2020 In Review: A Short But Long Journey
“It may be hard right now but you must silent those thoughts. Stop counting those things you have lost, what is gone is gone. So ask yourself, what is there that still remains to you.” — “Knight of the Sea” Jimbei
What better way to start an article than an epic quote from the G.O.A.T. of anime? Yup, One Piece. Well, I believe quotes make the user look smarter, hope am not off track? sighs 2020 has been a rough year, to be honest, from one bad news to another, it affected us all. At a point I had to go off the internet for a bid, to just live in ignorance of what is currently happening. Unfortunately, I came back to meet sad news. Well as Jimbei said, “…what is gone is gone..” so instead, I would look at what still remains.
January came and I packed my bag like any normal student would and travelled down to school on the very first week. I prefer to go on time so that I’ll wake up to the reality that I’m no longer on vacation but back to the den. We had just spent the vacation doing a ‘mini’ SIWES (Students Industrial Work Experience).
During the break, I also applied for a Flutter internship with Relevant Systems and got accepted. Tasks started that January and I was entirely new to Flutter. I was coming from an Android with java background, thanks to Andela Learning Community(ALC) 4.0 a.k.a Google Africa Developers Scholarship (GADS). It was a beautiful experience, I had roadblocks but special thanks to Sunday Emmanuel who helped me out. Was able to complete the final task after some sleepless nights, our mentor Chiziaruhoma gave us a deadline of Valentine. He wanted us to spend our Val with our laptops, he succeeded. Have a look at it here.
Did I mention it was a new academic session? I almost got frustrated looking for a new lodge. This is one problem that exists nationwide and if any startup cracks the code, the sky is their stepping stone. No, I won’t charge you for this startup idea, what are friends for? Not too long after, around, the strike and lockdown came and we all had to back to our parent’s houses. My birthday came and I was grateful to spend it with family and virtually with friends. I even wrote a fun article about it here.
May came and I was to write the Android Certification exam. I had just a few months of Android experience. Was I scared? Omo, I was to the extent I wrote about it (I’m teary now). The exam was honestly what I expected and I failed but like every anime MC (Main Character) I realized the difference in strength and had to ‘train’ harder.
June came I got into Hotels.ng Internship 7.0. I believe the few weeks I spent participating has to be my most serious coding part for me this year. I was on the Mobile track. It was all fun from this task to another but not easy. I saw people I knew from my school tech communities, met new amazing people, and learnt. I was part of Team Incredibles and we were able to put out project Medbuzz. I even made my first web project, a chatbot. I couldn’t keep up though and I dropped out at Stage 6 around July.
I and Red decided to embark on #100DaysOfCode to make the best of the free time we had and I decided to use it to learn about Kotlin. You can check here, unfortunately, I fell ill at Day 73, September 26th and was unable to continue. I kept a daily log at the repository and it was fun doing it. I’m rooting strongly for Kotlin. In August I got accepted as the Lead Ambassador of Ingressive For Good Circle, University of Nigeria Nsukka. It’s been not easy but amazing nevertheless. We have held over 5 virtual meetups since the community became official.
October came with the #EndSARS campaign. Friday 13th came and it was time for Port-Harcourt’s protest. I had to act a drama at home before I could go. My mum insisted on me not going out of fear, the mothers on my street same, I understood how they felt but hey, I am never going to live my life in fear. I tried all the soft approach, called my dad (she had already complained to him) no way, I had to literally threaten to stab myself before she gave the gate keys to me. Yeah I know it was extreme, it was just a bluff, I can’t imagine myself doing that. I just had to make her bulge.
In November I helped handle two sessions during Developers Student Club (DSC ) UNN chapter. I was excited to handle it, due to the fact that I had been on a break from code related affairs. Also, it’s a way of giving back to the community.
Despite all this, at times I get the feeling that maybe I’m not just putting the needed effort, like I’m a lazy developer or something, Imposter Syndrome is that you?. I remind myself that what matters is I make personal progress and understand the basics of what I am doing, my path is different from others. I submitted over 25 application letters and got all rejected. With time, I’ll get to “chop this tech money”. I enrolled in Startup School for Future Founders by Y:Combinator and I learnt a lot. Hopefully I’ll launch something amazing in the future.
So enough of tech, this year I was able to meet new people virtually (this is like a norm for me). I went swimming as much as I could and it was fun, I’ve improved especially in my endurance. Went to the cinema once to see Tenet, I have been hyping it before then and it was worth it totally. I stan Christopher Nolan.
During the month of April, I did home workouts, it didn’t work much because my diet was the same. This December I enrolled at the gym and tweaked my diet. It’s been tough but I’ve been seeing visible progress. I even started a skincare routine but got tired after a month. I was able to finish about 35% of my anime cache, it wasn’t easy. I got to play some PC games too.
I opened a Piggyvest target savings on my birthday week, with first week of December as the opening date. I personally was surprised by the amount I saved, it’s not like I had a job or steady income. The goal was to spend it on myself. I got a workspace desk, and did small shopping on AliExpress, items which are yet to get to me due to Nipost. I have a soft spot for gadgets, I would rather buy one than clothes honestly.
Gadgets Acquired:
1. Thrustmaster Xbox pad (for my PC)
2. Anker Soundcore 2 (someone spoilt it)
3. KZ ED9 earphone (developed mechanical fault)
4. KZ EDX earphone
5. Romoss 30000mAh Power Bank Sense 8+
6. Anker Soundcore Q20 (from here down hasn’t arrived)
7. Anker Soundcore Motion+
8. Bluedio T-elf 2
9. Amazfit Bip U
Personal Top 5 Albums of the year:
1. Brymo — Yellow
2. Nasty C — Zulu Man With Some Power
3. Chike — Boo of The Booless
4. Juice WRLD — Legends Never Die
5. Ali Gatie — You
My expectations for next year:
1. Finish 52 books
2. Become fit and a bit shredded
3. Save more
4. Go out more
5. Spend time and make beautiful memories with the people in my life
6. Spend less time on social media
7. Nipost should get better
8. Write more
9. Hoe a bit maybe?
I give God all the glory. If I was to give a shoutout personally to you all, it’ll take ages. So thanks for being in my life, for being a friend to me. I may be difficult to put up with and all but hey, we are still together. I appreciate you, yes you. Don’t fail to leave a comment though, I’m expecting it. *winks*
