The Perfect Month (Hive Naija Weekly Prompt Edition 72)

The Number "7" is meant to mean Perfection.
I had so much anticipation for this month in particular not just because it was the 7th month but because I thought I had ticked all the boxes for it to be that perfect month for me.

Little did I know that it was not going to be so.
I'm talking about the month of July, 2024.

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Looking back at that month, I remember all the seeming setbacks I experienced and how I felt I things where not just working out.
I spent a whole lot of my money trying to make things work out but each money I spent went down the drain.

I'm sure you're curious about what I really mean.
I've decided to pick up my pen to write about it so I can let you in on some of the details of what was happening to me at this time.

I'm new to The Hive community and this will be my first post in Hive Naija as well, so pardon me if my writing looks strange to you.

This is Me.

In my Introductory post, one of the things I shared about myself was that I'm currently doing my National Youth Service Corps program in Akure Ondo State.
I started earlier this year and I must confess, I didn't start with a lot of enthusiasm about the scheme.
In fact, I was going to try everything I could to get myself posted to my state of choice which was Ibadan.

I had my reasons for preferring Ibadan, some of which are as follows: I'm sure you're not thinking it was because of the brown roofs of Ibadan. Lol.

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When I came into the city of Ibadan for the first time in 2014, that was in a decade ago, wow!.
I was captivated by the serenity of the environment, probably because I was initially based in The Metropolitan city of Lagos.
There was a stark difference between the two states.
I remember back then in Lagos, I dreaded going out for functions because of the noisiness I would have to experience amidst the hustling and bustling of people in the city.
Ibadan was much peaceful for me, so you can't blame me why I fell in love with Ibadan instantly.

Fast forward to my 3rd year in medical school, I started a business which I also talked about in my introductory post to hive.
And I was able to build a considerable business presence and community of loyal customers both offline and online.
Just incase you're itching to know what business it was, I provided healthy alternatives to fast food.

Upon graduation, I already envisaged that the business would suffer if I got displaced to another state by the NYSC scheme.
So I made efforts to work my posting directly to Ibadan where I would be able to still have an oversight of my business.
Little did I know that there were other plans made for me.

I spoke with my elder sister who also spoke with a top official at the NYSC scheme. Everything was looking good until alas, my call-up letter came up and I saw Ikare-Akoko, Ondo state.

I literally froze.
I'm sure God knew how heartbroken I would have been so he gave me a heads-up the night before the call-up letter showed up on my portal.
I had a dream, lol.

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I've come to realise that my dreams are one of the ways God speaks to me so I don't joke with them.

In that dream I was trying to drive a vehicle and I noticed I didn't know how to drive it.
I was so stubborn in that dream that I told someone to help me start the car and the person started it, then I remembered I couldn't continue driving.
If I continued there will be a crash. Lol. So I woke up.
After the dream, I got an interpretation that I should allow God drive my life, He alone knows the end from the beginning.

Hmm.
Back to reality, when I saw my posting letter, I then understood why I had the dream.
But I was still a bit sad.

Yes, lest I forget, the 3rd reason why I preferred to stay in Ibadan was because I had become so used to my Local Church in Ibadan where I served as the music director. So leaving them was more like separating a child from its mother.

Lastly, my Mum was receiving treatment at the Tertiary hospital at that time and I felt I needed to be with her to support her too.

That same week I had to face the harsh reality that I was going to another state and I would be there for a whole year.
I packed my bags and left hoping that I would work on my relocation back as soon as possible.
I would spare you the details of the whole experience in Camp, but I then realised that we were 6 doctors posted to the state for our batch.
And even though I spoke directly to the state coordinator explaining my ordeal, he bluntly told me that there was nothing he could do, that the Director General wasn't allowing medical corpers to relocate except on the basis of Marriage (for females).

My desperation to return to Ibadan grew even though I started work at my primary place of assignment.
I frequently visited the state secretariat relocation and redeployment office to submit letters and all. This was because we were told we could still try to reapply for relocation within 3 months of the orientation exercise.
So by my calculations by July, I should have relocated.
I even got scammed by someone who said he could help with the relocation.

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I placed phonecalls to the federal secretariat in Abuja, all to no avail.
I remember breaking down in tears one afternoon after a phone call with one of the officials.
I felt this kind of hostility towards those of us in the medical profession because I saw that others could easily be relocated and we couldn't.

I almost hit rock bottom in my emotions.
My finances were down, I sometimes got calls from my family about how badly my mum was reacting to treatment and it broke me further.

How did I get back up?
I noticed I lost interest in talking to people and doing things I used to enjoy.
I just kept showing up.

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One day, I decided to take a break from work and just spend the time with myself, my bible, my journal and some messages

I'm glad I did this!
Trust me, that was the end of the feeling of depression.
I remember I used to check the portal at least 20 times a day to see if my relocation had been approved.
It was that serious.

Taking a break to seek God's face helped me changed my perspective on the whole issue.
I am no longer looking for a way to relocate, rather I am maximising my time here and it has been a game changer for me.

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Was July really a perfect month?
I'll still say July was a perfect month because it redirected my vision and pursuit.

I'm once again grateful for the opportunity to share.

This is my submission for Hive Naija Weekly prompt, edition 72.