The Rebirth

The Years Before the Story Began and the Journey Afterwards

Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

Today is the 1st of May 2022. Seven months ago, I began the journey towards reinvention. What does reinvention even mean? I can assure you that it’s not some fine English word used randomly. Well, in my case it meant having to start life again. Not necessarily afresh though, but it sure felt like that. And I must confess, it really feels weird to start afresh.

But then, I feel new. I feel like a Phoenix rebirth straight from the fires of adversity into all round newness. I know I am not starting from scratch. As a matter of fact, I know I am starting from years of experience, skills, lessons, betrayals, mistakes, and an invaluable repertoire of wisdom I couldn't have gotten elsewhere if I hadn't gone through the process I went through to arrive at this point.

I know you’re probably wondering what exactly this guy is rambling on about. What process? Where is all this leading to? To answer the many questions already running through your mind, the story begins at an earlier time, at the University of Ibadan, and it is exactly 7 years ago today.

Losing Myself and Finding My Path

The year is 2015 and I have just graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan. I came out top three in my class missing a first-class grade by a whisker. I spent my entire time at the university as an obsessively passionate campus journalist. Aside from my exceptional writing skill, I was also a very active member of the Law Students Society. I had won laurels both at intra and inter-university competitions and was an established advocate in the faculty. I had a list of junior colleagues who I had mentored to replicate my results.

I also held quite a lot of leadership positions almost at the same time. For example, I was the president of the MFM Campus Fellowship, the Head of Chamber of the T.O Elias Students’ Chamber, the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Press Organization and a host of others too many to mention. I was spread across many paths.

And so the next three years immediately after graduation were spent as a graduate intern, a student at the Nigerian Law School and a Corps member in the service of my country. A lot happened in those three years that I will revisit at a later time. And so, exactly three years after I graduated, I took up a volunteer job with a faith-based youth group in Ibadan. It was here that I would spend the next three years of my life. It was more like a destiny bootcamp.

By April 2021, I was already approaching my late 20s, but I was beginning to feel the stir to turn my attention back to pursuing my career. I knew enough to understand the fact that I needed a job in the short term. I also understood that in the long term, I was long overdue to pursue my postgraduate degree in International Law and Global Development which I had abandoned when I volunteered three years earlier.

Also, another major reason for my seeming dissatisfaction was because my volunteer job had been without salary. It was an engagement I voluntarily picked up. It was something I felt I had to do to grow capacity and prepare myself for my future and the obligations destiny would soon place on me. I must confess, it didn’t look like I was making progress. I was already getting disoriented by my perceived lack of advancement in life, career and particularly, the absence of sufficient finances to cater for myself in the meantime.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As a decent writer myself, I had written countless proposals to organizations and wealthy individuals seeking help. I thought this was the only way I could continue. At this point, I was almost frustrated. This was August 2021. Many contradictory events began to take place that signaled the need for a leave from the volunteer work. And so, I decided to take a leave from volunteering. I scheduled the rest of the year to take time away from life as it had been. I went away to some private location and devoted this time to thinking critically about my life and where exactly I was headed.

A lot took place in those times of private meditation. I left the hustle and bustle of life in the city. I had time to think, pray, and strategize for the new phase of life I could sense that I was stepping into. I also had time to reconnect with my family from whom I had been estranged for over three years. I put concrete plans in place to begin writing my first book, a memoir of some sort. At this point it became clear what I must do. Whether I had the courage to take the audacious steps was the concern.

---

An Adventurous Start

Fast Forward six months. It was March 2022. By now, I had so much clarity and knew exactly what my next steps were. I was going to relocate from Ibadan to Abuja and get a job. This was supposed to have happened after NYSC in 2018, but I had clear instructions to return to Ibadan and volunteer. It’s been three years since and now, it was time to move on. I had my whole life and career in front of me and my eyes were set on Management Consulting. I had always wanted to work in a consulting firm. For the long term, I also began preparations for my Graduate studies overseas at some later point.

The truth was there were so many questions I didn't have answers to at the time. If I didn't know better, I'd have concluded that all of the seeming contradictions I had earlier endured were unnecessary. But then, I had been briefed, even though they weren't convenient, I was taught early in my journey to understand that my circumstances do not define me in any way and that they were preparing me for something greater that was much ahead.

As such, all of my lofty goals and high-end visions were still intact. I had also not lost sight of the lifelong commitment to consistently develop myself. By April that year, one of my mentors notified me about a job opening at a management consulting firm based out of Abuja. And so, I applied and went through the four interview phases of their recruitment process.

The very next day after the final interview with the Managing Partner of the firm, I was notified of the success of my interview. I resumed work the following week. I had to put up with a friend at his apartment since I was still in the process of relocation to Abuja.

My Joy knew no bounds. I was super excited about the new developments, but then, I kept them to myself. I felt it was still premature to disclose them to anyone else. I told my very close friends and my family though. I was going to pour myself completely into the job and devote time to mastering all I needed to thrive in the firm.

The new job and the relocation to a new city are all milestones on the long term journey to reaching my highest potential. I am not stopping just yet. I am super stoked by my progress, but then, I look forward to growing, learning and becoming a more improved version of myself. Mine is a lifelong commitment to excellence. I won't deny the fact that things are still not yet as I would want them to be, but I am enjoying the process. By now, I understand better that all these are necessary requirements if I will step into the bigger shoes that I am supposed to occupy in a not too distant future.

Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

Today is 06-08-2022 and in two days' time (08-08-2022), I will celebrate another birthday. It’s another year of stoic commitments to the purpose for which I exist. Even though I am not where I want to be and I really do have a lot of unanswered questions. But then, It doesn’t bother me any longer. I am a young man with a lot of enthusiasm and I have never for once lost hope despite the many contradictory circumstances.

I have learned instead to draw strength from adversity. I have developed a self-protective capacity to downplay all unpleasant memories and keep alive only those things that fortify my resolve. I have also mastered how to be inner-directed and indifferent to the approval of others.

You see, some stories are best told. It is way easier than having to live through them. Many times, the edited narration and the experience are poles apart. What you don't see beyond the prop of fine writing and creative storytelling is the many tears, trauma, and self-deprecating ordeals.

Life seldom happens entirely on a bed of roses. It's usually an adventure. You rise and fall and rise yet again. You weep and laugh too and weep some more so you can laugh again. You won't have it all figured out, but then, it's 'figureoutable.' Your story is valid and needs to be heard. That was a bit of mine. Let's now return to the beginning of the unfolding story.

---

This Story is Just Beginning

My name is Israel Olaniyan, and here I am at the junction of a transition, the beginning of another phase. With nothing holding me back other than my choice to either proceed or discontinue this 'making' process. The question then would be, what next after this? Well, I have got no answer yet. What I have instead is a resolve to do things differently than I have in the preceding years. 

I have decided to do something I should have done a long time ago when the fires first began to stir in my heart. I have decided to pick up my pen and document my persuasions, convictions and the lessons of my brief existence. I'd like to herald a message for the generation coming after me. 

And my message is simple. I want them to know that their dreams are valid and that opposition, hostility and difficulty along the path to their highest potential do not in any way invalidate their capacity to turn their lives and the world around, nor does it offset the sacred duty they owe to become glowing examples of resilience, guts and grit. And so, it really feels good to start afresh, to start again. Now, the following questions are instructive;

If I had the incredible privilege to become a 15-year-old again, how would I live my life, and what principles would I hold dear?

In another 15 years, what story would my life be telling?

And ultimately, at the end of this age, when the account of my generation is etched into the ledgers of history, what would be said of me?