2020: THE REALITY

So I was like, “Ohh, dang! 2020 is here. I never thought we'd come this close to the year. It looked so far away from 2010 at the time. But well, this is my year...now that it's here. It's mine.” 😈

*sinister music played in the background*

(At the time, I thought it was my senses playing the tune of my conquest over the year)

We came into the year through the doors of our church. Quite usual. In fact, it would have been the most unusual thing if it didn't happen like that. And another thing that happened that always happens as usual was that I got pissed at one family member just a few hours into the new year.

Well, that was not in anyway discouraging. I had the whole year to myself.

First week into 2020, I was scrolling through twitter and I saw a good number of tweets about wildfires destroying Australia. I checked the year on my phone screen. 2020. “Oga o”. I checked the trend section of twitter and saw over 250k tweets with the #Australiawildfire hashtag. And when I saw pictures on the damage done, I cried. To be honest, I wasn't trying to delude myself at the beginning and assume that no mishap would occur in 2020. After all, in the first month of the year 2010, there was a suicide bombing occurrence in Jos, Plateau State, that targeted a Catholic Church and killed three persons.

But this was and is 2020 na. It was and still is a special year, almost sacred in fact. It shouldn't have started like this.

Not to forget, when I checked through the trend section I saw something about coronavirus. It was like the least trendy topic. But trust me na, I quickly went there to see what it was about. China is battling coronavirus. How odd. Not odd that they were battling a virus, but odd that the outbreak seemed to come up from nowhere. How did it start? Is it like ebola, or HIV, or catarrh. I chose catarrh. “It must be like catarrh. The symptoms are cold and cough so...”

I think it was still in the month of January that I woke up one morning and opened my twitter again and saw World War III trending. This time, I laughed😂. Because, how??? This news was literally not there the previous day and now it was topping the trend list. It was also funny because people were making light out of it. I've found that to be a common coping mechanism for humans when there's distress. Some other time I'll talk about how humans can adapt to just about anything.

So I began reading different articles on what brought about the topic of WW3, and I discovered that the US government, led by Donald J. Trump, sent a drone to kill an Iranian General by the name Kasim Soleimani on Iranian soil. I wasn't surprised. I was angry. So much for “every state is sovereign and can handle their own affairs”. Like everybody else, I wanted to cope with my emotions and thought processes and so I watched The Daily Show hosted by Trevor Noah on YouTube everyday concerning the matter.

In a little while after the tension of war was de-escalated, I saw that the coronavirus had gotten across Italy's borders and was ravaging the country. I felt so much concern this time around. So much that it pricked my heart that I couldn't do anything about it.

Then before long the virus spread to virtually every part of the world. Conspiracy theories flew around. And I hold my opinions too. But much more important than that is the fact that people are dying. Don't be ignorant. The virus is REAL!

I began to see the reality of the year. Things are not going smoothly. Nowhere near the kind of sweetness I had imagined. Schools had to be shut down out of necessity. This month, June, was supposed to be the month I finish my university education. Like many others in this same plight, I keep sulking over it😊.

And just yesterday, I checked the trend list on twitter and saw World War III re-trending. I laughed again. This year cannot kill me😂.

But...you know what? I'm not scared. I'm not discouraged. I don't feel defeated. I don't feel denied. This year is indeed special, however we see it😚.

I know what I know. I know what I heard. I can see the odds. I can see the year acting like a convulsing child, but, 2020 is my year!

You saw it here first.