Oh hey, December!

If someone asks me how my year went, I will most likely tilt towards “disappointing” and you won’t blame me. Towards the end of 2016, I was very excited about the coming year. However, it seems the year fell short of my expectations.

I started my Masters degree programme in October 2016. Classes were going okay, I was making friends and it felt good. But towards the end of the first semester, I had a rough time and was almost convinced God did not like me very much. This went on till it was time for the semester’s exam and I was sure I was going to flunk it. However, when the results for the semester were released afterwards, I performed beautifully. I was overjoyed.

I started 2017 with at least 4 brands that wanted to work with me as a model — 2 hair companies and 2 fashion brands. I had done my calculations and boy, I was going to have a good year. And then they started dropping off one after the other. One of the hair companies never got back to me, the other wanted me at hours I could not spare (because of the dynamics of school at the time). One of the boutiques went AWOL the morning we were to meet and the other stopped communication.

I remember being very frustrated because they were tied to school in a way; they came at times when I simply could not be absent from school. One of the fashion brands abruptly cancelled our meeting on the Saturday morning before Easter and I sat on the bed tired of everything. I told God the certificate I was losing these for had to make up for it in the end. Saying I was sad is putting it mildly.

Fast forward to August and the compulsory 3-month internship started. I got a place and fell in love with the people almost immediately. But somehow, I started doing badly. I eventually had 2 weeks of total meltdown. I couldn’t function both on a mental and physical level. I was merely floating through the days. I even cried at the tiniest thing. And like that was not enough, malaria waltzed in.

It may seem like I have the right to say my year was disappointing, right? But I don’t. Because while things didn’t go as planned, a lot of good things happened too. I started and finished my Masters degree with a lovely result, I met new and wonderful people (and someone special, in particular). I am alive and well. My family is doing very well. That’s a lot of good things.

What’s most important is I have smiled and laughed more than I have cried. I have also learnt that I am stronger than I think.

As we enter into the last month of the year, I am excited for how the year will end and what is to come in the new year.

Happy New Month, guys.