Life Lately: Goodbye July!

It's the end of July and I can't believe it. Wasn't it just yesterday I was sending new year messages and being excited about new beginnings?

July has been such a roller coaster for me. Moving to Warri and having to a start life for myself hasn't been the easiest thing to do, especially when the city is so different from what I am use to.

As we come to the end of the first month of the second half of 2018, I feel a mid year reflection is in order.

At the start of the year my goal was to influence life's through writing, work hard to get my blog a step further to where I envision it and post more articles online as I can. Basically, my mission was Growth and getting my work acknowledged.

The Journey so far

I would be lying if I say it's been easy. There were times when I felt like curling up in a bowl and dying. It felt like for every step I took I got pulled twenty steps back. Falling into depression didn't help either. Looking back now I see that I have achieved more than I realized.

I finished college, despite the many challenges that was hell bent on allowing that to happen. I am a Nigerian Corp member and currently serving my country after being kicked off the list three times for the most ridiculous reasons I couldn't comprehend and still can't. But who cares. I'm here now that's all that matters.

The blog I started out of boredom and desperation to express myself has become the very thing that drives me and I'm committed to seeing it grow beyond what it currently is. My writing career is taking form as I am writing and publishing more articles than before. I am really proud of what I have accomplished so far. I realize now just how much I have grown. I am so different from who I was a year ago.

Life isn't always rosy but despite the challenges, I keep striding on. Pushing forward and leaving the torments of yesterday behind.

Two very important lessons I learnt this month and over the course of this year are are;

• You can't use anger to answer problems.

• You can't survive on your own. No matter how much you wish you could.

When you've lived with your family all your life and grown accustomed to a particular environment, you tend to forget that human beings aren't always pleasant or alike and they are some who will go out of their way to really test you.

I learned that acting the way people expect you to will only create more challenges for you than providing a solution. So I had to learn diplomacy and my life is relatively peaceful having this new trick in my arsenal.

Secondly, I have always been a loner. Always in my safe space and I depend on myself and most times my family. However, I recently opened my eyes to just how depressing and lonely living like that truly is. At some point in our lives we need a shoulder or two to lean on or we will be lost in this "Island" called life.

Staying on Task; Maintaining Growth

The key to maintain growth I have to say is persistence and consistency. Never slack, Never surrender!  No matter how many times you fall just get up, dust your behind and match forward.

Failure is like a scar you wear, reminding you of how many times you had to fall before achieving your goals. I know how hard it can be sometimes, trust me I do. So if you need to shed a few tears I won't judge. I find it therapeutic even. Because I know for a fact that those tears and aches will all be worth it at the end of the journey.

"I'll take a break when I'm sitting down at the beach on my private island. Sipping on Maitais and basking in the sunlight. "  -Samantha

Getting back to my love for Art!

As a kid, I use to love my crayons and colouring books so much,  but all that was child's play. In secondary school was when I truly discovered I hard a steady hand for art but I never took it seriously. Recently, this month though to be exact has woken my overly enthusiastic love for drawing. My little friend who's family I'm currently living with is a really talented artist and she's been giving me some pointers and as well taking online tutorials on YouTube. God bless YouTube!

So far I'm proud of my progress. I have graduated from birds and flowers to more complicated stuff and I only hope to achieve more success in this area. Who's knows, I might just be this generation's next "Pablo Picasso" or "Leonardo Da Vinci."

NYSC, The Journey So Far

My experience so far has been thrilling. I'm not going to spill all the deets just yet as I have a different column for that. I will say it's been such a ride. I'm making new friends, learning a lot, exploring delta state and making fun memories. 

There are struggles of course but the good definitely outweigh the bad. I'll tell you guys more about this on my next post.

In conclusion, July as been an amazing month and I am truly grateful for the opportunities I had thus far. I only hope and pray that August and the remaining months of 2018 will bring wonderful opportunities and chances to grow even more.

Oh!  Before I forget I got a YouTube channel now y'all. Keep an eye out for vlogs, plenty girl talks and tutorials.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your support as always.

Love you guys. Kuku 

How was your month of July?

What lessons have you learnt?

What were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

Have you achieved your goals?

Let's talk in the comment section below.