SELF REFLECTION

It's the 20th of January but it’s not too late to say happy new year. Welcome to 2o25 and to Aima's Writing. Truthfully, this might be the fastest January I've ever experienced. Do you agree? Today, our topic for dissection is self-reflection. I’ll give my opinion on the subject matter right away, and then we will dive into my year in review. Are you curious to know how 2024 went for me? Let's get into it.

Self-reflection is simply self-evaluation. It is taking time to evaluate your character and your actions. That moment when you consciously or unconsciously ask yourselves questions like; What are you grateful for? What do you need to work on? How well did you achieve your goals? How did you relate with friends and family? And how can you do better? 

I have never officially posted a 'Year in Review,' but I have always self-reflected. On the other end of the spectrum, I have friends who are not regular bloggers but have made it a habit to review their years regularly. Regardless of the means and method, the end goal is the same - GROWTH. You self-reflect to grow not just to be self-aware. But, you cannot change a habit if you are not self-aware and how can you be self-aware if you do not self-reflect? 

In other words, as James Clear noted in Atomic Habits, you must make a habit obvious to change it. That process of creating what he calls a 'habit scorecard' is simply self-reflection.

Last year, I had plans that I woefully failed to achieve. Plans that I had posted right here on this website. And when I sat to truly evaluate why they didn't come through, I realized that it had nothing to do with my goal-setting. My self-sabotage was the problem. My goals were SMART. They were in and out of themselves flawless. I had timelines set for each goal and at the start of every month, I actively reminded myself of my goals. I remained mindful and frankly, I got to work.

The problem was I failed to show my work promptly. So, while I was creating, I wasn't posting. Even the chapters of the books I had written I couldn't get out of my head enough to send it to the editors. Same with many other projects. The perfectionist in me birthed a procrastinator. So this year, I duplicated my goal templates but I implemented a strategy to help me post my creations better. 

Similarly, it was in a moment of self-reflection that I noticed I had picked up a bad habit that had slowly gone unchecked for two years. From late 2022 to late 2024, I had completely stopped posting my friends on my status. I know how that sounds so let me help you understand. I've always been a preacher of making birthdays special. So, it was a habit of mine to gift my friends, flaunt them online and write heartfelt wishes on their special days.

For our day-one readers, do you remember our 'birthday' article from 2022? I shaded 'weird' people yet somehow I became one of them. Somewhere along the line, I stopped celebrating my friends for a valid yet unhealthy reason. I lost someone and it made me subconsciously lose the zeal to celebrate life. Like, I would remember that it's someone's birthday yet do absolutely nothing about it.

I struggled to post a few of my friends and family and even that took a chunk out of me. But, now, this year, I've intentionally decided to return to my old values. In such a way that if I don't get to post anyone, it’s for a reason healthier than indifference. I can go on and on about my good and bad habits but that's enough of that. 

Now, to part two of this article. Welcome to my year in review. I didn’t achieve some of my goals last year but all in all, 2024 was a good year. In January, I set out to make memories and I had many firsts. I rode a horse for the first time, had my first TV show interview and my team’s first corporate shoot.

February came with surprises. Not the surprise of age. I knew I was going to turn older. It came with the surprise of a lost twin. I met someone who was my age mate - born the same year, month, and day as me. I also had the privilege to work on two sensitive projects. The Researcher - a mental health stage play and February 14th - a YouTube short film. It was such an amazing experience being on set and networking with great and powerful people. Thank you Mrs Doreen Omosele for that opportunity. 

In March, there were more firsts. I had my first beach experience and my first role in a documentary film. Let’s stay on that a little. It wasn’t just any documentary, it was the 8:4:84 documentary on Pastor Debola Deji-Kurunmi’s life. I got to play the role of young DDK and what an experience that was! #stillnotoverit

In April, and with the strength of the most High, I got to execute an assignment in my local assembly. I was selected as the Assistant Chairman for Household Retreat 2024 and it was humbling to serve in that capacity. I learnt first-hand that being a part of a committee for a program is entirely different from chairing it. God’s grace and strength were sufficient. And I’ll never get tired of serving in my father’s vineyard.

