I really looked forward to this year because it was a year filled with a lot of plans. My confidence level was high and I was flying high right into the year. Not that I had a lot of material things to keep me aloft but I invested last year into learning, so this year was for me to execute what I have learnt so far. And then humbling January came.
This isn’t the first January I would be experiencing but one thing I’ve noticed about it is that it seemingly always looks long. If you check your calendar, I can assure you that we have about 5 Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, that seems long enough for the 4 weeks a month we were used to. I became scared.
Flipping back to December, it was a month of celebration not only for the Christians but also for a year well spent. So a lot of spending goes into this month for celebration which makes January airtight in terms of finances.
I too wasn’t left alone. January was a lot of things, I entered this month in a lonely state because a situation made me stay alone in a whole flat for a while. To be honest I needed that space to think and organise my new year strategy, that’s to be positive. Living alone which I didn’t schedule sank my finances in ways I didn’t expect. Electricity bills were much since I stayed in an area that has almost what I can call 24/7 electricity. Others took my money away.
Since I was alone and it was an experience I didn’t want that early in a new year. It affected my mindset and my thoughts. There was a time I was left with nothing and with high hopes. I keep wondering if it’s really the year whereby I really get to actualise my plans. I confided in my dad and he told me that January always seems like that and it doesn’t have to set a trajectory for how the rest of my year will be, so I kept calm.
Another one was at my place of work, I usually don’t like to attach myself to a location or community once I leave there physically. After the Christmas break, when the school vacated because I’m a teacher observing my scheduled service year as a corp member, I didn’t contact anybody either members of staff or my fellow corp members. I zoned out.
During resumption, I spent an extra week before resuming and I still didn’t contact anyone so there is trouble awaiting. The first day I resumed work, the vice principal called me and spoke harshly to me and also embarrassed me with my dressing. Never has they told me to be tightly corporate in my dressing so it was new. Despite the fact I knew I was at fault in some kind of way, I also felt bad because how can I be experiencing something like this on my first day at work this year.
January was a lot of things and I’m really glad it’s coming to an end finally.
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