I should know.
I’m a self-acclaimed food critic.
Talking about food, I ate a ton of it in 2022. My puffer fish excuse of a stomach is a testament to that.
That should be getting fixed in the first quarter of this year.
I can’t risk taking the form of Samwell Tarly when all I do on my night watch is binge YouTube shorts, laughing hysterically into the night like a deranged Demogorgon.
Oopsie! Sorry, I’m aware I trailed off somewhere there.
Where were we now?
Yes! 2022 and my taste bud
Oh dear, 2022 was a rollercoaster without a theme park.
It started on a pretty good note with some melodious earnings. I scored my first 1k$ gig. Then I landed a long term contract with a US company. Life was looking pretty good. The thought of saving never crossed my mind. Hehe, my income seemed endless.
The flow was Mississippi, and I was a scuba diver exploring the sea bed without an oxygen mask.
Then the “sapa” nation attacked, and everything went to shit.
I couldn’t place what the problem was. Honestly, I still cannot. My clients suddenly began to pull back for the most outlandish reasons. I scored a 25$ per hour gig and lost it in a week after the client stated they had been looking for a talent like mine. I mean, I did what I needed to do, and they were beyond impressed with my deliverables.
Imagine my surprise when they pulled out two days after these texts for reasons unconnected to the quality of my work.
Well, life happens, I thought.
Then I lost a couple more after this, though I will admit they were due to my delayed submissions.
To be fair, I became a bit slow with my responses. Not extreme, but certainly noticeable. I never used to miss deadlines till I lost my enthusiasm for work courtesy of my odd disappointments.
Nonetheless, I had to keep it going. Shortly after, I became a top-rated professional on Upwork. This milestone impacted my confidence positively.
However, it appeared my profile disappeared into a black hole once I earned this badge. First, the invites stopped coming; then, It became almost impossible to get my proposals opened by prospects. I became a “persona non grata” out of the blues.
For weeks I pondered on what the root cause could be.
The further I brainstormed, the more clueless I became. I knew my writing hadn’t dropped in standard. If anything, it became better.
I never changed my name to Chris, but it felt like everyone hated me.
I was hit so badly I turned to a fortune teller to read my tarot cards.
Hey! Don’t judge me. I was open to any form of solution.
I was a shadow of myself, struggling to bring forth the light that once was. Meanwhile, no one had a clue I was stuck in a dark place.
They continued to gaze upon me like starstruck fans. In their heads, I still was making a killing. Little did they know I was the one dying.
Time passed, and my ill luck “lingered.” I went from a Manchester United star to a Nottingham Forest reserve.
I had to settle for the crumbs that fell my way while harboring the flicker of hope that I would rise again. Prayers were all I had left, plus the little remote job that kept me momentarily on my toes.
One moment, it will feel as though my drought is seeing its last days, then the next, the universe pulls a “just kidding😁” on me.
See? It certainly felt like I was hexed by some witch doctor who felt cute and eager to cause turmoil. Nothing made sense.
Until December, I suffered a series of near-success syndrome. Every week, my hopes were raised like oil prices, but down they went like Dogecoin.
Then December came, and Santa followed suit. Though I lost another income channel, I felt the blow less because, finally, it felt like God finally looked my way.
The wins came, and I felt my body come alive again. This time, I made sure I made the most of the moment and lived it.
It’s a new year, and I currently do not feel as financially secure as I’ll love, but the air has shifted. Something is different. I feel luckier and closer to my big break.
I should be wary of this sudden brightness, but I am not. I’m embracing it with the fullness of my heart. Fuck a jinx; I’m operating on a new plane of existence now. History is history. This time, it is not repeating itself.
HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! LET’S GET IT!😁🍷❤️✨