Putting on my executive hat, I was a host for THE PHEONIX SESSION 1.0 organised by my chambers, Victus Chambers. It was so surreal to see students gather from different faculties and departments united by their thirst for knowledge. I don’t like to brag but we outdid ourselves. The program was to blow off steam quite alright but it was a masterclass for different courses and we filled up all our classrooms and that, on a weekend. Just imagine telling students you want them to blow off steam and you decide to bring them to learn on the weekend. It was our audacity for me really. Yet we sold out!

In May, my feature on Showmax's Original series 'WURA' was released. We had shot the scenes last year (sorry, in retrospect, 2023). But, my episode aired in May 2024 and I felt like a celebrity. I got jiggy reading messages like “Oh my God, Aima I saw you on Wura”. In the same month, I had my first upper room experience with Minister Dunsin Oyekan and it was electrifying. It was a transformative and timely meeting for me.

June came along and I resumed hosting duties. It was the PHOENIX SESSION 2.0 and it was more explosive. This time, I got to connect with Esse Akwawa, the head of Accelerate TV and we had branded shirts. Again, Victus Chambers doesn't do small things. June was also particularly surreal because FYB activities began. It was nice to make final memories with my friends and my colleagues.

Speaking of finals, in July I wrote my final exams. (And I passed with a GPA higher than my previous semesters). It was my final year but ironically, my first moot competition. Participating in that competition was a beautiful bow to my LLB journey and it got better because we won at nationals and qualified for internationals.

Came back from winning to more FYB activities. Dinners, and dinners, and more dinners. My bank account went through it. (FYBs start saving oh). Still, in July, the siblings' photoshoot made it out of the group chat and that’s saying a lot because it had been years since we were all in the same geographical location. Aside from my final exams, I completed my long essay (final year project work) under the supervision of a respectable dignitary in my faculty. My supervisor set the perfect atmosphere for us and it was an absolute honour.

In August, I won my first awards. One for my service to the Chambers and another for my creativity and innovation. Flaunts in creativity! Okurrrr! Jokes aside, it reminded me of a word that I received in 2023. God said, “Next year, I’m announcing you as a creative”. Of course, at the time, I tied the fulfilment of the prophecy to the creative projects I wanted to embark on (the ones we didn’t eventually do) but as it turned out, God had other plans.

Still August, my sister’s NGO, Safe Haven for Counselling Initiative, volunteered at a school. It was our second outreach for the year. The first was to a school that offers free education. But I can’t remember what month we did that. This second edition however was in collaboration with another NGO (FAYF) to offer skill acquisition to secondary school students. As the coordinator for the Osun branch, we had work to do. It is always a rewarding endeavour to give back to community. So, trust that I enjoyed that. 

In September, I made a BIG DECISION. I cut my hair you guys. It was a sign of healing I didn't know I needed. (Sadly, I can’t share more than that).

In October, my first highlight was our girl’s trip. My second highlight was attending 'Lens for Good' -a creator’s gathering where I got the opportunity to network even more. And my last highlight was actively preparing for International Rounds (yep, I was still reading 😭😭. Me wey don graduate).

I would like to thank November for being the most memorable month. It was time for the international rounds of the moot competition and it held in Nairobi, Kenya. I would need an entire article to talk about my experience but I bet you can imagine how amazing it must have been. It was a beautiful week filled with beautiful people, worthy competitors, and beautiful networks.

If I begin to call names, I’m going to offend some people so I’ll use the teams instead. Shout out to Teams Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, and Tanzania. 

In December, I officially became a law graduate. I convoked, started NLS registration, attended REBOOT CAMP, and spent the holidays with family. It was sad having to say goodbye to uni but that chapter had to close for 2025 to open.

This is Aima putting on the pen cap. Just a gentle reminder, brace up for 2025. I'm super confident that God is set to do a lot. You should be ready to play your part. I'll see you next time. Byeeeeeee. 

Sorry, one more thing. we're on YouTube now. Our first Aimazons Corner episode will be centered around this topic so do well to check it out when it airs. Byeeee - for real this time.