiente. Solo trata de dormir pensando que asi como viviste todas esas experiencias, aun te queda una vida por delante y un bella familia que te sigue. Dios te bendiga. Exitos en el 2021
Muchas gracias por tus amables palabras @menfita y gracias por tu apoyo. En la vida he aprendido que quejarme de las situaciones no las mejora, así que hago todo lo posible para seguir adelante. También te deseo éxito en el próximo año amigo.
Me alegra tenerte aquí :)