It’s been a long time, but we are finally here!
Hi there!
How have you been since May?
I wrote this blog post titled In the In-Between. And I got a lot of responses from people talking about how encouraging a read it was for them. I am super thrilled that I could do something like that. And writing it was in some ways therapeutic for me. So, it’s really great all round.
Now, on to today’s blog post.
I’ve been keeping some wonderful news from you all. And I think it is the perfect time to share it; with June being my birthday month, and also the birth month of this blog.
Can you believe it has been two years already since I started this blog?
Two, full years.
It’s been an amazing year, really. And to think that you have all been here with me. Supporting my work. Cheering it. Some people have even been here from the very start (you’re super special. Thank you so much!)
So, we have covered two things to celebrate now. My birthday. And my blog’s birthday.
On to the third news.
Drumroll.
I AM NOW A DOCTOR!!!!
Yes, you read that right. Around March this year, I wrote the exam that fully qualified me to be a Medical Doctor. And I was so happy. It took YEARS of work.
There were a lot of highs and lows. A lot of frustrations. Medical school really reshaped me.
As they say on the twitter streets – it altered my brain chemistry.
I don’t know how I managed to do all of that, and still be able to write. To share my work. To build a literary career. It’s amazing that I came this far, and truly. I am grateful.
I wanted this blog post to start with me talking about these three milestones. Just announcing them. And then going on to talking more about them. Giving each of them the attention they deserve.
FIRST …. MY BIRTHDAY
My birthday is always on June 1st of each year (ha-ha)
And I really think it is the prettiest birthday date ever. Just the way it sounds. June 1st.
It has a nice ring to it, right?
Alright.
So, for the past few years, I have been doing photo shoots to celebrate my birthday. I dress up, go to a studio, and take pictures.
Why?
Because I want to.
And it’s just great to have pictures from different ages of your life lined up. I just want to have it.
So, here are some of those pictures!
Lovely, right?
I think I have gotten over my awkwardness when it comes to taking pictures. ( I am a total picture girly now ha-ha)
The first time I did a birthday shoot, I think the photographer was mildly annoyed at me ( i was also, annoyed at him).
This time though, it really felt like I was in my element. And I enjoyed it.
Birthdays are meant to be celebrated, whatever happened the year before. It’s just a gift to be alive, really. And every moment we have, we should embrace it. And enjoy it.
If your birthday is still sometime later on this year, be sure to do something to mark it. Even if it is something small.
BLOG-ANNIVERSARY 2.0
I am still a little bit stunned that my blog is two years running already.
That is a feat. And I am proud of the consistency too.
I am proud of all of the moments, the thoughts I have shared. I am glad this blog, and showing up each month taught me that writing doesn’t have to be something that hurts in order for it to be good. It doesn’t have to be laborious. Just sit. Write. Say what you mean.
It looks so simple, right? But it is something that I had to learn over, and over again. And it is something I am still learning in certain ways too. We just have to keep growing.
Another thing I am proud of is the fact that I actually have had an impact on people through this blog. So many people have reached out to tell me that something I wrote in a blog post inspired them. That it gave them comfort. That it entertained them in some way. It really feels like such a gift, and I do not take it for granted. I want to continue to do this, and to do even more.
I started writing this blog because I loved the blogs of a lot of writers and I just thought it would be cool to add my own voice to the mix. I thought it would be absolutely a delight to grow in this way –and I was right!
You guys are special. And you make this blog even more special. Thank you so much for being here!
A DOCTOR… AND A WRITER… AND A GIRL ON FIRE?
Yes.
I honestly used to sing that in my mind whenever I asked myself how I wanted to juggle everything I was doing.
Keeping up with creative writing. Freelancing for clients. Learning doctorly stuff. It is a lot to combine. But I really felt like I could do it. And, I was right.
You know, if you ask me why I wanted to be a doctor- there are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is that, besides writing, I don’t think there is anything else I would really want to do. I mean, I might show up for it but, I can’t be certain I would be in love with it. But who knows, right?
It’s been a dream that has taken me through so many things. And some of those things inspired my creative work. Some of those things made me want to just chill on creative work for a while.
But it has definitely made me more human in many ways. Or, it has made me appreciate the dual fragility and strength of humanity. And if that doesn’t inspire you to grow and rethink some of your preconceived notions, then I really don’t know what will.
Over the last years of medical school, I began to write more about my thoughts about the medical field.
I wrote on Stears Business on medical tourism and Nigeria’s pretty scary doctor-patient ratio.
I wanted to explore the question of what medical ethics looks like in the African context. How do you reconcile Western ideas of healthcare in a place with an entirely different worldview on how to approach health?
The cholera epidemic in last year was a really fun opportunity to explore some of the strengths of Nigeria’s health system. And the article got featured in The Republic’s best of 2022.
And, this year, I published this personal piece about navigating the very tricky world of patient care in a rural setting (while being, very practically, a Lagos kid, Ha-ha)
I also have this piece published in Oh Reader in early March. It’s about how I used literature to see me through some of the deep confusions of adjusting to medical school life. Here’s the link to make a purchase.
I somehow managed to graduate medical school with multiple distinctions. And retain my mental health. It really isn’t very easy. And if you want to be a doctor, I will give you this advice that pretty much every other doctor will tell you – don’t do it unless there is nothing else you would like to do.
There is a lot of wisdom in that.
So, that is my update post. And I am pretty happy that I can share this news. And also happy that I can sign out of this post with my shiny new name.
Take care.
- Dr. Busayo Akinmoju.
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