In the year Queen Elizabeth II Died
It was the twenty-second year, at the start of the third millennium. The year Queen Elizabeth II died.
I was, so far, in the most tumultuous period of my personal and professional life. From going through an emotionally stressful termination from work at the very start of the year, to having to deal with depression and anxiety over what my future was supposed to be about. My interpersonal relationships were in disarray. I moved through the hurdles and challenges of calming my unsteady nerves as I made plans and preparations in a quest to further my studies abroad in London. A decision I was, at this time, not very enthusiastic about making.
But it wasn’t just me with the problems, you see; the world had its fair share of them. With world economies still catching up from the horrors of a global pandemic, global inflation was moving rapidly on an alarming scale. To make matters worse, war had been brought back to Europe, and I was inadvertently walking right into an energy crisis. Far away from home, in a strange land. Was this the moment that would be remembered as the prologue of a Third World War? I hoped not. Humanity had already seen enough of war.
Yet I wondered which was worse of the two. My beloved country was being hit with the worst inflation I had ever witnessed in my entire life. The presidential elections were also near, and for once in a history that I was aware of, Nigerians were finally going to decide; to experience a truly democratic election. The stakes were very high for my country. The outcome of this election would determine the trajectory of the most populous nation in Africa. Only time would tell how high the stakes were indeed.
As I look back, I believe this was also the year I finally became irreligious. Despite whatever outward appearances I had to keep up, deep in my heart I knew that I was gone from that place and the odds were not in favour of me coming back.
29/10/22
I made my journey to the United Kingdom. It was frankly the biggest hurdle I’d ever faced. I hit a very low point in my life. One that I still couldn’t tell how I managed the strength to survive. I moved on from a number of so-called friendships, and I learnt lessons I know while be invaluable to my growth and character years on.
Still, I wondered if all the effort I’d made would be rendered worthless by the eventuality of nuclear armageddon. Only twenty-six, I’d only ever seen nuclear weapons go off on film as part of a not so distant past or make-believe. Now NATO was having nuclear drills and somehow Putin’s Russia presented a very palpable threat of nuclear warfare. An outcome I hoped to never witness in my time on earth. Where do we go from here?
Deep down, I did feel like this was the worst time for a young person to be trying to make it through life. How did just living become so expensive? How did working so hard move on to bringing so much less to the tables of families all around the world?
18/11/2022
I have so many questions. Could I have walked myself into a trap? Studying abroad was beginning to look more daunting than I had anticipated. Thoughts of giving up running through my head. For once, I wanted to be involved in something I really had passion for. Not just ticking boxes and doing things because I needed to do them to keep moving.
31/12/2022
For the first time in my life, the thought of the new year gave me anxiety. There was just too much to hope for, and even more possible outcomes to dread. I enjoyed the fireworks, though. The Brits sure do know how to light up the sky on the eve of the new year. My emotions relieved by the colourful display, I curled up in bed to have my first night's rest of the year, and hopefully, wake up to my BBQ chicken drumsticks and jollof rice.
