Hello there. I’m Seni and if you are reading this, you made it to 2021. Hurray! I mean, we could still get attacked by bees that shoot fire from their eyes. I mean, what a shitstorm of a year. Thank God (or Rihanna) its finally over. Maybe 2021 would be a remix of 2020. Maybe 2021 would have sense. All I know is, 2020 didn't take either of us. For that alone, we raise a glass of chill palmwine.
In other news, consistency 2020 was a spectacular failure. In a year plagued by celebrity deaths and the almighty coronavirus, I spent most of the year stashed at Teazy’s place and suspended in a trance. The days passed and motivations waned, leaving huge gaps in my memory as I struggled with the weight of living and all its implications.
I can still remember the day Kobe died.
I was on a danfo bus on my way home from a work thing. Some grey-haired octogenarian used my body as a cushion for a quick nap as I struggled to avoid his breathe on my face. I remember swearing at Lagos and vowing to come down if my new friend drooled on me. I remember seeing the TMZ tweet: Basketballer Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash. I remember the lurch in my stomach, my shortness of breath and beads of sweat forming on my forehead. With Chadwick, I remember feeling numb. A global icon, a tower of black excellence and a heck of a role model, dead without warning. I should have known this was a year birthed in the devil’s asscrack.
I digress.
Work-wise, 2020 has to be the most tasking year of my life as I found myself heading content for one of West Africa’s biggest crypto companies. Phrases like “daily active users”, “activations” and “TVC” began to make sense to me as I found myself stretched to my creative limit. My coworkers were most supportive, staying late-night hours to shoot content and keeping up with a schedule tighter than Ozo’s shorts. By April, Management decided to sponsor an ad Rayo and I wrote for TV. I still remember being at chevron drive- beer in hand as we waited with bated breathe to see when trace would play it. I have to say, watching your creative expression on the big screen is one of the best thing that’s ever happened to me. In that moment, I felt fulfilled- Like I had finally found my calling. Not dry puns, not kpangolo beats. I felt like I was born to do this, something I haven't felt in years.
Change just might be the scariest thing in the world so if I said switching jobs wasn't difficult, you can confidently call agbada cap. I had grown comfortable with my co-workers turned family and venturing out to new territory was terrifying. I recognize the voices “you’re not good enough..wetin you sabi sef…fraud”. I can’t exactly tell you how I overcame these hurdles, but i’m quite glad I took the opportunity. My last day at Patricia saw me win my first work award for the most creative employee. A great day.
“Can we talk about Omah Lay for a minute? Christ, the boy wan finish me this year”
For a while this year, I felt rudderless- floating from day to day lacking a drive to do anything productive. Weeks would pass while i stayed suspended in my very own purgatory, unable to wake up and actively shape my future. End sars gave me a reason to exist. The intensity of the project and the willingness of the youth to make their voices heard was all the motivation I’ve ever needed to make my mark on this world. It was amazing- thousands of people connected by a single goal- the end of police brutality and a better Nigeria for everyone. A long march from Jibowu to Maryland and back? Count me in. And oh- Jack listened to me.
Much like the last time, a drunken conversation with an animator friend led to my creating a YT channel. It's been going great but honestly, it's kinda like an uber driver — we are just catching trips. However, I know filling my time with video creation is my gateway to proper ad creation. Would it be wasted knowledge? We’d see in the 2021 newsletter.
Obidiponpere what else…
I made a couple of new friends and my heart goes out to each of them for keeping me sane during an insane time. This year, I experienced kindness like no other -enough to convince me that there just might be a sliver of hope for this country.
I asked myself a couple of hard questions in 2020. What am I doing? What does it all mean? Where do I see myself in 5 years? (Abroad of course) What does it mean to truly love someone? What makes someone a good person? It truly was a year of introspection, of Twitter bants as escapism from a cruel world- a year of learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Last but not the least, I have accepted my status as a pretty human. Final form still incoming but this is a good start.
To a non shitty 2021!
