Entry 27: Reflections, Gratitude & Hiding in Plain Sight

Today, I woke up excited. We just hit another milestone at Cowrywise and we have some good news for you in the coming week. I can’t wait to share it 🎉

Oh well, as I got ready to step out this morning, I turned on my music to complement the way I was feeling. Thankfully, my neighbour, Tolu, didn’t sing along this time. Tolu was probably fast asleep and I was able to enjoy my music in peace. Phewww.

The park down the road in my estate has always exuded that perfect blend of calmness, awe and excitement for me, which is always refreshing. It gives me the energy to start the new week. The podcast I listened to today got me in reflective mode. It was about gratitude and how it changes your outlook on life.

By simply being grateful for the things you have, you realise the beauty and the value of life, and you create more of that positive energy around you.

So, as this month draws to a close and we approach the middle of the year, I decided to take today out to reflect and show gratitude for all the things in my life.

And on taking stock, I realised there’s actually a lot to be grateful for.

My family – we’ve always been there for each other. I truly appreciate all the sacrifices my parents have made to give us a relatively normal life. I’m even more grateful to be able to take some of the burdens off of them.

My friends, who have brought joy to my life. Y’all know I can be very serious sometimes, especially when it comes to money 😩, so you really help to balance me out. I’m grateful for all the fun things we get to do together and the support we give to, and get from one another, especially emotionally.

I’m particularly grateful for my job and my role at Cowrywise. I work with some of the smartest people around, who are passionate about what they do and committed to it.

When I started here, I didn’t know I would have this platform to reach and impact this number of people through my writing. Becoming the most sought after person in the Nigerian Fintech space has helped me to put perspective in things.

Of course, it comes with its drawbacks such as having to sneak and hide all the time, but that anonymity has become an advantage. I’m now able to focus on what’s truly important – giving quality advice to the Cowrywise family to enable you make better financial decisions.

Fame has its distractions and I don’t think I can handle that. All the outpouring of love I get through the fan mail I constantly receive (which is another thing that deserves my gratitude) is a testament to the impact that my regular emails and blog posts has had on people’s lives.

Case in point…

This evening, I had to quickly go to a nearby supermarket to pick up a few things. As I stood in line waiting to check out at the counter, someone came, tapped me and asked, ‘Do you work at Cowrywise?’

I guess the Cowrywise-branded wristband I was wearing gave me away.

Turns out she is one of our users and she was so excited about being able to invest even at her age. In her own words, she was ‘now more in control of her money’. She also said she was excited to read emails from Ope on Mondays (which had me blushing inside 😌) and that I should tell Ope to keep up the good work 🌚. I wish I could tell her she was talking to Ope 😩

That didn’t happen though.

I decided to bask in the ecstatic feeling of hiding in plain sight. As I came back home, I thought about how it’s really the simple things that can make a difference in our lives. It’s moments like this that reinforce my love for my job.

I think you should also take the time to reflect and take stock of the things you are grateful for, this month, this year and in life, generally. Gratitude always makes me feel lighter. You should try it.

I’m lowkey avoiding the T story of late because it has gotten complicated. We had a mini fight last night, actually. Ugh.

You know what? Just let me know what you’re grateful for in the comments section below. Let me bask in your joys.

I’ll spill the tea soon. Hopefully tomorrow. Or maybe next 😩

I should really stop postponing this and just get it over with, sigh.

Let’s see how tomorrow goes. Talk soon.

Love,
Ope.