2024 in the making.

If you’ve made it this far into the new year, you’re doing well. Some folks already suffered disorientation in the first week. January has been labelled the lengthiest month of the year: special thanks to the endless festivities of December that often destabilize many bank accounts, and perhaps credit to Julius Caesar as well who, in his great wisdom, thought it prudent to stretch the month by an extra day or two. You see, the modern calendar isn’t exactly as it was in the ancient times. Like the other months, January had about 29 days only. Then Julius showed up and got creative; and made the empty pockets feel like a single day was an eternity.

Remember that time last week when you dropped by your favorite coffee shop to have a cup of tea and, because you lost track of the countless payments you made back in December, it didn’t occur to you the slightest bit that your account may have received thorough blows during the Christmas break. So, when the waiter swiped your card after your meal, the machine coughed up a Payment Declined slip! Not a very nice way to start the year. But, hey, we do commiserate with you on your unfortunate circumstances. Be ye encouraged that better days are not far ahead!

January is for new beginnings: setting new goals and orienting towards them. If things didn’t quite work out as planned the previous year, this month presents a clean slate to start afresh. I realized, also, that discovering one’s true north in this first month is crucial in ensuring you’re not carried over to whichever direction the winds shall blow in the subsequent months. However, don’t get too excited. Cos if one of your ambitions is things like picking up from where the Titanic expeditioners left off last year; sorry, you’re in it alone! We’ll cheer you on from the sidelines, though.

Yesterday marked a year since my blog went live. It’s been an interesting journey tasting the waters. I must admit, one of the most challenging elements has been understanding my audience as well as striking a balance between the nature of stories they want to read and what I must write. Moreover, it’s been hard maintaining a consistent flow of articles while simultaneously navigating through the daily cataclysms of life. Overall, I could say 2023 went fair. I think with 2024 comes an even greater challenge of developing robust content, getting a little more creative and embarking on other lofty aspirations too.

Generally, I guess the plan is to inch deeper into the waters. While at it, one of the resolutions I would like to enforce this year is to not complain about anything in any aspect of life. Broadly speaking, if there’s something I learnt last year, it’s the fact that protesting—particularly in this part of the world—hardly yields results. I mean, look at the deplorable level of service delivery. We ranted about everything: from bad roads, to ill-equipped hospitals, insecurity and whatnot, for a whole twelve months, yet that seemed to create more issues than it solved.

Meanwhile, starting Monday, Uganda will be hosting a number of Heads of State at what they call the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit. It’s basically a high-profile convention about—well, I honestly don’t know! Don’t think I want to. Look, we’ve hosted dozens of such meetings in the past decades, yet life at its most basic level hasn’t really changed much. What’s the fuss then!?

The name, though, gives a precise depiction of what’s gonna be on ground, seeing as the convention will be more of an inconvenience than it will be aligned with the locals going about their daily business. For the duration of the summit, all the good roads have been restricted for use by only the guests. The rest of you will have to figure how to crawl your way over the pothole ridden surfaces to your destinations. One thing is for sure: no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, and no mind has known the horror of traffic that’s in store for those six days! So, yah, non-aligned summit indeed!

This reminds me of how in those days as a kid, when you had guests coming home, the biggest announcer of it would be the sudden change in ambience. The aroma emerging from the kitchen also became distinctly different. My major problem with the visitors came during meal time. You know that part when the guest wants an additional serving of chicken but there’s none left in the dish, yet there’s a piece on your plate? You, my friend, had to involuntarily sacrifice that juicy chicken wing! That’s pretty much what’s happening here. For the next many days, the international guests will literally be enjoying all the good amenities at our expense.

Regardless, like I’ve promised myself, no grumbling! At a personal level, having drawn some valuable lessons from 2023, there’s no getting caught flatfooted this year. And with the knowledge that the likes of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali and the iconic Martin Luther King Jr. were born this month; I’m guessing that should make for some raw motivation for anyone—punch your way through the obstacles and keep the 2024 dreams alive til you obtain that crown!

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