“What is the meaning of human life, or, for that matter, of the life of any creature? To know an answer to this question means to be religious. You ask: Does it many any sense, then, to pose this question? I answer: The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life"
-Albert Einstein.

A 19-year-old hasn't seen much of this life, yeah. In my few years of living, I have learned a lot, socialized, and never have I ever learned or experienced so much in one single year.

JANUARY

In the village (Ohafia)
Fireworks! boom! bang! in all directions. This was a family tradition. We used fireworks every 00:00 am (GMT+1), after praying, to welcome the new year. my uncle didn't set his "rocket" properly and it fell and the blasts came at us, bang after bang, shrieks, and giggles coming in all directions. In a few days, the family split up, some going back to the Aba, Umuahia, and I went back to school in Enugu state. While in school, we started hectic, We had our mbbs exams coming in a few months, so preparations were hectic. 7 am-7 pm, we ran from classes to practical halls, to tutorials, and back home, freshened up, and took a nap before waking to study. It was a very tiring schedule, but we knew a war was coming and we had to arm ourselves.

me in school

family

FEBRUARY

Anxiety.
Anxious and afraid, I was going in for an exam in the next month and I felt so unprepared, and the pressure from our professors didn't make it easier. The mbbs exam had a 30% pass rate. No pressure right?
Anyways, I needed money, and seeing I had a really big room, I sought a roommate, who would give me half of what I paid for the rent. I found one in my class, luckily he was a good one and helped me read more. I started trading forex on live account that month and got a $1000 loan from my dad.

some of my trades

MARCH

I grew the account to $6000 and paid my father back, then in one inexperienced trade, I blew my account with XAU/USD. I was juggling my trading with classes so, I slept off after placing the trade and forgot to place a stop-loss. Therein lay my first lesson of the year. I had just lost my financial freedom, after gaining it. That was enough money to see me through medical school, poof, gone. I had to run out of my room because I might harm myself if I kept on thinking, so I went to play PES with my friends, I played like a wounded beast, trashing them in turns, it was enough to release the tension luckily. I thanked God I had paid back the loan before this happened, because my family would find it difficult, to survive such a financial blow, seeing as the government owes them over 15 months of salary. March 13th, 12 days to my exams, I went to see my best friend in her school, the University of Calabar. She is also a medical student, but I'm ahead by a year. It was a 6 hours journey by bus and I spent the weekend over. We had a great time, and coincidentally, her roommate was sisters with my classmate in school (it's really a small world, what were the odds😂). It was my way of easing the tension ahead of my exams and was working until I got a call from my cousin, telling me that my dad collapsed with stroke and has been taken to our hometown for treatment. My family tried to hide this from me, but I could always count on my cousin to never keep a secret from me. Fast forward to the next weekend, Exams starting on Monday, and the government declares a Covid-19 lockdown, and schools were shut down.

a picture taken by me, of my best friend, on an outing

APRIL

Getting back home to my family in Aba, I dropped my bags and sped to Ohafia, my hometown, where my dad was getting treated at home by the doctor. I kept him company, cleaned his room, prepared his bath, discussed with him, and continued my Fx trading. I practically spent the whole month with just him. Although I was brought back home for a terrible reason, I enjoyed the serenity of the area. I even found time to read more Kiyosaki books, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and many more books, even for traders.

screenshot from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari e-book

MAY-JUNE- JULY

These three months practically passed in a blur. I compounded my crypto and trading knowledge, formed a trading clan, ALPHA FX. We found a trading strategy that was based on Fibonacci and pivotal zones and averaged a $250 profit daily. My time had finally come. I was flying and with part of our profits, we bought the "Teeka Tiwari: 5 coins to 5 million" list, which cost us $5000. The list contained Numeraire, DATA, Enjin, STATUS, and Monaco. Yes, I just gave it out for free.
Anyway, in July, when I was about to buy these coins, a "friend" brought $600 and asked that I get some for him. Being rare coins and we wanted them in cold wallets, I got the contacts of a "vendor". Long story short, he made away with the money, and my so-called "friend" said I must get him back his money in a week. I was just swindled of my life savings and this dude was not even caring. He went to lengths to find my family addresses and contacts and started making threats. I had to pay him off with my trading capital ($500) plus some.
You might ask why I didn't trade to get back his money? well, in forex trading, trading with a target like that and so many emotions it's called revenge-trading. It would've done more harm than good.

AUGUST

Rock bottom
I was at a brick wall, a dark alley, there was no hope in sight. I spent a full month locked in my room, only coming out to bathe, eat, or answer nature. Life was difficult. I stayed away from friends and social media, spent my days reading or with music. My mom got so worried she started inviting my friends over or bundling me over to their houses. Nothing could cheer me up. I experienced real depression.

SEPTEMBER

Stuck to my room, refused to leave, then on the 11th I got a call, my best friend wanted me to plan her birthday party. Finally, a distraction. In three days we drew up a very short list of invitees, secured a venue, cake food, and drinks. On the 14th, her birthday, we had fun, made new friends, and I had, at last, come out of my shell. I felt alive again, and immediately realized that in exactly one month would be my birthday, and I show life that I cannot stay down.

Chizzy and I

some of the guests

OCTOBER

I saved up the money I got as gifts from my uncles plus odd jobs. I planned my party for the 14th and invited my friends who were chanced to come. I had come back and I was determined not to slip back into depression, I was going to show I could live life to the fullest. 14th started bad, problems with the car, venue and the invitees were late. luckily, by midday, everything turned out fine, we partied like never before, the party went on even after I went home. In a long time, I hadn't been that happy.

the gang

@awesononso and I

Jennifer and I

November

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the way out is through
-David Allen

The Pastor had dared us to challenge God. Provoke him to work in our lives, so I made a promise to God, concerning my finance. In that month, one week in I got offered a job at Faithtrust medical laboratory, which my uncle owns, and a week later I got introduced by a great friend of mine, @whitestallion to steemit. Another week in and money problems came up. I managed to settle off, and the last week came with a wonderful contact offered to me out of the blues and on a platter of Gold. I thanked God for his faithfulness and promised to keep my end of the agreement once the first fruits are borne. November taught me that miracles can happen at the last minute.

screengrab from a video at work

DECEMBER

I went to bury my grandmother on the 4th. It went without a hitch and we returned safely. My landlord at school has sent us a message to come to pack our bags or renew our rent. This December is the first I'll spend outside Ohafia. It doesn't feel much like Christmas but I'm grateful to God for mercy and grace. It could've been a lot worse. To cap it off, I made a new friend, whose type is rare and we vibe at the same frequency. She is joining steemit as soon as possible.

at the burial

message from our landlord.

Kamara (new friend), @awesononso and I)

CONCLUSION

This year, 2020 has taught me patience, determination, pain, love, faith. I wouldn't change a single event, even the worst. They were all valuable lessons, and I'm happy I learned them at a young age. I walk into next year with my head held high, and with focus. It has been a hell of a ride. 5 days to go!

CC:
@steemcurator01
@steemcurator02
@steem-agora
@xpilar
@sultan-aceh
@art-venture
@stef1
Thank you for this contest

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