Skip to main content

28

I am really not great with birthdays, mine that is. Every time August 5th comes around, something in my brain just starts going haywire. And as I get closer to 30, things keep getting worse. However this year I want to switch things up and look at this wonderful day with a different set of lens. So, in my impulsive decision making, I decided to do a list of things I am grateful for. One for each year that I have been on this earth. So, here goes 28 things I am grateful for

 1. My life. This one is pretty standard. I have lived a healthy life and free from this horrible pandemic. 

2. My son’s life; Leruo, who is going to be 3 years old in a week’s time. Yes we are both Leos. 

3. My family. See if I was smart I would name them one by one and add to my list. 

4. My friends. I have a great support system in terms of my friends. They are always ready to listen to my random thoughts and offer advice where necessary. 

5. Winnie. I know technically she falls under friends, but she is worth a special mention. Winnie is the one person I can talk to all day and not run out of things to say. I love you fam. 

 6. Attie. Another friend who is also worthy of a special mention. Attie and I have been friends for 10 full years now, wow! She has been through all my different changes in life. She has known me at my worst and at my best and has chosen to still stick by me. And for that I am grateful. 

7. My brain. Yes at times it goes into overdrive and complicates things but I am so glad to have been blessed with this brain. 

8. My beautiful smile. Yes, I said it. I have a smile that lights up a room. 

 9. My sense of humour. I honestly crack myself up all the time. 

10. My mother. Who has always believed in my abilities and is my biggest cheerleader. 

11. Ice cream. Random I know but I mean what’s better than ice cream? Nothing! Best food to snack on whether you are happy or sad. 

12. Chocolate. This one is self-explanatory. 

13. Twitter. This platform has gotten me through some of my worst times. Thank you Jack Dorsey. 

14. My degree. Even though I don’t get to use my Economics degree as often as I would like to, I am still very proud to have achieved it and grateful to have had that experience. 

15. Leicester. Man, the way I love this place. I just hope that one day I will be able to visit again. I learnt so much about myself while living there. 

16. Music. Where would we be without music? 

17. To have been loved. There’s no better feeling than being loved hey. And in my 28 years I am grateful to have known such a beautiful love. 

18. To have loved. R.D Clyde said, ‘the greatest joy of life is to love and be loved.’ 

19. My career. I have had the privilege to have worked in some of the most enabling environments ever. I have worked in places that allowed me to grow and discover what it is exactly that makes me happy. It’s been a beautiful experience. 

20. Failure. I have been afraid of failing all my life and to an extent I still am, a little. But there are so many beautiful lessons to be learnt from failing, and I am grateful for those.

Ad break. It’s getting more difficult to come up with more things I am grateful for. But 20, damn! I am so proud of myself! 

21. How I Met Your Mother. For those who don’t know, this is an American sitcom. I have been watching this show since I was 17 and through thick and thin, those 6 friends have always had my back. I mean it does help that they are fictional. Point is, whenever I have felt down or defeated, an episode of this show has always been able to cheer me up. 

22. God. Well I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the big man upstairs, so He deserves the credit. 

23. Books. My mom taught me how to read when I was just 4 years old and I have been able to escape my reality and enter new worlds ever since then. I am grateful for books that have taught me so many lessons and provided me comfort when I needed it. 

24. My laptop. I got my first laptop as a gift from my mum back in 2011 and I named him Eli. In 2013, I traded Eli for Ezra (newer, stylish, colourful model). Unfortunately I lost Ezra in a horrible incident in late 2019. You will forever be missed Ezra. I then bought my current laptop in 2020 that is still yet to be named. But it’s portable, sleek and allows me to write down my thoughts (like today), whenever I want to. 

25. Summer. Yes, I am grateful for an actual season. As much as I hate the bugs that come with it, I love warmth and the sun. So here’s to you summer. 

26. Wine. Okay I really am running out of things to be grateful for. But I really do love wine. Who knew fermented grapes could slap so much? Thank you to whoever came up with that concept. 

27. Oratile. This is my sister that I live with who by default has become my best friend cos well, she is always there hey. I am grateful that despite our 8 year gap, we still have such a beautiful relationship. And for being the best auntie to my baby. 

28. You. Yes you. For sitting through this long list and taking the time to read my blog. You are amazing. 

That was quite a trip. I am so grateful for my 28 turns around the sun. Happy birthday Larona and to all the other August babies. 


    





Comments

  1. This is beautiful. To Summer. And Love. And Wine. And our mothers. And friendship. To life. To ice cream. I have enjoyed this so much...

    Nice to see a cute non-morbid piece about your birthday. It's been dark hey/ We appreciate the light. Also, you are full of light, and you are full of wonder... I know it's an Emeli Sande song but... very fitting. I love you.

    Happy Birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Up

I recently reached a very important stage in my life; turning 21! Yep, I am pretty old I know. So 21, everyone looks forward to this big moment in their life. It's when the whole world recognises you as an adult! You are finally free to do whatever you want. It's like being given a canvas and paint and painting the picture that is the rest of your life. A pretty exciting moment right? wrong! Well at least for me anyway. I mean at first I was psyched, I was finally 21. What could go wrong? And then I sat down and thought, I am 21. I am in my 20s and I have nothing to show for it. Over two decades I have been on earth and I hadn't even finished school yet! It was a nightmare. My friend called it an 'early mid-life crisis'. Of  course right now I am feeling a lot better about the whole thing, I mean I am still freaking out just a little bit but I will be ok. The point I am trying to make is even though growing up is great and everything, it can also be scary. The older...

Lessons from The Entrepreneurship Catalyst

Walking into the UB sports arena on Wednesday morning, I had pegged the De Beers Entrepreneurship Catalyst Conference as just one of those events that I would benefit nothing from. You know the events that I am referring to. Where rich stuffy guys come and tell us about how they made it in long boring lectures. Boy was I glad that I was wrong. The event was nothing short of star studded, from 9 time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis, to representatives from Stanford University. Which was expected, after all it is De Beers. To kick off the day, Peter Hong from Google gave what to me was a life changing lecture. He comes from a science background having been a marine biologist at some point in life but has managed to end up at Google with some other interesting experiences in between. His talk, I can confidently say was the highlight of the day for me. Perhaps it was because it was first on the agenda in the morning but I would like to think it was more because of what he said. He f...

'Tis the season...

Is it just me or does Christmas seem to come earlier every year? Literally as soon as October ends you start seeing the signs: Christmas sales green and red everywhere Christmas cards invading the cards section (I almost feel bad for anyone who has a birthday during this time, its nearly impossible to find a birthday card!) Christmas themed food/drinks and of course CHRISTMAS TREES!! It's like a freaking epidemic! Christmas has now turned from a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ to a marketing gimmick for shops to make money! It is now one of the most commercialised holidays in the world! It's no longer about singing Christmas carols, acting out plays and actually going to church. It's now about who cooks the best Christmas dinner or who gives the best Christmas gift or who rocks the best Christmas sweater! It has become so terrible that we get into debt just so that we can have that special 'Christmas' with all the unnecessary cake...