Twice in the last month, while in conversation with my father, he has referred to a quote that he was told by his mother. In our language, Uneme, it is; onagbo khona. Literally, it translates to "this is the life".
As an adage, it's a reminder that there's nothing else to wait for. This is life happening to you right now. There’s no trailer or preview. This isn’t a test run. This is not a drill. This is your life. Live it.
I think that’s the best description of how I feel about turning 24. Last year I wrote about birthday depression, and making the conscious decision to celebrate the good things that have happened, and are happening. I had to read it again just to remind myself of how I’d felt then, and thankfully, so much is different a year later.
More than anything else, like the adage, I’ve come to a certain sense of ownership over my life that just wasn’t fully present previously. I don’t know if it’s the age, finally graduating from University, or choosing to live on my own for the first time in the last year, but I feel different.
To quantify, I feel like I have grown more in the past year than I did in the past 2-3 years before it.
This growth has helped me appreciate people more. In the last year, I’ve come to respect and love my family and friends like I never have before. Simply because, for the first time, I could accept that the people I love aren’t perfect. We’re all doing life for the first time, and I’m just as flawed as they are, if not more.
Owning up to life’s imperfections has ironically helped me see things more perfectly. Clarity is the word for it. I feel clarity. And as if to pile up on the irony, with this sense comes the other realisation that I can’t see everything clearly. But that realisation makes me less prone to mistakes… I think.
I don’t feel any type of way about this birthday. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I feel content. A kind of contentment that doesn’t translate into laxity. More than ever before, I feel in touch with who I am, right now. I feel responsible for my future, whatever it is going to be. And although this sense of awareness is a little frightening, I am not overwhelmed.
As I close, I also feel a need to mention that none of this is certain. This awareness that I feel isn’t final, but I’m looking forward to all that is to come, if there is more to come.
This is the life. It is not a drill. And I’m living it. Here’s to 24 🥂
…and to many more years ahead of you Dr.V
Congratulations 🎊🎉
Happy birthday Victory..
Here's to all that is to come 🥂!