My 2017: The Defining Moments leading to 2018 - Everyone is a winner.

                  
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It started out on a sad note, I had been involved in a "good deal gone bad" towards the end of 2016 and lost a lot of money, so I wasn't in the best of spirits and it was really a struggle to move on from that particular phase.

Fast forward, I went on holiday in march, joined steemit in June 2017 ( couldn't figure out what it was really about by then 😊 ). For me the defining moment of 2017 was while I was going through my twitter feed in September and came across a tweet by the C.E.O of hotels.ng (Mark Essien). Mark invited developers to join the hotels.ng remote internship and there was a link through which to join the slack channel. As a tech enthusiast this is the type of thing I am mostly interested in ( prior to this I have tried to motivate myself to learn web development but because there was no motivation, I would give up after a while ) but I had to remind myself it was an internship which means he's expecting people who are already developers to join and show what they can do. I wasn't a developer at the time so I decided I wasn't going to give it a try, I kept asking myself why I should waste time signing up when I knew I wasn't qualified. After couple of days it struck me like lightning, I asked myself "what do I have to lose by giving it a try?" ( this was the defining moment ).

After couple of days it struck me like lightning,
I asked myself "what do I have to lose by giving it a try?"

I hurriedly checked my mail for the activation mail I had already received but not used and confirmed activation, joined the slack channel and started participating, was it challenging? Yes! But did I give up? Not at all. There were 10 stages in all, we started out 2000+ participants and I was among the best 50 at the end of the internship ( not to brag but for someone who wasn't so sure he should join in the first place, how do you think I did? 😁 ).

I learnt a lot of valuable lessons in 2017.

In the words of Henry Ford:

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I almost let an opportunity that would change me for the better slip away for fear of that I may not be able to succeed at it. I have come to terms with the fact that for you to succeed at anything there's also a chance that you may fail at it, don't let that hold you back though put in work and you may just end up amazing yourself at what you can achieve.

If you want to excel or succeed at anything, surround yourself with "like minded" people ( people who can relate to you in that particular field or direction, whatever it is ). I had not been able to learn on my own, but once I became a part of a group of determined people it became easier because when I was weak I got encouragement, when I was in difficulty I got assistance and this little bits of support here and there went a long way to get me to where I am today.

I have also come to realize that giving back is the best way to learn and get better. In the course of 2017 I learnt from a lot of people, and I have also taught a lot of people. It's a cycle, you learn something but when you teach someone or people about it, then you find out you become better at that subject or topic.

2017 is a year I won't be forgetting in a hurry. It was eventful and a turning point in my life. It has been a stepping stone to ensure 2018 is better and that I can more than anything else "keep moving forward".