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Growth Archives - SISIKUNMI https://www.sisikunmi.com/tag/growth/ Live. Learn. Inspire Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:53:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.sisikunmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cropped-cropped-cropped-wp-1604087001228-1-32x32.png Growth Archives - SISIKUNMI https://www.sisikunmi.com/tag/growth/ 32 32 Becoming an Oxonian: The one where I study at Oxford! https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/becoming-an-oxonian-the-one-where-i-study-at-oxford/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=becoming-an-oxonian-the-one-where-i-study-at-oxford https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/becoming-an-oxonian-the-one-where-i-study-at-oxford/#respond Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:59:11 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=3970 For a while, I considered not sharing this milestone publicly – which is strange considering how much I love to share. Mostly because a part of me realises that an admission for an MSc is not an end in itself – you still have to study to get the degree. Also, successfully completing an MSc is not an automatic pass to a great career. But as I muse about the work ahead, I equally acknowledge that it’s okay to share bits of the journey as I go along. Not just for myself, but for the others that may be inspired. For the next 2 years, I’ll be studying for an MSc in Clinical Trials at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford! I’ve always wanted to go for postgraduate studies, and reading about the stories of others gave me confidence to pursue this dream not just at any place but at the Number 1 university in the world! Now, I think about what to write or share with prospective applicants and all I can think of is – just put in the work. My first scholarship attempt was for the 2021/2022 academic session. I applied for over 5 scholarships that year and did not get selected for any. It shook my self confidence in ways I didn’t anticipate. I’ve since learnt to handle failures better, and consider them redirections to something different – as I share in this post. In the years between 2021 and 2024, I prioritised personal survival career wise while ensuring I delivered at my best in each role I held – whether or not it felt like a ‘dream job’. I networked and have formed lovely relationships along the way – mentors turned to friends, co-applicants turned to family. In 2019 when I wrote my first 5 year career plan, I never envisaged studying at Oxford, yet alone on a full ride. Yet, here I am. I could never have written this story this way. There’s so much serendipity in life, and I believe the way to make it work in our favour is to stay prepared – by doing all that is within our power and resources. Some dreams can get delayed, or even tweaked from our original plan. The role we play is being prepared, doing the work, and keeping hope alive that the tapestry of our lives would be woven ever so beautifully in the end. The rest of this blog are thoughts I penned down to document my feelings as the months went by prior to resumption. I hope anyone reading this and aiming for something is not only inspired but also moved to take the needed actions to bring to reality those dreams they have. . . . June 2024 My first scholarship attempt was for the 2021/2022 academic session. Being very detail oriented and a top planner (sometimes 😅), I started prepping over a year prior – got my transcript ready, took necessary exams, reached out to past scholars, watched YouTube videos and read articles on personal statements and other needed write ups.I believed I had my arsenal ready and there was no way I would get rejected. I applied for over 5 scholarships that year and did not get selected for any. Prior to then, I had thought up different blog posts I would share on how to make scholarship applications. To say I was shattered by the rejections would be putting it mildly. I could not summon the strength to try again the following year. This year, I applied to only one program and while I really really desired funding. The application process was pretty straightforward, still, I had a lot of anxiety around it. It may have been residual effects from my last experience (I couldn’t bring myself to apply for post graduate studies after the 2021 season). But thankfully, I had an ‘arsenal’ of people around me. With tough love and soothing words when needed, they guided me towards submitting an application worthy of being shortlisted for an interview. When I was called for the interview, everyone around me thought it was a big deal except me. To me, it still wasn’t an assurance of anything just yet. (I now recognise that it still was a big deal considering that applying doesn’t automatically qualify you for an interview). Then I got a conditional offer and everyone thought it was a big deal (again). But somehow, I still couldn’t muster excitement. I remember being out at the time and I had no emotion – I felt blank. There were some other opportunities