Final Destination:Welcome to a New Dispensation

On December 30th 2020, I wrote about The Long Walk Back to The Bay. On December 24th 2021, I wrote about A New Beginning to an Old Story. This year, we have arrived at the Final Destination. I can gladly welcome you all to a new dispensation, my new dispensation. Welcome!!! Ahh!!! Excitement.

Let’s go back a few years, just 4 to be exact. In 2018, I was being pulled and pushed by people whose interest narrowly coincided with mine. I was (on-behalf of others) writing proposals and making presentations to government officials and/or “high” net worth individuals every other month. This continued till 2019 yet none of those proposals came out positive. Or so I think. Was I really that bad at writing? Hmm. The inflexion point was when I confessed my fears to someone who wasn’t my best friend. Have you ever asked yourself “What if better days are not coming? What if better days has come and gone because you threw away your golden opportunity?” It wasn’t the first time I was regretting a decision I had made, however, it was the first time I was admitting such regret to a third party that wasn’t a significant other. And so I became determined to find better days. Better days are no longer coming; they are here!

Not a lot of things happened this year, I think. I’d let you decide for yourself.

I had one goal for 2022: SURVIVE. All I had to do was not die. If I could survive till January 2023, then I won. 🥇 🏆 Probably doesn’t sound like a lofty goal does it? “Survive” sounds like an implied goal for everyone but for someone who’s overly aware of how feeble life is, surviving is a pretty big deal. But even more so, I had a lot to do in 2022. We raised a pre-seed for my startup, and I started to dedicate more time to it. I had my masters program to complete so it needed more time. I had my job(s) to keep so I couldn’t really slack on that either. See? I could have died! And I am not being dramatic. Maybe I am, but not a lot. Survive!

Now, amidst the storms, trials, and tribulations, some good things happened. I visited home. I met a lot of new people! Most from Twitter though, but still; very lovely. 🥰. Loved it. I went to Texas a couple of times, on one of those trips, I came back with a girlfriend. Highlight of my year really. I also “visited” Seattle — hehehe 🤭. That turned out to be a very good trip, it set my ship a-sail.

At some point this year, I was overworked, stressed, very anxious, and borderline depressed. I can’t say I was depressed because I wasn’t diagnosed but I’ve also seen more darkness than this so we are good.

Why did I have the lofty goal of surviving 2022? I have in times past, not cared if I survived the year or not. What was going to be different in 2023? Well, it’s simple. 2022 was the last year in my journey towards achieving my career goal(s). In April 2020, I sent out this tweet outlining my personal and career goals:

I have achieved (and exceeded) my career goals. Thus, Welcome to a New Dispensation. For someone who couldn’t speak English till he was 10, someone who drank water from ponds and rivers, who stole and sold coconuts to buy food, I have come a long way. Too long a way. Growing up, people always told me “You’re smart”, “You’ll make it in life.”, “You have a bright future”. Well, they were right, at least in some ways. I have by and far exceeded every single one of those expectations…even mine because to be honest, as a child, I had no dreams or expectations out of life. I’ve basically been making it up as I go. Scientifically, this is known as the “fuck around and find out” methodology.

As you can see, I did a lot of f*cking around, and found out a great deal.

Now that I’ve achieved my “corporate” career goal, what next? Well, I don’t know. Going to lay low for a while, and apply the scientific method ever so often. Going to get my startup out here. We’ve got a lot to do there…a lot of excitement around what’s coming too. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

My big goal for 2023 is to ENJOY 😊. I’ve been working, struggling, striving, and sweating for this, now that I have it, I just want to live in it.

“It’s plenty oh ah,

Order Hennessy oh ahh

Won ni won wa mi ah-ah-ah-ahh

Every day party, ahh” — It’s Plenty — Burna Boy

Have a great 2023!