January Down to December

I know we're a week into the month, but as per the prompt, allow me to say “welcome to December.”

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It's a privilege I consider to have come thus far in this year. It has indeed been a dramatic, hard-fought year, with a lot to reflect on, on personal considerations and the general state of things. December is highly anticipated somehow, owing to a lot of reasons. It marks the end of the year and perhaps a time of reevaluation of the year; how it went, our achievements and the lessons learnt.

I bet that while trying to run this assessment of the year, we would find the difficulties faced. And with that, it's undeniable that this has been one of the most difficult years; if not the most for many people. Maybe on a global scale, this could be established as false or untrue. But back home here in my country, it was a difficult ride. One that people wouldn't wish to ever face or experience again.

There have been ups and downs. I think it's fair to say that surviving alone is a product of these ups and downs people have faced. It has been challenging, but I won't fail to pour out gratitude first. There's always something to be grateful for, and the fact that I can make this post which you're reading shows that I have life and that is something to be grateful for. With a lot that has happened and is happening, this is a major point of gratitude.

My health is also something I'm grateful for. Mostly undervalued and less considered, it remains a point of gratitude. And other reasons. But this isn't the point of this post. In this post, I'm to highlight the ups and downs that came along within the year from January to December, how they were managed or addressed and the lessons learnt from them.

I've seen myself trying to get established or stand totally on my own and it hasn't been easy. It wasn't a totally successful effort and that's one reason why this year had its ups and downs. Trying to find a place and settle, what to do and all of that were not easy matters to contend with. I've seen and heard the testimonies of youths becoming more and more challenged this year which hasn't been easy.

For someone who's digitally inclined and into the online world, the data hike was one big challenge. I guess that was this year, right? At first, I was reminiscing how would I continue with such a new development. Alongside this, other issues came along within the year and many stem from general concern, which was affecting everyone. The insecurity, economic difficulties and so on.

However, I remain grateful in the midst of all for making it this far to this point; the end of the year. The Christmas celebration is already upon us with several preparations ongoing. I think somehow, this will remain a memorable year for the things that happened and the ups and downs experienced.

Images are mine.

Thank you for reading through!