I wanted at the time which were not coming through so I think that dampened my mood more than I thought it would. Some months after, I got upgraded to an unconditional offer AND got a fully-funded scholarship. I was sufficiently over the events of Q12024 so this time I was elated. But while I screamed and was super excited for this very generous financial support, my mind immediately went to thinking about how hard an MSc is. Let alone an MSc at Oxford while working a full-time job alongside other commitments. It took a few weeks and my friend HassyTee consistently posting about succumbing to joy when it presents itself because sadness will ask for no invite. I sometimes downplay how much effort I put into work but I’m thankful I have friends and mentors who have a front row seat to my life and remind me that I worked for this! And I’m deserving of this merit award and the overall progress I experience in my career. So this is me basking in this moment of intense joy. I’m an Oxford scholar! On a full ride! An Oxonian fr! Whoop whoop 💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾 PS: I printed out the scholarship offer letter on the day just so I could believe it was real 😅 I may frame it 🤭🙈 . . . October 2024 It’s been a few weeks since resumption. And it’s been overwhelming. But it has also been exciting. And inspiring. It’s a pot of multiple emotions and experiences, and I’m doing my best (with the help of friends) to hold on to the positives and go through this process with grace. Cheers to the next 2 years! 🎉🎉 Xoxo, Sisikunmi

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/becoming-an-oxonian-the-one-where-i-study-at-oxford/feed/ 0 2023: Year in Review https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/2023-year-in-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2023-year-in-review https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/2023-year-in-review/#respond Sun, 31 Dec 2023 21:36:34 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=3962 To properly summarise the year, I'd have to talk about the year in its entirety, beyond my observations. Since I'm pressed for time, I'll compress this into 2 parts - work and life. It feels ironic though, because work is a big part of our life which makes compartmentalising work and life feel weird. But let's allow this categorisation so this post doesn't delve into a different realm.

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/2023-year-in-review/feed/ 0 Maintaining the pose of Thanksgiving https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/maintaining-the-pose-of-thanksgiving/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maintaining-the-pose-of-thanksgiving https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/maintaining-the-pose-of-thanksgiving/#respond Wed, 31 May 2023 21:25:25 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=3952 I wrote this up in the notes app on my phone in early March but just getting around to posting it. A lot has happened since then and all my grand plans for the year haven’t exactly gone to plan but I am grateful to still be able to maintain a pose of Thanksgiving regardless. . . . On the morning that I shared the ‘testimony’ about my YouTube premium subscription, I was on a train going somewhere. After posting, I got on a call with one of my egbons. It was a long overdue call and I thought I could just take it on the train. But we somehow just kept chatting away and I didn’t realize when I passed the stop I was to change at. By the time I realised, it was too late. And because it’s not keke or danfo or a car that can turn around, there was nothing I could do. I saw the train manager and we started discussing options. After all the shalaye, the only available options involved me buying a new ticket. This sucked because I had paid the full fare for my train to my final destination. These were the options: It all didn’t make sense to me. The coach was practically empty so I could have been left alone. Thinking about it now, maybe I shouldn’t have called his attention to the fact that I missed my stop. Because he had checked my ticket earlier so he wouldn’t have checked it again. But that’s the fraudulent behavior we are trying to do away with in Nigeria. Anyway, I eventually paid the hooge sum and made my journey. What struck me was the fact that my very first thought was – thank God I have the card that has money in it on me. And second thought – thank God for provision. I kinda want to say it was the devil’s plan to shift me from Thanksgiving to being upset but I’m also like random things happen in life and we shouldn’t give the devil too much credit. Whichever way, it fenced in Thanksgiving. It’s not like the money didn’t pain me. There’s so much I could have used it for. But there was no point whining about it. My lesson is to pay more attention and if possible set an alarm so if I’m chatting or on a call, I am alert to my stop. The lesson doesn’t change the fact that I had to part with the money. It just helps me better cope and be grateful that I could afford to make the payment.