Hey Sistuurrr👋
How are you doing?
May I be among the first few people to wish you a very happy new month?
Welcome to May, sis 🥳🥳🥳🥳
Can you believe it?
It was just like yesterday when 2023 began, and now, we're already, almost, in the middle of the year 😳
Honestly, in this newsletter, I've got a lot of exciting news to share with you.
But first, how are you? How have you been faring? How has life been treating you?
I won't lie, April was indeed a very beautiful month 🥰
I did my job(s), had a good amount of money flow in, and was generally happy.
I got into the art of journalling again and even started giving unsolicited ted talks on my WhatsApp status.
One of the most controversial Ted Talks I did this month was about money 😁
My argument is that money is the most important thing you need in your 20s.
They—how dare you say that? Money isn't. The most important thing you need is to have a romantic relationship and start a family.
Let's talk a bit about these two different schools of thought, shall we?
My Thoughts on Money
Money is a taboo topic.
Growing up, I believed people who had a lot of money were evil.
I partially believed that poverty was a virtue.
Because Mom knew how to manage everything, I didn't realise we had a very big problem until I started growing older and got into university.
When I got to Varsity, I received 2,000 or 3,000 NGN from my parents once every 2 or 3 weeks as upkeep.
I'm saying just 2019. (It's not like aeons ago).
The money was supposed to be for my upkeep, transport and even school bills.
It wasn't funny.
Then 2020 happened. Schools got locked down, and we went back home.
Sometime around July, I moved to my cousin's place in Lagos, and that was when my mindset began to shift drastically.
I lived in a really big household where my cousin was the breadwinner and a very busy woman.
Food was not managed in that house, and we lived in a really fine 4-room duplex.
We had uninterrupted power and a 24/7 WiFi connection.
My cousin's kids went to the best schools in Lagos and Abuja, and life was generally good.
I loved it there! And for 6 months, I loved it there, I dreamt that my life was going to someday be that soft.
Fast forward to 2021, school resumed again, and I came back to Port Harcourt.
I had to work all through the month of January at fast food, and I got paid 17,000NGN.
With that money, I bought foodstuffs at Choba Market, and that was the only food I had throughout that academic session.
When my things got exhausted, my boyfriend at the time (Afam) sponsored me.
He catered for my feeding and upkeep, and bought most of my schoolbooks, but I felt so indebted to him.
I took a break from school in August 2021, and eventually earned my first $200 working as a content writer for a Canadian-based company by December of that same year.
From December 2021 till date, I have been catering to my needs with the money I make online working for different clients.
I have been able to do different things for myself over the last couple of months, and there's no going back.
I love money!
I love the ease that having money gives you!
And if there's any regret I have, it's not starting my pursuit of money earlier than I did.
If your goal is someday to own a family or have children, ages 18 to 30 are your best times to find money.
Money is very, very important.
For real, many times I wonder how different my life would have been if my parents had taken the pursuit of money very seriously earlier in their lives.
I would have gotten my MBBS by now, from a prestigious university outside the country.
I wouldn't have had to write JAMB multiple times, I wouldn't have been a university dropout like I am today…
Life would have taken a different turn.
Relationships are beautiful.
Marriages are beautiful.
But please, don't have babies while broke. 😞
If you already do, it's time to take a break and focus headlong on making money!
You deserve a soft life! and so do your children!
I finally got the studio shoot of my dreams
For the longest time, I dreamed of taking a professional headshot for my social platforms.
The pictures I had on my social media accounts until April were taken in 2020.
And as a social media person, I know the importance of pictures in personal branding.
Therefore, as money flowed into my account in April, I was hell-bent on taking a professional studio shoot.
And I did!
I got my hair done at a salon.
I got some makeup done.
And I got shot by the baddest photographer in PH (jglamourz).
Although it cost me a lot, I'm so glad I did it!
I'm so excited about what the new phase of my social media journey is going to be!
For those who haven't seen my beautiful studio pics yet, here you go 💃💃💃
Did I forget to mention I got myself some new outfits this April?
To be very honest, I count it a rare privilege.
I can't forget women my age and even older who are tied down in marriage to horrible men who won't let them work or make their own money.
I can't forget that one year ago, I couldn't do all these things for myself.
So yeah, I'm grateful for growth 🙏
I got sick from overworking (stress)
One of the reasons I work so hard is because I've suddenly seen the importance of vacations.
Someday in the near future, I want to be so financially stable that I sponsor 3–4 vacations per year.
The month of April had me working like Mumu, and the last week I fell sick.
On Saturday and Sunday (the 22nd and 23rd of April), I was so busy getting ready for my studio shoot.
And by Monday (the 24th of April), I was so weak that I couldn't work.
Thanks to my friend Faith, who came to help me out on Monday.
The rest of the week, I was on compulsory bed rest.
As the workaholic that I am, I was so unhappy.
The thought of disappointing my clients, including the newest of them all
But I still took the break, and by Friday that week, I was feeling great!
This is a subtle message to all workaholics like myself, always find time to rest 😂
As much as we want all the money in the world, if you fall sick in the process, you won't be able to enjoy the money!
I started journaling again
In 2021, when I stopped going to school and began my financial independence journey, I was always journaling.
I stopped journaling mainly because I had a roommate, and always had people in my house.
I started journaling again in April.
And one thing I love most about journaling is that it keeps you abreast of the changes that are happening in your life.
Journaling helps you reflect on the past and see how far you've come.
Journaling several times in April made me very grateful for the little things, and I was able to look at how much growth I've attained.
And I was able to note things I was grateful for.
My recommendation is for you to do the same.
If you feel frustrated and so far behind your goals, I encourage you to step back and write things down.
It will surprise you to see how much you've grown in the last year.
My last words…
You deserve everything, beautiful 😍
You deserve all the love in the world!
You deserve beautiful things!
You deserve a soft life!
Don't let anyone or anything make you think otherwise!
I'm rooting for you, and I can't wait to read your success story 🥰
Till the next time I write you, stay blessed.
You're a phenomenal writer!
This piece is really impressing!!
I don't know how you did it, but you got me hooked all through...
Keep it up👍
I love you so much, Bookie!
I'm so excited about the woman you're becoming!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing your story with me.
You inspire 🔥🔥🔥