#BN2018Epilogues: Grace Found Solace & Blessings In the Lessons from the Year

Remember when we asked you to send in essays discussing how 2018 was for you? Because, you know, writing can be the best therapy. And sharing your joy and pain and all the emotions you’ve felt through the year can only be a good thing.

Grace fell in love this year, and came in contact with drama. She got a job, too, and though even blessings can come with disappointments, she’s grateful for the lessons this year has taught her.

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Writing about this year has been so hard as compared to writing in previous years. This year was both eventful and uneventful for me. It was both sad and happy for me, but for some reason, writing about my year and submitting an epilogue always makes me feel positive about the year in view.

I finished NYSC toward the end of last year so I started this year job hunting. A few weeks into the year, I got an offer to intern in my family friend’s company, it didn’t seem like a good idea as I was spending all my earnings on basic expenses. I was equally writing other aptitude test and interviews. Some offers I got I turned down because they weren’t worth it, some interviews I couldn’t attend because of distance, and some I failed.

My birthday was in April and I had the worst birthday yet this year. I met a guy through a mutual friend when they came to my city for a seminar. It was connection at first contact for us, and we started talking a lot after the meeting. We’d talk every day for hours, and then he suddenly stopped talking to me in August. I tried to reach out to him a lot of times but he was being difficult so I let him be.

I wrote the aptitude test for my current job in April, went for the interview in May, and passed and was informed training school wouldn’t start until July. Training school started in August and I met some of the best people there.

I had a roommate in training school who had a male friend she was really close to, and they both used to say they were just friends and didn’t like each other enough for anything to go on. Fast forward a few weeks into training, I got close to this guy and fell in love with him. My roommate started giving me attitude, told me she didn’t like that I was close to this guy (she has a boyfriend).

We finished training school in October and I was glad I was leaving all that drama behind. I am in contact with the guy and we are still in love (or maybe he loves me more). I got posted to a place in the north I had never even been to in my life. I cried and tried to redeploy but it didn’t work.

I resumed work with mixed feelings. I was there, away from my family and friends, and getting accommodation was a tug of war. This festive period looks weird and doesn’t seem like it would be fun for me. I have lost so much weight and I really miss been a child. I am currently having a stressful week as my colleague is on leave and so I’m doing the job of two people, but through it all, I find solace in the blessings and lessons of this year:

1. I got a not bad paying job this year.
2. I met someone who pushed me to be a better version of myself this year even if we aren’t talking a lot anymore.
3. I met someone that really loves me this year.
4. I learnt a greater level of independence this year.
5. I learnt not to put so much trust in people.
6. I got to see a little of the other side of life.

I’m super grateful for 2018 and its lessons and look forward to a better 2019.

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Read up on previous editions of BN 2018 Epilogues here and send in your essays to features(at)bellanaija(dot)com. Let us know all the twists and turns and successes 2018 came with. Send your mail with the title “2018 Epilogues.”