✨ The above was written at 11:04 am. I thought I had been tested enough for the day but appaz more was in front. So, my destination from Derby was Stansted Airport. I was going on a weekend trip. I got to Stansted at about 11:30 am. After making my way through to the check-in point, I realised that I left my passport and BRP in my room😂😂 the only thing I could do was laugh. And then I cried. And then I started searching for possible flights for the next day. I I eventually sat at a restaurant in the airport, brought out my laptop, and just kept working until the time for my train back home. I didn’t even go straight home. I went to a friend’s place first because I just wanted to rest and be happy for a bit before I face the reality of my situation. I eventually made it to Greece sha. And you see the post on that here. This second time, it was so hard to ‘maintain the pose of Thanksgiving’. I kept wondering how I could have been so forgetful and careless about several things in the same day. But I tried to not dwell too much. Soooo, on getting back to the UK, I realized that I didn’t book a train from Gatwick to my city. I had a train booked from Luton but seeing as I had to change flights, that was invalid. So I spent another unplanned sum. I decided to make a tour of London as well while at it. I prefer not to recount how much this ‘budget’ trip eventually cost me. So I am taking this all as a lesson in endurance and all those other motivational stuff. I’m accepting donations to compensate for the money I spent on this trip. T for thanks. Stay joyful,Sisikunmi

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/maintaining-the-pose-of-thanksgiving/feed/ 0 A trial at being consistent. https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/a-trial-at-being-consistent/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-trial-at-being-consistent https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/a-trial-at-being-consistent/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2021 23:48:00 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=2779 Happy New Month!! So this is my second week of ‘writing and publishing blog posts weekly’ on the blog. And it’s not going as easily as I thought. Lol. This past week was really busy for me and the weekend, busier. I had to juggle so much but thankfully I bodied most of my tasks. I am also learning to make my to-do lists daily and prioritise better. On some days, this will mean less sleep and I am trying to come to terms with that. Among the many things I had to do this week was signing up at a gym. It’s something I have wanted to do for a while now but I just kept pushing forward due to several reasons. In the spirit of moving ahead with uncertainties, I decided to just get on with it. It’s been interesting so far. It hasn’t been up to a week yet but I think I will like it. Working out alone at home was okay, but being at the gym with other people and more equipment is a different experience. I hope to keep it up. On another note, I was on a blog sometime last week and I saw that the author has a new book he is reading every week. I proceeded to ask how such a busy professional can get that into his schedule and he graciously answered in this post. Since leaving the university, my reading game has dropped by some level and I am hoping to revive it. Hopefully, I will be able to apply some of those tips. This post is pretty short because I am really running against time. I decided to write regardless to ensure consistency. Have a pleasant August! Sisikunmi.

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/a-trial-at-being-consistent/feed/ 2 On moving ahead with uncertainty https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/on-moving-ahead-with-uncertainty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-moving-ahead-with-uncertainty https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/on-moving-ahead-with-uncertainty/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2021 22:09:44 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=2775 ‘The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.’ – Robert Greene Sometime last week, I saw the above statement in a tweet posted by Ryan Holiday on my Twitter TL. PS: I saw the tweet while laying on the beachside of Miami, not from anywhere within Nigeria. There is still a Twitter ban in the country, even though FG says they didn’t stop Nigerians from accessing Twitter. Back to today’s post. The tweet, for some reason, resonated with me and I took a screenshot of it to view at a later time. I took another look at it just before I started writing this. Personally, I love planning things to the last item, because I am not exactly a fan of surprises. And when I plan, I expect that those things work out the way I have planned for them to unfold. I am increasingly learning that that is not always the case as so many things are out of our control. In the spirit of accepting the uncertainty that comes with living, I am choosing to move ahead even when I don’t know what the future holds. I am also training my mind to understand that the past can’t be changed, and I cannot know for