From A Girl to A Woman

Well there are some pretty interesting things that have happened to me the last six months that I think are worth mentioning;

First- The hullabaloos of a final year university student that come as a result of the fear of facing the unknown. For me, I had it all worked out. The plan was I was to apply to all the top notch employers in Nairobi, do my final exams in June and then ship myself to my boyfriends safe haven where I was going to lounge and wait for whoever wanted to employ me to call. I wanted the fast paced classy high life and damn I was going to do all it takes to get it.  I thought this was a perfect plan…, however life had something else in store for me!

Second-By April I had been called for interviews by the top graduate employers and my hopes were flying high. By the time I was sitting my last paper, I had a job waiting for me, though not what I had expected, but something nonetheless. I counted myself lucky and blessed, and indeed I was.

Third- the shift to Mombasa, yes the job was in Mombasa!…I had to change my plans, my thinking, my attitude.  I met new people, way of doing things and living. And to sum it all up…am still adjusting.

Fourth- The boyfriend drama and issues…hahah! I guess this is the part of my life that intrigues me the most! I managed to partially move in, meet my in-laws, attend their family affairs, almost get married and move back with my family all in six months. The good thing is, even with all this, he still gets me! And that’s a very huge plus.

Fifth- Followed the crisis or dilemma…or whatever it is called! But here I was at a dead end. Nothing excited me…the challenges were not fun, i was tired and aching from within! I felt myself stagnating, growing old, even dying from within!! All that I cared about did not matter, and all that mattered I did not care about! I desperately needed change in my life and I knew that if nothing was changing in my life, then I had to change myself. And thus went my hair, good behavior and some of those views I had about life in general. I had been living all my life thinking about others…either it was my mum, sister, grandma, aunt or some other person I felt I owed. This time I was going to live for me… I wanted to have a life and no one was going to stop me.

Sixth- Were the scares, the stress and the agonies. I have had sleepless nights and dreadful days over office gossip, impossible deadlines, job insecurities, crippling responsibilities and yes pregnancy scares. And I can tell you it has not been an easy road. Caught between losing a job and worrying about a missing period.., a woman sometimes is torn between priorities.

Even with all this happening, somewhere between meeting my prospective future in-laws and having orange hair,  I have accomplished a lot. I charmed my way into the office family circle…well still working at it; I managed to train the women we work with,  lead researches and analyses, host a delegation and plan a marketing and landing site survey, to mention but a few. Above all and most importantly, I have managed to smile, laugh, learn, love and to forgive. I have grown. This year has been a year of transformation and change, surprises and challenges. The great part is I have endured, by the grace of God. 

As a good friend put it, this year I have blossomed from a girl to a woman!!

This year I want to celebrate all those who have been a part of this interesting journey called life with me. Cheers!!! Let’s drink to that.