Kwaheri 2019

On December 19, 2018 I declared Write. Read. Have Fun. Live Life as my 2019 mantra and fucking hell have I done exactly that.

2019 has been, unequivocally, the best year of my life and if I were to describe it in a GIF I would use:

I was so unexpectedly happy at the start of the year that I opted to “conduct an investigation” in Q2 to determine if I am truly happy or I am just high. Spoiler alert: I am truly happy. This was also the year I committed to becoming a pro at eye fucking. Spoiler alert: I failed miserably. Lol.

This year I went to Cape Town in March to see Ed Sheeran in concert and it was just as mind-blowing as you can imagine.

We were in CT for a week with my sister, cousin and friend and we had the absolute motherfucking time of our lives.

In April I joined a gym and it completely changed my life. I started the year saying:

And lemme tell you guys body did bang because the jerking off I do to myself when I am getting dressed to go out …

Lol. Jk. But for real the gym changed my life and not just in terms of how I look. I have always been a disciplined person and once I say I am doing something I go all in, but the gym took that discipline and determination and elevated it to a whole other level. I read an article where Kim K said that the days she does not feel like going to the gym are the days she does not skip at all and that became my gym mantra. Working out is not always fun in the moment (kwanza cardio day), and there are days I really miss going for happy hour after work or just coming home to do nothing. But as I said in 13.31, I made a commitment to myself and to me that is the most important commitment. Kuna venye a commitment to myself is tantamount to a blood oath.

In May I got promoted to Media Director exactly one week before my three year workiversary. It took me just under six years to rise from an entry level position of Media Executive to a goddamn Media Director and sweardown that is no small feat.

In June I participated in the first panel of the PursePective Podcast with Scheaffer Okore, Mariga Thoithi, Marcus Olang and Adelle Onyango.

But what was Mariga saying here to make my face look like this? Kwanza not a single woman looks impressed. Lol.

That was the month I also won a flash fiction writing competition and had my story published in Yummy Magazine. Random, but also dope, I also won a fantastic hamper from Sirimon cheese in June.

Leo season was wild this year. Too too too wild. My birthday was also dope AF. My 31^st year was the best year of my life and I was excited to bid it farewell as I start 32 off with fanfare. And believe me when I say it was all of the fanfare. I mean I created a goddamn “flyer” for the party invite.

Yaani my baby sis just surprised me with a full facebeat!! Waaaaaaauuuuuu!! The love aki.

But the best night out for me this year was the Konshens concert. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I do not think I have the words to explain how legit that night was so I will let this headline do the talking:

I think it is safe to say that when telling my future twin girls about my youth, the Konshens night out is a story I will tell again and again and again because it was just:

2019 was also the year that Taylor Swift, aka my favourite artist of all time, dropped a new album. But while I love me some TayTay (I mean Lover MUST play at my wedding otherwise I ain’t going) my favourite album of 2019 was hands down H_art The Band’s Made In The Streets.

I hope to catch them while they are still doing their album tour, preferably at Kengele’s, so Universe do yo damn thing!

This was the year I also told two of my biggest stories: my mental health journey in Let The Light In (the “this” I am referring to in that H_art The Band tweet) and my experience with domestic violence in Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. Telling those stories was the scariest, bravest thing I have done all year and I am immensely proud of myself for opening up like that and allowing myself to be so vulnerable.

2019 was also the year I had my first streak of depression and it was the scariest thing I have ever been through in a very long time and it is my hope that I never get depressed ever again.

On the flip side, 2019 has also been the year of the lewks. And as I say, never waste a lewk.

Lawd I have had fun playing dress up this year:

This day, October 25^th, was one of my favourite days of the year. Bev, aka The Vibrating Lawyer, called me up and asked if I want to be her assistant at The Spread Live podcast recording that night and of course I said yes. As I was putting together my lewk I reasoned that if you are going to sell sex toys you perhaps ought to look like sex. Yes? No?

Which lewk is your fave? Let me know in the comments. Also, you gotta respect the weight loss. Coz goddamnit I work sooo fucking hard for this body. Aki the gym can be sooo fucking hard. Monday gym kwanza is so gross guys.

On that note, (I will talk more about this tomorrow) I am thinking of starting a fashion section on the blog with a cousin of mine who is a fashion and shopping guru. She is the one who came up with the analogy for weekly work outfit planning: it’s like meal prep but for clothes. She is so witty that babe. But, I digress. If that is a section that would interest anyone who reads this feel free to let me know in the comments section. Or you can DM me. My blog page now has my social media buttons so you can tap that.

This year I learnt the true power of intentionality and I promise you it is the secret to winning this life. If you are deliberate and intentional with what you want, and you work really hard for it, most times the Universe will reward you accordingly. I really put myself out there this year, and I really put 100% effort into all facets of my life. An earnest, honest, from-the-depths-of-my-soul kind of effort. The kind of effort that gives the Universe no other option but to take notice because I owed it to myself to be the best version of me. And just see how the Universe came all the way through aki.

This year has also seen my blog readership grow slowly but surely and I love love love the conversations I have in my Instagram DMs with my readers: Phillippa Anjira, Caroline, Aymarose, Edna, Mary Davids, Mucabwa, Frankie, Gladwell G, Fifi Fiona, Ishiola, Laura, Mbaire, Kui, Miriam, Adhile, Tsonil, Waithira … you guys are the real MVPs and I am hoping to meet each and every one of you in 2020. S/O to Alexandra and Nikita. Y’all are fucking dope readers too.

Also, Y Men No Read Me?

I also unapologetically put myself and my happiness first this year and I have ended the year as the best version of myself there ever was. 2019 will go down as the “year of me” and I am not sorry about that. At all!! The woman I am now at 32 is my favourite version of myself and I fucking love it!

Last but not least 2019 will go down as the year I met the most incredible man.

So here is a little story for y’all. I have legit saved the best for last. I first saw this incredible man in early April and I immediately crushed on him sooo hard; it was his hair and his eyes that did it for me. I probably saw him all of three times that April and though I did not see him again for months, he made such an impact in my life that he inspired the story I wrote for Yummy. The story was titled Minutes to Midnight because there is a character in the story wearing a Minutes to Midnight hoodie. And when I first saw my incredible man he was wearing a Minutes to Midnight hoodie … it gives me great joy to say that I am now the proud owner of that hoodie.

I do not want to say too much about this because it is still new, and I want to keep my relationship off the blog because it is my business, but with all the amazing and mind-blowing things that have happened to me this year, he is unequivocally the best of them all.

2019 was the absolute best year of my life, so here’s looking at you 2020.