certain what an alternate path or decision would have achieved. All I can ever have are guesses, which may be far from accurate. In some way, that’s the inspiration for writing a post today after a long while. Starting today, I would be sharing posts weekly. I have considered doing this for some time now but have been wary of either not having much to say or being very gloomy with my words. Accepting uncertainty in this regard for me would be trusting that I would have something to share weekly. And that ‘something’ would be uplifting, informational and/or thought-provoking without being pessimistic. I am writing this late on a Sunday night because I really just wanted to get to it and not let this week slide (does the week start on Sunday or Monday?) Lately, it’s like Monday shows up and the next thing another Monday presents itself. One last note tonight. In the past week, I have been getting prompters, from conversations with friends to articles I find online and newsletters, around the question ‘what do you want?’. It seems like a simple question and at some point in my life, I knew the exact answer to this, specifics and all. However, I am realising that it is a question we have to keep asking ourselves at intervals. The intervals could be between jobs, quarterly, annually, or whatever time frame is convenient. I also think an important indicator that we need to ask ourselves that question (and answer it) is when we feel unsettled in our current state. We most likely would know when we need to have a sitdown to answer it. I would spend the rest of the night attempting to answer the question for myself. It would definitely require more than a single night of introspection but it’s a good start anyway. I am excited that I was able to push myself to write this, however imperfect it may be. See you next week, Sisikunmi

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/on-moving-ahead-with-uncertainty/feed/ 2 Career Lessons from the past year https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/career-lessons-from-the-past-year/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=career-lessons-from-the-past-year https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/career-lessons-from-the-past-year/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2021 07:00:59 +0000 https://www.sisikunmi.com/?p=2234 As I have progressed on my journey, I have learned some valuable lessons. I started writing them down from the beginning of the year and I am glad I did because I had forgotten I even learnt some of what I shared here.

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/career-lessons-from-the-past-year/feed/ 2 Musings||Some random thoughts on friendship. https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/friendship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=friendship https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/friendship/#respond Sat, 22 Jun 2019 07:00:04 +0000 https://sisikunmi.wordpress.com/?p=317 Hello people!!! Long time no read right? Forgive me. I have a ton of drafts and my mind is filled with a lot of stuff to share but somehow my body doesn’t cooperate to bring all the awesomeness into physical manifestation. We’re working on making that happen less, one post at a time. For the most part of this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of friendships; what it really entails. And so I decided to share some of my thoughts with you. As with most things we ponder on in life, these thoughts didn’t come out of the blues, they were precipitated by certain events that occurred in my relations with some of my friends towards the end of last year. For the longest time, I didn’t really know how to put my thoughts into words as they were really all over the place and I was beginning to feel somewhat dramatic. Then I changed phones, switching back to an Android OS which meant I was able to gain access to my old notes on ColorNote, there I found a short piece I’d written over 4 years ago. I’ve always felt like the word ‘friend’ depicts a lot more than a mere acquaintance. I sometimes cringe subconsciously to call a random person I just met a friend, because I feel like they haven’t earned that title. I decided to check the dictionary definition and Merriam Webster gave a somewhat satisfactory description. The first definition was in line with what I felt but seeing the second one suggesting acquaintance as a possible synonym for friend got me thinking so I decided to check that up too. It’s usually a lot easier to just say friend than it is to say acquaintance. Plus, it sounds less professional. This little exercise in looking up definitions showed me that beyond the conventional definitions, you need to define things for yourself – especially when those things are important to you. Eg. Success. Back to my musings, I think that beyond enjoying each other’s company, friendships should be a safe space where we can be vulnerable with each other, knowing that to the best of their abilities, each party will show genuine concern (and keep our secrets if need be). I believe that friendships should be earned and