My fondest memory of Dami is tweeting her questions from my nephew’s assignment sometime last year. She was so quick with the answers the 7-year-old was amazed! I remember he said, “see how aunty Chioma helped me with all my homework without delay”. I felt so smart! I should tell him about Twitter soon!
Dami is smart!! She’s my online dictionary, and I know that whenever I’m stuck on a sentence or anything related to English, my first DM goes to her.
She’s very reflective in this post, and I’ll let you get on with it already! Here’s Dami!
My name is Dami Oyedele, I am Nigerian, and I work in management consulting. As an aspiring math nerd and a child of the Pentecostal Faith Movement, I’m a big fan of numbers and their significance. Hence, around the end of last year, I became filled with a sense that 2013 was going to be a landmark year for me. It would be the 7th year after I went through a personal crisis that changed the course of my life – a path that is still beautifully shaping me to this day. It was also the year I would turn 25! I had massive expectations for where I wanted my life to be as I turned prime-number-five raised to the power of two; grace squared; a quarter of a century.
By mid-January, I already had my year planned out in my head and on paper. I knew where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do, and where I didn’t want to be for every month till the end of the year. I even drew up a countdown calendar for one of my goals, and I ticked it religiously and excitedly (as evident from my picture!).
Calendar.com
Did 2013 live up to my plans? I struggle to conclude on that, especially now, three weeks to the end of a year that has been simultaneously harrowing and intensely beautiful; disappointing and pleasantly surprising. Let’s just say that as the year progressed, most of my plans were either remixed or thrown out of the window.
For someone whose signature mantra is “fly with me – the journey is the destination”, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I always am. The twists and turns I inevitably encounter in getting from Point A to B are full of rich lessons. This year, the lessons were summarized as thus: in my own strength and on my own terms, I am average at best. I saw clearly how I repeatedly sabotage my own progress, and I discovered far too many character flaws that need work. I would despair at this epiphany, but I am fortunate to also be coming to terms with the unconditional love of the One who encoded my DNA, flaws and all.
He made promises for the year 2013, but didn’t spell them out to me in full because I would not have believed. He just unraveled them as the days went by, and is still leaving me stunned. 2013 did not turn out precisely as I wanted it to. It even missed the mark in many ways, but by God, it has undoubtedly been my best year yet. For that I am truly thankful, and can’t wait for next year.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
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