HELLO, GOODBYE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

By the time you get this blog post notification in your email, there is a 100 percent chance that I've crossed the Atlantic to my new home. It will be bittersweet, I know, mostly because I left without telling you about this yet. The fun part is exactly what Charles Dickens was thinking when he said; “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again” so fear not for we shall meet again only in a different world. 

I finally moved to the first-world country of my dream and I’ll try to capture everything in between my "hello" and "goodbye" at the end. 

KISSING GRAD SCHOOL GOODBYE FOR NOW

HELLO,

I will always be humbled by how much traction and audience every new post I put up gets. I mean I keep ghosting on you for months on end and come back every once in a while to yap about something that happened when I was away and you still find the time to read it and drop your lovely comments. I must have done something good in my other writing life because what manner of love is this? For this, I say many thanks. 

I always dreamed of living my best days in a first-world country for the longest time. I tried to immigrate to the UK at some point but did not get enough funding for tuition, tried the Netherlands and got the means finally but COVID happened. I was the most devasted wannabe international student in 2020 because after trying for 2 years my light at the end of the tunnel was dimmed by the world's equivalent of the Spanish flu that loomed over the entire earth. Here's one thing I did, I stopped (really stopped) and trusted that it was not time and it'll be beautiful when it was time; then the time came late last year. I wrote my brain's weight in exams, went to work every day, and smiled harder on days I was tired and looked like a raging insomniac but did not give up or shirk my duties. I will write soon on how many comments I have gotten from the few people who knew I was trying to relocate, writing exams, and keeping up with a regular very Nigeria 9-5 job. My first break came in December and I decided to rest after 6 months of toiling day and night. January to April was a breeze and for the life of me, I cannot write about what happened and did not happen because I don't even remember. I maybe remember crying every other day in March because I kept getting too many "we regret to" emails but that's all I remember. I now believe that a thousand years of pain is nothing compared to a week of pure unadulterated joy.

For everyone who has ever traveled to the AMERICAS, you would know that it is one thing to have the means to go and another to get the chance to go. I appealed to get a visa interview and got a positive reply weeks after panicking that I had been too forward calling the embassy this one time. Not my fault, I read about people who couldn't even get to this stage on Twitter every day so imagine my fear. The process got way faster for me after I got an interview date. I had two weeks to prepare for my interview and did mock interviews with everyone I knew that had gone through the process. I will forever remain thankful for the gift of men because I am blessed with the most supportive people. Thinking of it, it did take a community to get me to this country. My interview was another show that truly God is faithful but this about ends here because I fear that this might come out too long.

EVERYTHING well MAY BE A FEW THINGS IN BETWEEN 😊

It was a crazy couple of weeks and even though I’m the most planned out and detailed person to ever walk this earth, I was not prepared for how God tumbled all my plans and just gave me perfect peace and tranquillity in dealing with my affairs for the entire June and July. After resigning from my job of one year and a half and fervently missing my dream team I backed my bag for a last-minute hurrah to the country’s capital courtesy of my best girl. I was sick for the most part of it but we shan't talk about this part now. It was beautiful to just leave at the point and live a relaxed almost carefree life for a week. My acne even cleared up some and my entire being felt rejuvenated. I came back way too soon to face the final preparations for my long trip and boy was it nice. God provided in the most miraculous ways and maybe tomorrow or the day after I will be able to wrap my head around how I got everything I wanted and needed. I did not cry not because there wasn't a time throughout the entire check-in process that I did not feel like bawling but because I was so pumped up and anxious about this new phase of my life. I literally can't wait to tour the entire country, live my best life, and just be happy. 

GOODBYE 

In my wait period, I have learned the true meaning once again of man proposes; God disposes and I sincerely hope everyone just steps back from helping God come through for them. I have referenced the link of how I did not make it to grad school two years ago to encourage anyone and everyone who has to wait till things are almost perfect. Remember "if you do one thing to better yourself every day, imagine where you will be in a year. No pressure really but just keep at one good thing and see how much progress you record in a short time. Amidst the crisis in my head that came with this big decision, I am super excited to try out something new for the next couple of years. I am big on immigration to another country and since it's in the works, all my Christmases might come earlier than I think (fingers crossed). It truly took a village to get me here and I am so grateful to everyone who pitched in every way to make this a reality. I love love and to be surrounded by so much of it, I wish everyone genuinely finds a healthy amount of it because on the bad days you can always fall back on the love. I am in the market for trips to all the best places in my new country; Florida, Hollywood, ATL, Cancun, Hawaii, name it, so if you need a travel buddy for as soon as thanksgiving or the Christmas holidays, look no further for I am ready to ROCK AND ROLL.

 

Consider this my own relocation vlog since I don't have a youtube channel and will not delude myself to start one.

DISCLAIMER: I take no credit for this post title, it is a beautiful movie name I came across weeks ago. It fit today's story and I named it after the movie.

Your favorite Americana 

Helen Dami 💕