Clarity in Isolation
After spending so many months at home during the lockdown in 2024, I was never happier about resuming school, and I didn't exactly like school. The whole time in isolation from what I knew as the world before made me realise what I may have undervalued all along. Meanwhile, I wasn't seeing the bigger picture yet.
During the lockdown, everyone had to escape somehow, and many of us used our digital devices for that. I spent a lot of my time on screens. YouTube became a companion. Chess has become a lifestyle. I played my acoustic guitar every time and made recordings every night. I watched films more than ever before. Call of Duty Mobile provided me with a virtual world to get lost in - shooting.
Thankfully, we had a lot of family members with us during those months, so I did have people to chat and do things with.
Yet it was entirely different. I mean, I did like that I wasn't going to work or school at first, but it was then that I understood a little better that the word "alone" could be used for both loneliness and solitude, both at different ends of a spectrum, and I was living in the former.
It was during this time that I started to workout again. The last time was in 2017, but it began to feel absolutely necessary to do it to maintain mental stability. And that's how I discovered how liberating exercise can be, especially with the right diet and adequate rest.
It was that time during the lockdown that I figured out just how life could be for me when I am "not necessarily attending school" anymore after graduation from the university. And, also, a sense of what I would really like to do—having some kind of remote work that I'd be passionate about.
The pandemic wasn't as severe for us where I'm from, Nigeria—Lagos, at least—and so things quickly normalised after some months after the lockdown in 2021. For me, however, I started to lose my zeal for things like school. I was in my fourth year then, out of five, studying engineering.
I managed to get good grades until I finally graduated, but I had my eyes on something different. I realised that I needed to find something to become passionate about, develop with it, and then find ways to add value, and academics alone wasn't going to cut it.
And so, I started to explore anything and everything that piqued my interest. I allowed my curiosity to drive me where and even carry me where I no not know—carefully, though.
In 2021, I took my industrial training at an automation academy seriously, gained a lot of knowledge, and was even impressed by my boss and my colleagues. And then I made workouts become part of my lifestyle.
Hive came along the line in 2022, and that's how things started to level up for me. "My thing" turned out to be harnessing what computers can do. Writing, like now, has now become an everyday lifestyle. And now, I'm shifting into topics that I find fascinating and exploring them. The next phase will be full-time content creation.
Before the pandemic, I wasn't as goal-driven as I am now. I may not have found the places I belong now, the people I have come to know, and be chasing what I'm passionate about so soon, and probably just been following the default trajectory that, I don't know...
Some things happen for a reason, and they may shift our balance, but like the saying, "the cure is in the disease"—which I respectfully do not directly relate to the pandemic—some challenges contain the seeds of our greatest transformations.
Something I miss from pre-pandemic, although things are pretty much normal now, is the better economy we had compared with how it is now. Nevertheless, we'll forget ahead resiliently, as always.
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Many people discovered lots of their potentials embedded on the web back then.. just like you explored as well. Those period also came with quality rest and more family bonding... however I am surprised to how economy was quite better then despite everyone being indoor
5kg semotiva I bought them at #1600, I am buying them @ #7,000 atm..I also loved how economy was then and many times I have murmured "take us back to pandemic period" lolz
I actually added a lot of weight and muscle back then o. I did rest very well.
Wait. Semovita is ₦7,000 now?? What?? Wow. I didn't even know. 😁 That's so bad. Things were actually much better then, and it is so sad that we're even saying that now. Who will now be eating semovita?
You wouldn't know because even if you will buy, you will definitely go for the smaller size unlike family woman like me
Funny enough, semovita is now cheaper than garri
So I buy it like that
One pain of garri here is 3800
Which is half size of 5kg semo...half is 3500
I wouldn't know because I don't even eat it, unless when I'm home. Lol.
But which one lasts longer, the semo or garri?
All of them are the same in terms of lasting long..I haven't spotted any my h differences yet
Lol... you must be missing home then..so what kind of swallow do you eat? Ewedu or Eba? Lol
Over here, I don't enjoy anything in used to. No ewedu, no efo riro, amala, and all like that. They have want to block my head with eba here. No other swallow than eba and fufu here in south-south. Very boring
Haha 😆😆😂😂😂
LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Before the pandemic happened, I was already home. I was out of high school for a few years and waiting to get admission to the university, so it was nothing worrisome to me to have to stay back. I only bothered about having to share the same space all through the day with others, who usually went out to work daily. I was used to my quiet, undisturbed way of living. But I found a way to adjust, though.
Writing was a companion. Always has been very dominant. However, during the lockdown I realized just how much of grace I had in the area of teaching. I used to teach once a while back in the dayl(my mates and younger kids) but that covid period revealed how passionate I was at it although I relegated it to the back due to how poorly it was regarded(I hope you get this). I'd call it a big flex.
Currently in university, I've received compliments on my teaching style. A colleague says she enjoys how I explain to her like she was three years old. Another says whenever I explain in pidgin English, it sinks in faster and sticks. That period took a little from my solutide but it opened my eyes to realizations.
The pandemic had us in a tight corner but even then, if we think about it, lots of good things have come to be.
As for the economy, we'll adapt. We always have.
You know, they say that if you can't teach something well, you probably don't know it well enough. That is, there's a good level hardwork and diligence you put in to learn something, so your passion to teach flows...effortlessly. Have you ever considered starting a school and making big someday?
Frankly, I have not given a thought to owning a school. Vaguely though, I've imagined what it'll be like to own an establishment for young children. Not exactly sure what I want to do with it, but I guess it would border between academic and extracurricular activity(not any of the regular stuff we're used to doing). But more on the latter.
You must be great with kids to love them this much to want to do something for them. I imagine your zeal will spark something different and special. Regular stuff is old and boring, you know.
The pandemic has taught us all different lessons . I am glad it steered up the curiosity in you and forged you this far. Keep going.
What about you, man? Perhaps we'll see your entry soon.
one of the lessons learnt was that there are lots of things we can do without
Most times the things we claim to be doing ain't the things meant for us and just getting a new compass would really help set the right sail for our future life.
Wise words, Temi. Wise words. How have you been lately? It's been a while.
Yes been a while I'm very well thank you
Very very relatable.
The pandemic was a game changer for a lot of us really and an eye opener too.
Eye opener indeed, actually. If you could, would you choose to relive that time?
I doubt oh😂
For some, the pandemic was a blessing in disguise. Spending all that time at home pushed me to re-evaluate a lot of things in my life, especially in terms of what I wanted from it. I think it was like seeing the world in a whole new perspective, what's possible out there and how to get it.
I like to call it "The Blip," like it was in the Infinity War in Marvel. It was like me button was pressed and we entered a new level.