2018!!!

When I was shouting Happy new year on the 1st day of this year, I NEVER expected this year would go the way it did.

2018 STRETCHED me!

Gosh.

This year,

I have cried!

I have laughed!

I have prayed!

I have hoped!

I have had my hopes dashed!

I have hurt and been hurt!

This year I have experienced love and pain in dimensions I did not know existed.

This year I lost myself, found myself and got lost again.

This year I discovered parts of me I never knew existed, some parts I embrace and some parts I have decided to bury.

Reading this you must be thinking; this is so deep, it is deep o.

In fact, about 3 months ago as I walked back home after a day’s work, I just started crying on the road. I felt soooooo outside my comfort zone. For the first time in a long time there I was faced with a situation, I could neither explain nor navigate.

I didn’t have a brilliant plan on how to salvage the situation, it was not mine to fix.

I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel but ZERO ideas how to move from where I was to where I wanted to be. I had only one option; leave it and TRUST GOD to carry me through the process. In my pain I asked God “Why are so many negative things happening to me?” He told me that wasn’t true. “Yes, negative things have happened, but baby girl the good outweighs the seemingly negative.”

I knew this was true but I was still in pain. I decided to write down a list of the negatives and the positives, put them side by side and compare.

The not so great things:

1. I was hit by a bike
2. My phone was stolen on a Sunday. I replaced it about a week after and then 3 weeks later I was robbed at knife point and my new phone of was stolen AGAIN.
3. My summer holiday was denied me 😂
4. I lost someone very dear to me 🤧😔

The great things:

1. Gooooood health!!! Amidst many illness scares, I am hale and hearty. Didn’t break down once! What is ‘a malaria’?
2. Strengthen friendships! Shout out to Temilola, Nchedo and Aunty Kemi. You are my eternal gifts of 2018 ❤️
3. A job that I enjoy. 
4. My family is complete with testimonies overflowing.
5. My understanding of love has grownnnnnn. This year I was privileged to give and receive so much love.
6. Uncountable lessons learnt!!! I’m such a better person than I was a year ago.
7. I have grown tremendously; my maturity is on another level now.
8. I got accepted to the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Lagos Hub! Even after I faffed at my interview (story for another day). If you know me, you know development is at my core. With this platform, I’m taking a step forward on my journey to being a nation and continent builder on a global scale. 
9. Still linked to the above I was offered a the role of strategy and structure lead at a fantastic NGO called Project Zeros focused on poverty alleviation and of course I accepted it with open arms. Our development ministry is moving!
10. Completed my certificate in Professional Marketing course from Chartered Institute of Marketing! A program worth half a million Naira paid for in full by an ANGEL from above ❤️
11. My roots in God grew so much deeper. Nothing trumps spiritual growth guys. God is good!
12. Kick-started a fellowship in Lagos with an amazing partner (like the one I talked about here!).
13. All my friends and family are doing good! Some of them got new jobs, promotions at work, admissions to school, found love, got engaged among others.
14. Travel!! I got to travel quite a bit this year. In travel I have found a new hobby/escape and I am so thankful for this.
15. Cardio! I decided to start running this year and it’s no doubt one of the best decisions I made. I would have never imagined I’d love running as much as I do now. 

Brethren, what shall I say unto the lord? All I have to say is thank you Lord!

Tell me don’t the good outweigh the bad? These are even just a few major milestones o, there is so much more that God did for me in 2018.

No doubt 2018 is the best year of my life thus far and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Do I still have questions about the events of 2018? Oh yes, but since I don’t have all the answers, I’ve decided to stop asking the questions altogether and let God do what he does best; Make all things work together for my good!

As I type this out my heart is overflowing with gratitude!! Not just for 2018 but more so for the future I can see, it is so beautiful.

I’m now on an interesting journey of self-discovery and love, one that’s directed by God and acted by me. Super exciting days ahead I must confess.

Dear 2019, I cannot wait to meet you. Heads up! I’m determined to live my best life and make my own rules as I go. No boxes, no stereotypes, just Sinmisola NY LIVING.

How did your year go? Regardless of whether it was bittersweet like mine or complete icing sugar, CONGRATULATIONS on making it this far!

Our best years are ahead of us!

Love,

Sinmisola NY… Xx