From Surviving to Thriving: A Year of Transformation and Gratitude

A lot can happen in a year!

Hey Royal, what's good?

First of all, if you want to shout on my head because it’s been so long, I understand, but you have to calm down because you can’t be shouting on a newly minted bride’s head!

Ife bi eji owuro…

If this is your first time reading a Purple Room Chronicle, I’m Bliss and I’m excited to have your attention.

Life Update

Post-Purple Room

Time flies! And a whole lot can happen in a year.

Let’s get to the reason why you have seen éwú in the afternoon (apologies if you don’t speak yoruba).

Can you believe it’s been a year since I moved out of The Purple Room? I can’t and I am overwhelmed with gratitude at the thought of it.

Last selfie in the Purple Room *I’m not sure why my face is like that though*

When I moved into that space in 2021, I had almost nothing to my name.

The Covid-19 lockdown was slowly being lifted and facemasks and hand sanitizers were still a large part of our daily routine. But I couldn’t complain because I finally had a space of my own after three months of squatting with friends, and it meant everything to me.

It didn’t matter that I was barely earning enough to survive from my 3rd-party freelance gigs. I was just excited to have a place to shut out the world and be with myself.

But as the years passed and neighbours moved in and out, I wondered if I’d ever leave too because wishes aren’t horses and I needed money that I didn’t have to move.

Ps. We’re not talking about the housing crisis in this country enough, problem ti wa o!

However, as I look back and reflect on the last 365 days, I realize that God has been faithful and life has been good.

Of course, new phases of life come with their challenges but one step at a time.

Say Hello to Mrs A.

This part of the events that have taken place in the last 365 days is still surreal! One minute I’m a fiancée - the next I’m a wife.

When I met YBoC who’s now my husband (read that again, my husbanddd!) we knew we were gonna get married (#FromHike2Hitched) and we had a timeframe in mind but man proposes and God discards it, so that his will will be done.

And, Lord! Did that day not come and turn out beautifully??

The best part of the wedding for me was getting married on the day of our 3rd anniversary of dating. The awwnnn of our guests as I read him a little piece of how I was feeling was the cherry on top.

See what I read for yourself.

Ki n se hard girl keh, ka ma ri!

Now, I’m not gonna lie and say everything went according to plan because there were a few surprises here and there but the goal of the day was achieved and for that, my husband and I are grateful.

Yesterday was even our three-month anniversary and again, surreal.

So, when I mentioned earlier that you can’t shout on my head, I meant it. 😂😂😂

And if you’ve not had a chance to congratulate me, feel free to do so.

By the way, I am surrounded by the best people.

My people took the day off and travelled the distance to be part of my big day (some even arrived at almost midnight), endured the horrors of the hotel we booked, got drenched in the rain to and fro, got stuck in traffic and even had to turn back without getting to the venue.

My people waited online when we started behind schedule, brought gifts and sent gifts, created the best atmosphere and stood in the gap physically, emotionally, and spiritually as the need arose.

Wow! What a tribe!

I’d never get tired of saying this and if you’re reading this, I am grateful for the gift of you.

Turning 30!

July 9th ushered in the “almighty” 30th birthday and I bodied it abi how do the Gen Zs say it?

Ate or Ate?

I was looking forward to turning this age so bad that I knew I wasn’t going to freak out.

I had trolled a few of my elders (who are now ancestors) about turning 30 but even their revenge didn’t make me enter the ground.

My previous birthdays, especially since I turned 23, were always dramatic and up until the day of, I always felt like they weren’t worth celebrating.

Can’t blame me, I was broke and money is the bicycle of good news.

But you see for 30, I knew that the best days of my life were about to unravel and as a result, I had nothing to worry about.

I prepared for this birthday with so much joy; I feel like it’s my birthday all over again right now. That’s how strong the conviction is.

When the day finally came, I realized that there was indeed nothing to be frightened about. So, I had fun, went out to dinner with my husband and basked in the warmth of all the love I received.

Fellow '94 babies, don’t break!

Growing

These days when I look in the mirror, I wonder where that girl with holed-out clavicle went because I’m amazed at how much flesh I’ve added (please don’t say weight gain.)

But beyond what the scale says about me, I have grown from the girl who was scared about not having enough to eat to the girl who randomly and comfortably buys things she once thought were too expensive like a cup of Go Slo ice-cream and a microwave.

I have owned more clothes as their first-time wearer and handed out even more, in good condition. And you’d only understand why this matters when you realize that someone once told me to my face that “you speak so much sense, it’s almost hard to remember that your repeat clothes alot”.

C’est la vie!

I even paid N10k an hour for physiotherapy sessions cause I twisted my wrist, orisirisi.. something that I’d formerly have forced to reset with Aboniki.

I get that this may be funny but if we don’t count our blessings, growth will seem inconsequential.

Finally, I signed up for a content creation challenge and I’m creating content to help newbie virtual assistants have a smoother journey. I committed to posting thrice a week and surprisingly, I’ve not missed one day of posting so far.

I even invested in setting up a studio for my shoots, dreams come true, babyyy!

You can check out the videos and hope I bring that same energy back into Purple Room Chronicles.

My notion header

And if you somehow think that all of this “growth” is courtesy of my husband, you’re right o. Thanks to him for pushing me and reminding me that I can and should never be afraid to secure the bag, which I’m steadily securing.

I'm excited to see what the future holds, for me and for you.

Till the next chronicle,

Stay Royal!