Time really might be just an illusion after all. It feels just like yesterday when the entire world was just celebrating the new year and now it's this is October with just two months left to round off the entire year. 2026 started off pretty slow with a lot of questions about how to navigate through it with the best possible outcome and st the very beginning it just felt like there was always enough time to achieve literally anything but now that the year is already on its last legs, a lot of questions: what did I even achieve this year, how do I utilize what's left , did I learn anything new, is there anything I could have done better etc that weren't there from the start plays like a broken record in your head.
2026 definitely had a lot of memorable months. For football fans, the world came with its own thrill and a lot of unexpected events. At the beginning of the world cup campaign, if anybody had told me that France wouldnot be making it to the finals, I'd probably call that person the biggest hater/ragebaiter on planet earth. Watching them loss at the semi finals to Spain definitely rocked my world into unexpected places. Truly football is an unpredictable sport and anybody that tries to prove other wise will only be causing himself a whole lot of pain, I guess that's why gamblers never have peace of mind🤣🤣. The champions league final between Arsenal and PSG was also something to reminisce about for ages. As a massive Arsenal hater, that had endure the torture of listening to the fan base blab about how good they were after winning the premier League, watching them loss in the grandest stage of them all felt exactly like Christmas come early. The brother sitting right beside me was literally balling his eyes out because he staked his entire savings on this team winning..... Terrible ending for him by way but his all better now ( I think 🤔).
Having spent over 6 months as a Corp member, the most memorable partd of the year were all in Ilaje Ondo state with my fellow comrades and the indigenes of the Igbokoda. I have always been a very receptive person so the opportunity to try new things and meet new people is something I always welcome with open arms which is exactly what the mu entire stay. There were times we went to schools to create awareness, helped the community during general sanitation amongst other things. Even during the quarterly route March hosted by the Navy Operation Base, we were always including in that intensive activity.
There was never really a dull moment this year since I spent most of it in a bubbling environment that gave room for exploring. However the one event I enjoyed the most was when I went to the beach (Araromi beach) for the first time ever through the invite of the local government chairman to celebrate the Easter. From the moment we got to the bus, the whole environment was overwhelming in a good. Ten corp members were selected to go there and we all that we were going there to serve guest because we dressed in our khaki but something entirely different happened. We were given our own shed filled with drinks, all kinds of food and after meeting with the governor of the state, we were told to go have some fun in the salty water. We played beach volleyball, got wet and my very good friend got so drunk that he almost drowned. When I say that day was probably the best thing that ever happened to me this year, I am not exaggerating. Not only did we eat to our fill, there was a take home package enough to last a smart person for two days and to top it off, we given a token to appreciate our presence ( we were paid to have a good time).
With just 86 days left for the year to end, don't want to jinx myself with uncertain expectations. There are a lot of things I look for to but at this very moment, the most important of all is getting through as I prepare for the forthcominv election. I know there's more to life than just living but staying takes precedent. The year was fun even with all the ups and downs (especially with the insecurity issues). However every memory created in this journey was definitely worth the experience... Thanks.
All images besides the first belongs to me
