#P4: Perspective and peace, Five and Six.
Backstory
I came across a video of myself from 2019, dancing like a freaking ostrich in the OBS room of Taraba NYSC orientation camp. Funny enough, I was an ostrich with a barely working neck, but it gave birth to this. I link the video in the following words. I can add it here, but nope you may be distracted if I do 😌
The past six weeks have been a little bit crazy. I moulded a crazy world myself because of the insane expectations of myself. At a point, I thought of quitting everything and taking a month break from volunteering, community ops, career, everything, but you see, sometimes, all you need is just perspective.
That me-as-an-ostrich video unveiled a past that gave me perspective.
I was sitting down this evening to unwind before I started the evening session of “producting” (my work as a product manager). I browsed through WhatsApp. I am not a public person except when necessary. WhatsApp status posts from me are rare, not to mention WhatsApp statuses with personal content. Tonight was different tho. My very good friend, Happiness, released a single.
As usual, when you post on status, it starts conversations. Promoting Happiness’s single led to a conversation that pointed me to that video posted on the WhatsApp group of my NYSC batch’s OBS. OBS is like the radio station for the camp. It was a video of me dancing to some Northern tunes on one of those variety nights where we play local music in the “base” to catch fun.
I would say: because of my situation, I danced like an ostrich. Deep down, I know I can't dance to save my life. I am lowkey hoping I can keep my wedding day sha. Fingers crossed.
If my doctor saw my attempt, he would have poured words of wisdom into my head at that moment. I was on a neck brace or collar due to an accident early that year.
Yarn
In January 2019, I had an accident that landed me in the ICU for almost a week—left me with a neck brace because “my C4 shifted a bit”. It also added a pinch of PNES to the cuisine I call my life.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SZDuKCBJms8WqYFE9
I was on my way to interview for my international Passport when I lost control of the vehicle because I was overspeeding. It somersaulted multiple times and landed upside down on my side of the car.
Due to the accident, I couldn't follow through with the master’s program admission I got in Sweden, dropped the process I was on for a scholarship for the same program. I almost didn't graduate without a certificate too. I had finished my thesis, but my project had an issue at a point during testing. So the deal I had with my supervisor was that I would not collect my certificate until I fixed the problem — but then an accident!
Thank God for Professor Kareem’s empathy, he told me not to worry about the rest since I could confirm that all the needed parts were already there, and my thesis proved that it once worked. Professor Awopetu’s advice also that I should be resting not be in school processing my final clearance while on a collar.
That year I eventually went for service around March/April. I went to Taraba with the collar per the doctor’s advice.
Seeing that video gave me perspective. I dont think I have had a year as crazy and terrible as 2019. Looking back at everything, even in the mess and hurricane, great things still happened.
Because of the accident, I had to leave my job as an intern additive manufacturing engineer/evangelist at Premier hub, Akure. [Mr Johnzoe, CapriTolu, Laura Oriade, Moses of the green lab techies, HTMLfoods people: the beautiful, unique humans I met here]
I went to Taraba and survived another accident in Rivers State. Stubbornly decide to stay in camp against the advice of the officials. Eventually had to leave when my PNES started leading to minor tremors. But not before I tasted Tiger nut milk and got hooked on it.
That same year, I was redeployed to the state ministry of works, Osogbo. People know NYSC in places like this is a breeze. But I went to work every day and started learning personally. I signed up to become a Student For Liberty local coordinator. I took a lot of courses on economics, libertarianism, and Laisse fare capitalism. I took multiple classes at Atlas Network Academy and almost graduated.
Still, within the April and later months of 2019, I became a volunteer contributor and Op-ed writer with Chale institute. This particularly increased my interest in the public education sector, and I know I will do something great in that sector one day. I should post some of those op-eds one of these days. They might ginger you too.
In all of this, I had this wrong assumption that I was nothing without programming, so I decided to start updating my python knowledge. We learnt the basics in school, but I was learning data science first, then Machine learning next. I would combine those classes with reading “from the third world to first” by Lee Kuan Yew. And yes, I finished it.
Then one Monday in May, after a weekend of non-stop migraine. wahala happened. The summary is I landed in the ICU for another week. A total of 2 weeks in the hospital that May. I had a fatal seizure than I had ever had before. Cause: I wasn't resting, and I still had PNES and brain ish from the accident. I didn't know tho, and I wasn't treating PNES yet either.
“I must prepare myself for one day my time would come” —Abraham Lincoln
All I knew was, “I must prepare myself for one day my time would come”. And I was not ready to waste a second, so I gave rest zero chances. Did I learn my lesson? No lol. Post the hospital; the Neurosurgeon had to advise my parents to seize all my books and put me on a compulsory electronic fast for 30 to 45 days.
