2023 In Review: Discovering More
“There are many things in life that we will never understand. But that’s just part of the adventure.” - Spike Spiegel
2023, what a year for real. A lot has happened this year and in all, I am grateful for the year. As usual, I am still Daniel taking Ls (someone saved my contact this way), with some Ws by the side. I have loved, cried, laughed and made memories with so many people in my life. If there’s something I am proud of, it’s coming out a bit from my shell and spending time outside. As usual, I didn’t have goals for the year, rather I had expectations. Let’s see how it went.
Let’s have a review of this year’s expectations.
- Travel more and also visit other countries: I did get to travel more this year. I visited Lagos twice, Abuja twice, Ibadan for the first time, Enugu after leaving and I went to a new country, Kenya. It was supposed to be more but visa denial deprived me of that.
- Find love: I did but circumstances happened.
- Increase my income: Well from face value I don’t think I did but my statement from my accounts disagrees.
- Have more stability in my life: I did this year, with work and friendships I had. It might not seem much but I am grateful that I never went hungry because I had no money to eat.
- Work on impactful projects: Yes, a lot has happened this 2023 in the Decentralized Science space, pioneered by VitaDAO. Also, the community, DeSci Africa, is growing and I am also excited by what we are cooking with WatchDog.
Academic
I was done with school finally. The graduation list which had my CGPA of 3.30, came out in April, a few days before my birthday and I had mixed feelings. I was happy my 4 year academic session was enough but I was so close to a 2:1 that I felt if I had put in more effort, I would have made it. Anyway, there was no need to cry over spilt milk and I didn’t dwell on it for long.
Friendship
I am grateful for having you all in my life and for being there for me. From the free food to accommodation to companionship, you all are amazing. I am also happy that you count me as someone valuable, I do not take this for granted. I understand that the dynamics might not be the same as it was in 2022 because circumstances change but I do know that I will always be here for you, in ways I can be. I am also proud of your successes this year. Bagging new roles, getting gigs, learning new skills, marrying etc. Let’s do more next year.
Relationship
My year of singleness, lol. I didn’t date anybody’s daughter but I wouldn’t say I was lonely. I met a couple of amazing women who touched my life in different ways. If anyone asks me why I wasn’t in a relationship, I doubt I would have the right answer to that. It was not as a result of a lack of options, as women are too beautiful. Every day I go out I see women that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I just wasn’t in the right headspace and situation to afford one. I used the word afford because whether I like it or not, as a young philosopher once said, “Relationship wey money no dey, e go later boring.” To buttress my point, here’s one from another philosopher, “Love is sweet oh. When money enter, love is sweeter.” Oh, plus how the dating scene here is now a medium of warfare and how most people see intentionality as only financial. However, I wouldn’t say I haven’t felt the need to have someone as my own. If it happens next year, I am open to it.
Finance
This year has been a rollercoaster for me financially. I was in a 7-figure debt (I’m debt-free now) while posting pictures and videos on WhatsApp status. In my defence, it was a good debt. I took out a loan to help me install the solar inverter, get unlimited internet with Starlink and also support my room renovation in my family house. These three projects were the top investments I made this year and I am glad I was able to achieve them. My productivity has greatly increased and my overall happiness too. I also got to buy new gadgets and set up my workspace at home and I am well pleased with how it turned out.
Some people asked why I decided to renovate my room and not just rent a personal apartment. I will be frank with you, aside from the perks of more hot fok and occasional game nights with friends, the idea does not appeal to me. My parents are very chill and I have a lot of freedom than the average Nigerian living under their parent’s roof. I am also guarding against lifestyle inflation, so I can save as much money as I can. Talking about saving, I did save quite a lot this year. Sometimes I look at the money, smile and tell myself I did it this year.
Career
What a year for real. Work has been so good. We at VitaDAO got funding from strategic contributors and that helped us push the work. We also got to launch the first DeSci spinout company, Matrix Bio. It’s been a beautiful year in DeSci and we look forward to what next year brings. I had the invitation to attend Zuzalu in Montenegro but I was unable to be present there because of visa issues. Remember ETHSafari from last year's review? I was able to attend it this year in Kenya and it was a beautiful experience. It opened my eyes to how important IRL events are in the ecosystem.
I got into the Devconnect Scholars program this year, which was a very big W. However scholars from Nigeria were unable to attend the Devconnect due to visa denial from the Turkish embassy (they didn’t give a reason why, lol). On a good note, the Ethereum Foundation is still offering to support us in attending an event happening in our local region as an alternative next year. I came across a lot of people in the ecosystem thanks to my involvement locally and I can’t wait to see how things turn out in 2024. Also, watch out for what we are building with WatchDog, be amazed next year!
Ls
1. I didn’t attend Zuzalu in person.
2. I didn’t attend Devconnect in person.
3. Lost a wonderful woman due to japa.
4. Yet to bag my C-suite woman.
5. Nigeria shege.
Ws
1. Attended ETHSafari as a speaker.
2. I got accepted into the Devconnect Scholars program.
3. I attended theWeb3 Lagos Conference organised by Web3bridge.
4. I wrote 8 articles.
5. I helped organise DevFest Enugu.
6. All purchases I made.
7. I attended a lot of concerts and events.
Gadgets Acquired
1. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.
2. Anker Soundcore Motion Boom speaker.
3. Anker PowerConf C200 webcam.
4. Anker 565 11-in-1 hub.
5. Anker Soundpeats mini
6. Fifine Ampligame A8 microphone.
7. Baseus screen desk lamp.
8. Baseus 20w 30,000 mAh power bank.
9. Razer Orochi V2 mouse.
10. Hisense 34 Inch G6H.
11. Womier M87 mechanical keyboard.
12. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
Personal Top 5 Albums of the Year
1. AJR - The Maybe Men
2. Spiderman - Across The Spider-Verse
3. Davido - Timeless
4. Odumodu Blvck - Eziokwu
5. Buju - Sincerely, Benson
My expectations for next year
1. Survive.
2. Swim 52 times.
3. Tone my body more.
4. Increase my income.
5. Start content creation.
I started the NYSC programme in November and so far it has been soft. I got into a Nigerian DIY community and it has been so fun. I got some smart plugs and I was gifted a smart switch from a community member. Next year I will be experimenting more. I am more intentional about my fitness and I have been doing some home workouts. The result looks good and I will be taking it up a notch.
I remember when me and my guys were like, “we go hard in 2023” and looking back, we did go hard. So we have no other choice than to go harder this new year. I wish you all the very best in life. To all the amazing women in my life, I love you all.