not just handed out to every random person that happens to cross our paths or be in the same space as we are. I believe that great friendships require a lot of commitment – mostly emotional – beyond taking cute pictures and going for events together. Recently, I’ve had somewhat deep conversations with the people I consider friends and I’ve felt closer to them than ever before. This has led me to strongly believe that friendships are more emotional than any other thing. It involves a consistent deposition in the emotional banks of those involved – not a one-sided one. Being a friend is a lot of work, truly rewarding work if you are friends with someone with similar energy. And as such I don’t think there should even be a phrase like ‘a bad friend’, because then the individual in question was probably not a friend to start with. As the years go by, so many things about us change, including what we desire in friendships – emotionally and otherwise. This can be a reason for friendships to break up and I don’t think that is such a terrible thing. Although it hurts, ultimately you have to be what’s best for you because really relationships are transactional. You hate to see it but it really is a cycle of giving and taking and when one party begins to do way more than the other in one regard, a disequilibrium occurs and that ‘-ship’ capsizes. I also do not see a point in having longterm friendships where the only achievement you can boast of is the length of years, not the depth of what you have together. On some level, we all understand the depth of what friendship entails, which is why we often categorise our frienships: close friend, best friend or those who we begin to consider family. Some of the people I know do not support this though as they believe that the simple concept of friendship is enough to inspire loyalty in said friends. I don’t think there is a right or wrong in this. I am still in the process of unravelling this concept of friendship. I’m doing my best to be more conscious with it as well as being patient enough with others. I’m also learning to be a friend to myself first, caring for myself and being intentional about my space. I can only be a good friend if I am self-aware and improving on myself. I believe that as with any other aspect of self-development, this is a life long journey and I will definitely keep learning as the years go by. I’d also like to hear your thoughts on friendship. Do share them in the comments section below. Xoxo, Sisikunmi.

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/friendship/feed/ 0 Solid Gold https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/solid-gold/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=solid-gold https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/solid-gold/#respond Sat, 11 May 2019 21:00:16 +0000 https://sisikunmi.wordpress.com/?p=306 I recommend listening to ‘You Say’ by Lauren Daigle as you read this. Have you ever been in a place where you doubted yourself? Doubted your abilities, your work and almost everything else about you? I’ve been here a couple of times over the years. It’s possibly one of the reasons why I stalled sharing my writing for so long. The first time I stumbled on ‘You Say’, it resonated with me on so many levels. It felt like someone singing about my life. And as I listened to it, I realized how far I’ve come over the years. In this fast paced world, with access to so much more information than is healthy for our well-being, it’s so easy to get lost, to compare and feel ‘not enough’. It’s easy to forget that we all have our wins and failures but mostly only the wins make it to the public eye. When things don’t go our way, it’s easy to forget all the times we have won in the past and begin to berate ourselves and question our abilities. We need a constant reminder that we are enough, more than enough. Yes, there is always room for improvement but that doesn’t mean we are anything less than awesome right now. It took me a while to understand this and even after understanding it, it still took some more time before I truly allowed myself live life with this consciousness. Each time the song comes up, I feel nostalgic because I remember how it feels to be in that state, feeling like I don’t measure up. It also makes me smile because I know I’ve come a long way from where I once was. This year especially has been splendid in the area of self-growth for me. I really can’t place a finger on the main reason for this but I’m sure it has a lot to do with me judging myself less and caring less about other people’s judgments of me. I still fall back into a state of feeling inadequate once in a while and I get in a rut. We all fall sometimes but what is important is that we don’t stay down. It also helps that I tend to believe more in myself. Believing that I am enough and I measure up. Believing that I am loved and I belong. Believing that I am strong and I am held. Believing that I am SOLID GOLD. In case you needed one, this is your gentle reminder that you’re more than enough, you measure up, you’re loved, you’re strong. You are SOLID GOLD. Love, Sisikunmi.