Omo, I fought it oh, but they were trying to save my life. There’s no bargain here. It’s either it’s my ambition that ends up in my corpse, or my dreams stay alive in my to-be healthy body. And yep, I was redeployed back to my parents’ house — the biggest fear of my life: being a burden, came to pass.
Then I had to serve in the secondary school I attended. It was the closest to my house. For health reasons, it was the best option. I also started managing my PNES with pills.
I was still stealing books to read tho; I found a loophole! My parents allowed Christian books and writing on blank A4 papers. this was when I was able to flesh out kawura ideas [I want this to be something one day so bad 😔].
I resumed after the electronic break and tried getting back to my routine—this time, with the eagle eye of my parents on me. I learned to prioritise rest but still didn't learn enough, lol. After a couple of weeks back at the school that was now my place of primary assignment. I started a business again 😂.
I started selling power banks for Wii technologies, power banks made in Nigeria. As per python don bite me, I stopped that one and started towards MBA plans [with HRM first] and User Experience design. I learned about the power banks on one of my consulting trips to Akure. Yes! I was consulting with a Mentor, Mr Emmanuel of Dieu’s playroOm, for an MKBHD design-studio-level kind of thing he had planned.
I sold shoes and phone accessories in school as part of the strategy to hack my introversion. So selling power banks for practical MBA and money-making was a no brainer. I did this for a while that same year. Then Wii stopped producing. Nigeria happened to them. Production issues.
I was already diversifying before this tho, and it helped. I couldn't find Tiger nut milk where I was. So I decided to start making them. I learned the process, fine-tuned a recipe and started selling it alongside my power banks.
I doubled up on kunu Aya [Tiger Nuts milk] when Wii had issues. I was also already learning Product Management after I attended a physical HRM class. Thanks to Harry Enaholo and Treford.
I would sell power banks in the morning at my NYSC PPA (place of primary assignment). Take my courses in the afternoon, fine-tune ideas and write op-eds late afternoons. Then go back home to prep Kunu Aya for sale at the NYSC clearance signing stuff on Thursday. Then pick up Product Management studying into the late night.
I tried applying for a Masters in Public Health at the University of Washington during that year, too, after the second ICU discharge. It was an attempt to sha try the python data science thing again. Say maybe abroad python no go too bite like that. This python instead came as breakfast. And I chop am. Yup, rejection letter 😂.
I improved my podcasting and created Our Wellbeing podcast with my Partner Ann. I managed financial education for a program to teach Financial education to pregnant women in the rural settlements of Osun state.
It was already close to the end of the year at this point. Through it all though, I was still having seizures. One particular one happened on the assembly ground. 2019 mehn! I had more than 13 seizures that year altogether.
Then 2020 open with Corona. That’s definitely another story.
Looking at that video, [you can find it here, by the way. Before you swear for me for holding it off continuously 😎] I could look back at 2019 with a kind of smile that brings strength. Because with that perspective, my present issues faded. And there was peace, like number six after five.
The point?
You dont see the label when you are in the bottle. Even if you do, the words will be mirrored. Positives will look like negatives. It won't make sense. Sometimes, we must have people, situations, and occurrences that read the bottle label for us. Events that play the bottle label to us in videos or sounds.
People that remind us of the days we did great despite. Individuals that remind us that: “No matter how small, you’ve been at a high before. you can again”. Persons that say through actions and words: “Just fine-tune your perspective, and you’ll find peace”.
You see, you won’t always have people to point you to your accurate labels. In fact some will hold up a mirror in a way you will see inverse words if you look outside the bottle. Others will put up reversed mirrors that allow you to see the labels correctly. Those who understand will pass you a mirror and a lens so that even within the bottle, you can do it right with the right tools.
So, Write down your experiences. Document. Take pictures. Record goofy videos. So that one day, you can look outside the bottle, and even without the tools, you are surrounded by pointers to your truth from your past. And with a mirror and a lens, though it might be hard or easy like you find six a step ahead of five, you’ll have a perspective that helps you find peace.
Like as Christians, we turn our eyes upon Jesus to witness the light of His glory and grace. You’ll Turn your eyes to your proper labels, and witness the truth of the awesomeness, beauty, and capabilities you are and have. Not the inverse, mirrored ones you see, uninformed, from within the bottle, but the ones that show and prove you are a beautifully and wonderfully crafted divine work of art.
TL: DR
The Past few weeks have been crazy. I saw a video today that reminded me of a past year. 2019: one of my crazy years on earth. Me remembering that past as a pointer refined my perspective. Like you count six after five. It brought me peace.
P.S.
That kunu thing really taught me a lot about Product management. I dare say it was my first product [besides kawura]. Took a few orders on WhatsApp so I can scratch FoodTech off my list 😅. I could talk more about this, but then it’s more of a 2020 thing.
P.S.A.
This writeup started with Happiness’s release of a single. So, here’s a proud plug. please listen to Happiness here and stream his music across your favourite platforms.
P.S.S.
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