CUE THE PUMPKIN PATCH - I am GRATEFUL

Now that the initial culture shock is gradually wearing out and my life is not in a wonky limbo I have other stories I thought to regale you with. I have gone on the usual sabbatical I take every now and then when I have a ton of things to do and I have returned liked the prodigal child that I well am. My life has been rather eventful and I have surely promised not to whine as much as I always do because I have realized some people have it harder and I am just spoilt rotten if I really think about it. 

I will start with grad school because why not tell you to get another degree but really tell you how it gets when you go get the degree...

I find out with every year as I get older I develop yet another philic-phobic relationship with academia. The other day I started to fantasize about being a professor instead of going the industry path I have prepared my entire life and career for. Well, this just goes to show how college students especially graduate students are confused about a lot of things. I like to think that I have it all figured out and my entire career has been put together, especially with how well I am able to tell anyone about my short-mid-long term goals but who am I kidding when I am still debating on sending out applications for Ph.D. in the fall but immensely entertaining the thought of summer internship in summer. I will, however, continually try to just focus on what’s before me now and get a cum laude. Here's to all the college students that actually know what they are doing with their lives and do not feel like they are playing out a script. Midterms have come and gone and boy was it the toughest period because I had to work and still find a way to study. Grateful that that is behind me and praying so hard I don’t go through what I went through the last two weeks again. I am well acing the exams as best as I can because I really do not and cannot afford to be mediocre considering my program of study. I shan’t bore you further with this, please. 

'Settling down' in the previous blog post I had mentioned that settling down in a new country could take between 6 months and a couple of years and as outlandish as it may have sounded I still meet people that immigrated years ago but are still struggling with the changes that are their new home. The other day when my Uber ride came it was a kind Cameroonian woman that had lived here for 13 years but somehow still struggles with the GPS of her car because honestly the ones back home are not as accurate and selective. It did not even cross my mind that this person should already know all there is to about a functioning GPS system because like I said it needs some getting used to. For me, it will still be the ease of shopping, the way I am able to interact with my professors, and most importantly how weirdly nice I feel the people I meet are. I will not talk about the food yet because this is a whole new blog post since I will have to try and explain how we eat everything here with cheese and chips. But for a moment does anyone even know why they are smiled at every turn and how you awkwardly have to smile back so you don’t come off as aloof or unhappy. Forgive me but I don’t remember anyone smiling at me on the busy roads of Lagos or the less busy roads of my street back home. Maybe life is not so hard after all and we all need to offer a smile to cheer the other person up. I don’t even want to start waxing philosophy here so this is another part I will leave a cliffhanger. Who knows, someone might have an answer and volunteer a response in the comments.

For what it’s worth I am happy on most days and bored to death on the weekends because I live in a really small city and I don’t have a car yet to roam the streets. I will rectify this situation at once and find the best spots to just go to. I am planning a mini trip after thanksgiving to another city but fingers crossed I don’t get to postpone again. I managed to get elected on the IEEE team representing my university and region sometime this week and this was the highlight of my week. I remember just wanting to continue being a member of 2 student organizations at the start of school but remembering how much I could serve in a bigger capacity. Your girl mentioned she did not mind a position and a month later I got scheduled for an interview and got the response shortly after that my interview was successful. I have so much to be grateful for and it’s thanksgiving in a few weeks so you best believe that I am filling my jar of thanksgiving before the end of the year. It might not seem like much to you but it's beautiful when you get to be grateful for everything. Cast your mind back to the start of the year sometimes and count down to see how far you have actually come. In every way, like my dad will always say, what really matters is the hope for a better chance tomorrow. And guess what you still most definitely have that tomorrow so bring on the hope. Just because I am the queen of TMI, I found the best work gospel playlist this week, and not to sound razz but omo it is banging. Hit me up, I am in the mood to share, FYI it has tons of Maverick and Jonathan Traylor in it.

Now, I am not entirely sure how soon I can return here but I am trying I promise. I will not even fail to say a happy new year if it gets that bad. It's a fun thing for me to stay up last minute and wish you a happy new year even if it's the only thing I have to offer for the start of every new year. I will probably share moments on any trip I make for the Christmas holidays because I bet most of you are still stuck with me because I always deliver the full scoop. If you read this to this point, share what you are most grateful for this year, in the last month or the last half of the year. You just might be encouraging someone somehow. Until next time my lovelies ......

Your Favorite Hermit’s Blog

Helen Damilola 💗

WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?