Of 2016 & First Times

2016 has been a weird year for me. Although I did not have any plans or resolutions at the beginning of the year, it was a year of losses (of people and money), facing realities and fighting battles with myself especially concerning what I really want to do and which direction to head career-wise. In 2016, adulthood actually dawned on me.

With 2016 also came my completion of service year, a near-complete gathering of my immediate family (I don’t remember the last time we were all in the same place at the same time) and my first real writing/copy-editing gig with StyleVitae.

I also took more risks, which is a big deal because I’m usually quite conservative, even I get frustrated by it sometimes.Some of the risks I took this year includes embracing off-the shoulder clothes. I will tell you why that is a big deal.

In the past, I used to be very conscious of my neck and collar bones because they made me feel too skinny and sick. To hide them, I always wore clothes with high neck lines, but that stopped this year. A good number of the aso-ebi fabric I bought this year were made into off-the-shoulder dresses, even my tailor, Mama Thelma was surprised!

Izi’s Wedding In October

Sometime in December, I got a call from a staff of Clear Essence Spa, saying that someone had booked an appointment at their spa for me! Although I was excited, I toyed so many times (down to the last minute), with the idea of not showing up for the appointment. I was expecting my period to start on the said day, and because I had never been to a spa, I was afraid that somehow, I would paint the spa red! Fortunately, the front-desk officer at the spa, Mercy kept calling to make sure I would be there.

My period had not started when it was time for my appointment, so I headed out for what is easily the most restful one hour of the entire year for me so far. It didn’t take long after the Asian masseuse put her hands on me before I slept off! I woke only after she was done. In addition, they let me have a steam bath which had me feeling like my sins had been washed away.

In the end, I realized it was not that serious after all, and I did not really have to worry my head nor did I have use for the information I had earlier gathered on Google ( I had searched for things like ‘What To Wear To A The Spa’, ‘Spa Etiquette’ and ‘Going To The Spa While On Your Period’). I went in a dress and flip flops, and had a great time!

One of the highlights of the year for me, was reuniting with a classmate from Secondary School, who I had not seen since we graduated in 2007 who had just graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. During the 3(or more)-hour visit, I learnt more about the Nigerian Army than I had learnt in my 26 years. I’ll share them below:

• The Nigerian Defence Academy is a tri-service institution (made up of Airforce, Navy and Army cadets). I used to think it was only for the Army.
• Not all soldiers are officers, but all officers are soldiers. Officers  are those that have gone through 4 years of academic training and 1 year of military training at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Afaka, while other soldiers who are not officers are those who go to the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, for a 6-month training. 
• While an officer wears his rank on the shoulder or chest, other soldiers wear theirs on their hand (arm) or chest and their ranks are mostly V-shaped.
• The color of camouflage soldiers wear depends on the terrain of operation. While green camouflage is the preferred choice for hinterlands, brown is best for desert operations.

 

I still don’t know where I’m going and I have not made plans for 2017 yet, but in all, I am happy to be alive and despite all the wahala that came with it, 2016 made me a better person. I am specially more than grateful for good health and for my loved ones. As always, everything else will sort itself out eventually.

 

Here’s praying that 2017 brings happiness and fulfillment!

 

 

I would love to know, did you do anything for the first time this year? How was 2016 for you and what are your hopes for 2017?!