Looking back at 2023, That year held a lot of memories I cherish so much, happy, sad, interesting, adventurous and lots more.
And it is memories like this, that helps shape our lives and give us evidence, and proof of living.
2023 had almost everything one should experience while growing up.
For me it was a full package and notwithstanding I am grateful for all the happenstance, events and memories packed in just one year.
I've had a lot of interesting, exciting, painful, fun and sad memories from 2023, but I think these few top the list for me, for reasons best known to me.
And with this, I will present to you all, my top not exactly the best, memories from 2023;

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The Trip

Though I have a phobia of travelling, but I am always very excited whenever the news of travelling gets to me. I am not someone who goes out a lot so every chance I get to move out of my home, village, town, or even my state always gets me excited and bubbling.
I believe this was my first travel for the year 2023.

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My department had a field course to do and so we were expected to embark on a field trip to visit different locations where the academic activities were to be carried out
Our first stop was at another neighbouring village; Nsit Ubium where we got to learn of the water bodies in that village, their locations, and the microorganisms found there, which I am not gonna go into right now. The next stop which was at Ibeno Beach, the largest water body here in my town recorded our presence too.
The trip was strictly for educational purposes, yet we were all very excited as though we were going there for pleasure and fun.

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We learned and compared different water bodies which we visited, the trip was fun, exciting, educational and of course exhausting too, we took a lot of pictures and did sightseeing too after a moment of break from the purpose of our visit to those places.
Our lecturer was quite lenient with us but strict too, for our safety.
This was my first adventurous trip ever in 2023, and so the memory is quite dear to me.

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The HeartBreak

Whenever I was asked, have you ever gotten your heart broken? The question is and has always been a NO for me. 2023 changed that experience for me, it gave me a love-life experience and took it away from me too.
In my 20 years of existence, I don't think I had ever experienced love for the opposite sex as much as I did the last year, it is not something that comes in handy so it did hurt just a little bit, so I don't know if to classify it as an intense heartbreak, I mean I am doing very fine now😌
But then again, it felt too real, and too good not to have acknowledged it.
I fell in love and no, this time I didn't fall out of love like I usually do, but I got bruised because life happened to the very person I loved.

I wouldn't go into details but I got back from school one very fine evening, excited to talk to the person I loved, only to receive the shocking and heartbreaking news.
I already saw it coming though, I read the signs but I never would have thought it would come in such a manner.
I felt the need for that break, although I didn't want to accept it still, but it was necessary and very unreasonable too.

A part of me was sad and broken, a part of me understood, a part of me wanted it to be a prank and a part of me saw the truth sit right in front of me so I had to accept it as it was and as it came.
I knew he was in a worse position than I was, and this was my only consolation and that I should let life decide our fate.
At the end of the day, I moved past my pain and heartbreak and was whole again in a twinkle of an eye.
Am I still hurting? No way😹
Everything is fine and we've been cool already.
So in the long run, it felt good to love, be loved, get broken and then be whole again.
This is another part of my 2023 that is very close to my heart, at some point, I look back at those memories and just smile

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The Marriage

And then I saved the best part for the last. In late 2022, a colleague and friend of mine proposed a date for her wedding ceremony, she added me to her Asoebi group as her friend. I was happy and excited about the good news. Not because she acknowledged me as a friend to join her because that meant a lot of spending and bills on my part, but simply because she was getting married and I was wholeheartedly happy for her.
But sadly and unfortunately for her, something came up that didn't allow her to push through with the marriage rites or wedding.
I didn't ask what it was, I couldn't ask, and it was not because I wasn't concerned or anything, but simply allowed her to keep her privacy and not try to invade it except unless she wanted to share with me what suddenly happened that the marriage was shifted and postponed till further notice.

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Fast forward to 2023, I and my circle of friends in school kept our ears open to receive some good news concerning her marriage that was earlier postponed, but nothing was forthcoming so we eventually put our minds to rest and allowed things move the way it wanted to move.
A few months before the end of the year 2023, my friend called me and broke the good news to me, I was so happy like I just won the lottery, and I couldn't help but feel very elated about the news received.
In fact that news alone had made my day cause God knows how much I had long awaited the news again.
I silently prayed for her that this time around everything would be fine and the marriage would eventually push through.
And thankfully God who always perfects every good thing He starts in someone's life, was with her throughout the whole process until that marriage was held and was a success.

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We travelled to her village first for the traditional marriage and then travelled back to town to attend the white wedding.
And I can say affirmatively that God will take charge of her home and bless her with a loving and peaceful marriage, Amen.
I and my few other colleagues were so excited and happy for our friend but more than anyone, I was the most excited and I couldn't even hide the joy.
This very event too, is mostly dear to my heart, and I would use this opportunity again to congratulate my friend and wish her the very best in her marriage and new home. The marriage took place on the 20th of December, 2023 and that's how I wrapped up my year and I couldn't have asked for a better memory to cross over the year with.

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^{And those wrap up my exceptional memories from 2023. There are many other fun, exciting and sad memories but because we were asked for just three (3), I believe these are the ones that stand out the most for me}

^{PS: Photos are mine except stated otherwise, taken with my smartphone}

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𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫

^{~ 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐤𝐲! 𝐀 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐳𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐬.
𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 "𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞".
𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐲
𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 ~}

              5 January 2024
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                  Friday