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]]> https://www.sisikunmi.com/musings/solid-gold/feed/ 0 Being unapologetic about your growth. https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/being-unapologetic-about-your-growth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=being-unapologetic-about-your-growth https://www.sisikunmi.com/career/being-unapologetic-about-your-growth/#comments Thu, 02 May 2019 06:15:30 +0000 https://sisikunmi.wordpress.com/?p=289 One of the reasons why I decided to finally start this blog is to document and share my experiences going through life, along with lessons learnt from them. I find some sort of release in doing this via writing, hence my preference for Twitter over Instagram on my social media list. The most recent experience I had was deciding to change my work place from a rural area to a more urban centre. This might sound like a no-brainer but it wasn’t exactly that for me. I am one to ponder a lot on things, almost to a detrimental level. I used to worry about this part of me in the past, but lately, I have come to embrace it. I decided to find the strength in what I once considered a weakness, that strength being the ability to analyse any situation I find myself in and find one or two lessons in it. As you’ll know if you have read this post about how I got my internship placement, I got a placement through the Hospital Management Board, Akure which oversees all the hospital facilities under the Ondo State Government. Different States in Nigeria have their different boards with the Lagos State equivalent being Health Service Commission. Under the HMB, houseofficers (and some other interns) are usually posted to any of 4 general hospitals in the state – 2 of which are in not so developed areas of the state (there is now a teaching hospital in Ondo State, so this posting method will probably change soon). (Un)Fortunately for me, I was posted to one of the less developed areas at the start of my housemanship. I initially freaked out at the time and really didn’t want to go but eventually I did. I was also notified that if I wanted, I could request to be posted to a different hospital after 6 months. Upon resuming at the hospital, I met some other houseofficers who were in their last of 4 postings (meaning they decided to stay the full year). I asked about their experiences and they gave their different accounts with the major highlight being the hands-on experience they had gotten, which is usually not the case in some other hospitals. Some told me to stay the full year, while others suggested I get reposted after 6 months. I decided to let my personal experience be the deciding factor. Throughout the first 6 months there, rotating through paediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, I can say that I really did have a good time. This is a statement which is hardly ever heard from the lips of a houseofficer in Nigeria. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a lot of work doing. Contrary to that there was a lot to be done, seeing as we were just 6 houseofficers when I joined (at some point we were just 2 and I had to help out in paediatrics, NICU especially, while being on call for weeks in my O and G posting). I think the fact that the work I got to do felt purposeful made me not realize how much work I had to do. Also the hospital staff was really accommodating and (almost) everyone made the work go smoothly. In spite of how smoothly I had it going, I knew deep down that I couldn’t in good faith finish my housemanship year there. It would have been a disservice to myself. I knew that I wanted more with my housejob experience which I don’t think I would get staying back. At the time, it wasn’t a particularly easy decision to make. Earlier this year, I wrote a post on making choices and how I was getting better at it. Some new houseofficers also resumed around this period and I felt like my leaving might also influence them to leave, thereby leaving an understaffed hospital facility worse for the wear. This was where my overthinking cap came on and I began wondering if I really should do it. At the end of the day, after doing all the analysis in my head, I realized that the only thing holding me back was my guilt for leaving and it made me wonder why exactly I felt guilty. Besides leaving to go to a more developed area, I was leaving primarily to help my career, to expose myself to an environment which I believed will help me get better. Once, I understood that, I felt every feeling of guilt disappear. I was finally at peace with my decision. I shouldn’t feel guilty or apologetic about my growth. I have heard different tales about this new place and how the workload is more and many others and I have decided to embrace all of it and anymore other thing that arises as a result of the decision I made. It might not seem like much of a big deal but I have also realized that our lives are made up mostly of small moments like this which lead ultimately to the big ones ahead. Learning whatever we can whenever we can is paramount to our overall growth. After two long weeks, I finally finished the processing for my reposting and resumed at State Specialist Hospital, Akure last week. I was posted to the department of Surgery and all has been well so far. I’ll definitely do a recap at the end of the posting like I did for Pediatrics and Obstetrics/Gynecology. I’m owning this and will make the best of it. Have you ever had to make a decision similar to this? Do you have any weaknesses like mine? Have you found the strength in it? Do you just want to say a word of encouragement or two? Let’s meet up in the comment section below!

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