It is December 31st and like everyone else, I’m reflecting on how the year has been. What word can I use to effectively describe the year? Intriguing? Exciting? Well, all of those are fitting.

2023 was one adventure and like everything that has a beginning, it has come to an end. Unlike most years, I didn’t publish on my blog as much as I usually would because of school commitments. But I thoroughly had an amazing year.

On the Roseline Adewuyi blog, I created some truly remarkable pieces that are dear to my heart and are truly inspiring. I will be naming a few. Based on request, I wrote about Why People Get Rejected for Fully Funded Opportunities. For my gender advocacy, I wrote beautiful stories like Not Suited for This, A Leap into Destiny and opinion pieces for World Health Day, Menstrual Health Day, Father’s Day, International Men’s Day,International Day of the Boy Child  and of course, we featured an Amazon: Eshi Anna Obute – an incredible woman making giant strides in the world of advocacy!

I enjoyed providing FIFA Women’s World Cup previews on my blog series, ‘Slay Ballers,’ featured in The Guardian Newspaper.

In addition to these posts I created, I learned a lot of lessons this year.

First, I learned that rejections are sometimes redirection. One of the reasons that I wrote on rejection was because I have experienced it firsthand. This year, I experienced rejection from some opportunities I wanted. Although I didn’t like that, they made me consider and explore other options – some of which I may never have known about if my first choice worked out.

2023 was a year that I learned to trust God more. I saw God’s hand in my life, every step of the way. With all the things I was juggling – learning, growing in addition to adjusting to new cultures and feeling different in foreign lands, I held onto my faith in God to stay grounded and keep being my best self. I also trusted God for many miracles and saw him come through in my life.

God has always been my rock, the foundation of all my endeavors. All through my life, I have sought one thing only: to give him glory. That’s why I always ask him for guidance, clarity and direction. I trust him completely to lead me on the right path and this year, I saw his faithfulness. He made ways for me in places I didn’t expect. He also showed me that he was committed to my progress. Even in times where it felt like I was disappointed, I could hear his voice assuring me that this is just the beginning of good things to come. Indeed, he is worthy to be praised.

This year, I learned practically that being strong and putting yourself out there does not mean that you cannot be vulnerable and share your hard times – even with your audience. I learned to come out of my shell more and just be real. I learned to connect more with the people around me and it helped me make more impact. 2024, I look forward to doing this more.

One of my biggest prayers has always been to bond with more amazing women. If you follow me, you will know that I mentioned that I usually have more male friends. So, I have always wanted women that I can be very good friends with. Women who have drive, are resilient go-getters, believe in gender equality and are also very homely and family oriented. Thankfully, this year, I was able to experience some beautiful female friendships I am excited to nurture.

Yes, I met some lovely women this year at different events and some online. For most of them, we clicked at the first meeting. But for some others, it took two to three contacts to start up conversations and begin the journey of getting to know them. Interestingly, I also reconnected with some women from my past and it felt like such a blessing to meet them. I can’t wait to see how these friendships grow, how we spur each other on and light up our 2024 experiences.

Finally, I learned to celebrate every win, achievement and recognition – whether small or big because they fuel you to do more. I have always been a big fan of acknowledging and celebrating your wins but this year, I saw more reasons to do so. Sharing your wins not only shows you that your work is valid, it gives you the drive to keep going. It also helps people around you to know what is possible. That is why it’s important to share your victories and let your light shine.

As we step into 2024, may all the incredible lessons we have learned this year be our guide. May we keep trusting God. May we keep connecting with the world around us, making more impact and inspiring change, may all our secret prayers be answered as we keep crushing our goals.