2019: The Year of Detour and Return

So, as I do every year, this is my year in review blogpost. Check out last year’s: Making my dreams come true

For one thing, I didn’t think I’d be going into 2020 with this blog, but I do have several blog posts that I owe people, so here goes Voice of the Salone Diaspora into 2020, the 11^th year of me blogging. I am THANKFUL for that. I am thankful for even the few thousands I’ve been able to reach with my posts.

Where to begin!??? This year was FULL of ups and downs. Where to start? I guess from the beginning. January. In January I started a new job. I was hopeful that it was going to be a positive, new experience that will be able to give me that final push in my career among other things. I talked more about my job experiences here: Renouncing your SL citizenship to get a job. I also talked about the terrible sickness that took hold of me that led me to reconsider whether I was on the right path here: Why some people don’t get well in Sierra Leone

So, I did learn a lot in that job. I learned about the type of leader I want to be and that I was. I also learned about my limits in work. I also learned about the tertiary education system in Sierra Leone and met some wonderful young people, both staff and students I interacted with. That I will not ever regret, but I really felt that I took a detour. I had come to Sierra Leone with a purpose; I wanted to establish SUDU , which requires that I have freedom and flexibility. I also wanted to launch my own educational services, projects, programs etc. Due to things I’ve already discussed before, I found myself in a situation that just made me to self-doubt, be fearful of taking that leap (yes o) and so much more.

I don’t talk much about my personal relationships (gasp), but within a new relationship this year, I also discovered that I have matured. Ha! I also confirmed that I am quite secure within myself and I think about what one of my friends said to me recently about how I am so confident in who I am and what I want. That didn’t happen overnight–I trained myself. I trained myself to recognize trouble sooner and learned to walk away faster.

I end the year though newly reenergized. When I came back to Sierra Leone end of October from vacation, after quitting my full-time job and going back to just consulting, I felt so light, so free. I knew that I had done the right thing. Several things started to tumble that I believe are leading me to the right place. The last few days I have been working diligently, non-stop on a dream shared with someone and I can’t wait to be able to finally be fully within that work.

I wish you all the same eye-opening fulfillment in 2020. Let’s go! Happy new year!