I had worked all winter. Hope I did not fail summer.Even before high school, summers have always bee
I had worked all winter. Hope I did not fail summer.Even before high school, summers have always been a transformative period for me. A bridge between what came and what’s to come.This summer was no different. As a friend put it, I was wired. Very much wired.As another left it. Wired isn’t the word! but it’s contagious. As I sat there on a Sunday morning reflecting on events of the last few hours, having finally driven up to my brother’s school ahead of his last year in college. Sitting in his room, music blaring, an HDMI cable, a text editor, working on branding for an upcoming festival in D.C. All the while a full blown college party was going on just outside the door. Some things haven’t changed.Getting up at 5:30 after a brief snooze, we hiked up and caught the sunrise, along with two cameras and three lens in my bag. Bought his breakfast and lunch before seeing him off to work. Then hopping on a conference call a few hours later with some incredibly smart people to prep for a software development demo for the Department of Homeland later this week.If nothing else, I’d say this summer has been about finding my balance.I sat there in the fast food restaurant looking no doubt ridiculous camping on their Wi-Fi, and arranging my desk for the gram. I had just picked up a $300 pair of headphones, if for no other reason it’s been hailed as The best. If for another reason, six years ago I entered a Bang & Olufen store in Glasgow for a case study assignment and walked out with nothing but a few photos on my point-and-shoot camera and a humorous disbelief at the prices. And if for yet another reason, the Summer Sixteen edition of the second generation H6 happened to match my new laptop. If I want it, I need it if I need it, I got it. That’s always been the motto.That being said it has not been without its troubles. Like being declined for my U.S. citizenship for bureaucratic reasons. Or staring at the face of the lady at counter eight at the Chinese embassy for the upteenth time as she looks at my passport and says “I’m sorry, we can’t take your application at this time.” Despite the fact that I’d lived and studied in the country, I’d bought tickets two month ago, and having received written invitations from friends, colleagues, and universities in Zunyi, Shanghai and Ningbo. No explanations given, other than on being Nigerian, it was simply inconvenient at this time. Especially with China hosting the G20 conference this month. And still darker moments.Looking back at the years, I often feel incredibly frustrated that it’s taken me this long to get here, yet I feel a bit intimidated looking ahead and everything I’ve signed up for in the coming months. But I also look back at the last few months and realize that this year I’ve been able to show up for at least one family holiday, spend more time with my younger siblings than I’ve done in the last seven years, and perhaps ever (Admittedly almost always working with them). I’d also hosted a full afternoon for my mom and 14 aunts and was left truly frightened by how fast we’ve grown. And perhaps most notably last fall, I cosign for my mom’s first house a few years after she cosigned for my student loans. And earlier this summer, I paid out the loan she took out so I can enter my final year of school.I just wish it hadn’t taken me this long.Truly Yours. -- source link
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