Hello everyone, this is the first time I will be joining the contest in this community.
Nobody loves to be stagnant especially when your peers are doing well and living "the life of their dreams".
Sometimes, it tends to feel like we're stuck, and we need a breakthrough, truth is many of us aren't lazy, we are vibrant, talented, and full of great potential but we haven't seen the opportunity to explore all we've got inside.
In a bid to be successful, we tend to
leave home (our comfort zone) in search of a greener pasture.
The grass is indeed greener where you water the ground, but what if that particular ground isn't so fertile?
Moving on, this brings me to answer the question for this week.
Possibilities...
For this theme, we would like you to tell us an event in your life that somehow relates to the theme phrase explanation up above. Have you ever had to leave home? If yes, tell us of the hardships, the joys, and the moments. If not, give us a rundown of what is likely to happen should you have to. Tell us your fears, make us feel your uncertainty. Do you have a plan?
Fear is something I am still learning to conquer, fear of the unknown because life is just unpredictable, I spend more time thinking about the "what ifs".
I remember working with a firm, but at a point, I started to feel like I had outgrown my spot in that office, and my boss was someone who was kind of manipulative, making you feel guilty for wanting to leave his job, wherever issues like that arise, he uses a term like" I'll increase your salary for you if that's what you want" at the end of the day guess how much was the salary increment 500naira or 1000 at most which might last for another year 😹😹
It kept going on and on, though, at that moment, my workplace wasn't so far from my house, I thought about the comfort of not having to deal with queuing at the bus stop in the morning and the other little perks of being a staff and it felt like the biggest firm in the neighborhood.
Whenever I thought of resigning, I get scared again, what if this job pays better than the rest, "hmmm, then the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know", became my anthem.
I feared not being about to secure a better job for a few months and how to cope without having a job since I was someone who never depended on anyone for my needs, I love to have my things myself, from the least things to the big things.
Though I had a skill, I kept my fashion skill aside because I wanted to save up enough money to start up my fashion business, and it was very stressful combining my sewing with the job I did, more so, I turned down some clients back then because of fear of not meeting up with their deadlines, I didn't want to be overwhelmed, so because of this, many people stopped coming to make clothes.
Now, I feared coping, knowing I wouldn't even have clients to make clothes for and all.
This fateful day, I woke feeling like I can do this and I've got this, I started to drop my CV with other firms, not even around the neighborhood, I wanted something more and something different, and yes a breath of fresh air too, I started to make plans to relocate (To a more productive area)as it was as if, my location part of my problem, I started to save up from the little I was earning, I joined " Group contribution" usually known as "Ajo" in the Yoruba dialect.
Then I drafted a plan and a budget to work with which was, "buying some of the things I would be needing in my fashion outlet" and saving at least #100k to fall back on, for the first six months because I knew things will be so rough.
This was the toughest period in my life! I cut down on so many things loved to do and eat, I deprived myself of so many things, and every month I made sure I bought at least one thing for my outlet, let's say this month, I could choose to buy a mannequin, next month could be steaming iron and like that, coupled with the fact that I was saving too.
Honestly, I was close to 50k when the outbreak of COVID-19 emerged, this was now the problem, it was like this plan wasn't going to work anymore as there was a compulsory lockdown by the government, and my firm too closed down until the lockdown restriction was lifted, which we all know took a couple of months, mind you all savings I had was what I used to support my family, we all fell back on that savings during that period for feeding, buying drugs and other necessities of life.
I started to make face masks that period for sale as a way of having my daily 2k, 😹😹 surprisingly, I was making lots of sales, and people would even come home to buy but being that my location then was a bit remote, they would bid the price to the lowest minimum and my friends who lived uptown told me they sold theirs for a #300naira upwards but people in my vicinity were pricing mine for 50naira😹😹😹, ha egbami o, It's not like mine was of low-quality o, but my dear, location matters a lot.
Abeg how much you buy your own Facemask when e be hot cake for market? Na today I go know weda na village you dey stay or city.😋
See as facemask set na, shey na low quality be this?🙄🙄
I kept managing until the lockdown was lifted, and now I was left with the tough decision to resume back to work or just face my fear of the unknown to relocate and face whatever comes my way in the quest for a greener pasture.
After praying, I decided to leave home for a better life, which meant I would have to relocate uptown.
Omo, then I realized that this life outside one's comfort zone is not easy, all the things I took for granted while I was at home, I started to appreciate them, like the electric bills my parent paid for, refilling the gas cylinder, and the likes.
How about having no one to talk to when you come back home?😪😪 Everywhere will be so quiet, I missed my mom the most the day I fell ill, omo I had to do everything for and by myself.
Then about the job I secured, nothing good comes easy, I worked myself out even on weekends at times, and I did all of that just to be able to save up and secure a better future though the pay was way better.
I would also sew in my room then, I sewed for both colleagues and neighbors, until I was able to save up and open my fashion store and now, the same outfit I would have sewn for a very low price is what I am making a reasonable amount from now, that's the joy, also being financially stable, or being one step closer to your dream, feeling better than before is also a joy, to tell you the truth, it's never easy leaving the comfort zone but it is worth after all.
The matter long, if I start to tell you all the details night go reach😹😹😹 but Alhamdulillah.
I am still searching for a better life, I'm not yet satisfied oo, Japa na the goal, or if you get work for me wey them go pay reach 300k per month abeg hala me.😹😹.
Pidgin sweet to write sha oh😹😹
Image of the facemask is mine, cut and sewn by me.