2010

At the start of 2009, there was a lot I told myself I’d do. I am still trying to make sense out of what I decided I’d do. I woke up this morning and decided I needed to read the note I wrote on the first day of January and it simply did not look like I had written it. Fine, a lot of things in there made a lot of sense, great dreams for the year. 2009 was an amazing year for my friends and i. I had my times when it was terrible moments, but looking back, I realise everything happened for a reason. There are those that think each year comes and goes and the absurd nature of life keeps its toll on us. I hate to say it that though I love Samuel Beckett’s view of life, there are times when we simply have to make meaning in what we have around us, because nothing happens without any reason.

At the start of the year, I resolved to do the following:
1. Live my life, one day at a time
2. Be a better teacher.
3. Letting go of 2008 and its passions and ties upon my life.
Reading this note again made me realise that there are things that I definitely took for granted. I at some point failed the very test I made for myself, yes, there are people that never believe that I fail my own tests. That is the saddest part of my life many a time. But, I have also leant that I have to move on with life, have the lessons that I have been taught and move on to the next level.

Considering 2009, I made friends. I resolved to love my friends the way God loves me and I am glad I have seen a great development in that direction. I saw things pass and helped people achieve full potential. I literally came from a friend desert to a friend oasis and I am glad I have this number of friends both on Facebook and in my world. I met a teacher of mine here and we’ve gone on to be good friends, something I am glad about and she knows it. She has helped me in every possible way to see me better in academia and life as a teacher, thanks to an email. I have met special people, my girlfriend who amazingly knew me at BA and I did not. She has made this year’s end worth the experience and I am proud of her each passing day. She is simply amazing. I have met people here I had not seen in years. I met someone I last saw in P 7 and it was great linking up with him close to the end of the year. I have loved my friends with a passion only God could ever give.

Regarding my academics, I submitted my MA dissertation. Now, that is a strange thing to ever think about, but having an MA dissertation in at the end of two years at Makerere is a nightmare. I saw me get on the right side with my supervisor and still remember the words as she signed that dissertation ‘Well done Isaac. Now we focus on the PhD.’ That is something I do not take lightly. I have seen me move onto my doctoral project with ease and life because of good people willing to see me in the new world of what academia means. My teachers believe in me and I am proud of them for that belief in me, because without it, I do not think I’d have come this far.

I have had an amazing family. My sisters and brothers are ever special in my line of life. I have been able to see them be there for me and that to me is a blessing. Sarah and Noah have been great friends. Noah surprised me when he openly called me his role model here on FB and for me, that was a moment that made me shed a tear. My brother and I have come a long way and each day that passes by, I get more proud of him. I have mended certain relationships between me and some family members and that has made me a freer person with them. I look forward to the New Year because I am sure those remaining relationships will come back to life, so help me God.

I would go on ranting and telling and kullepukaring, life in 2009 has dimply been good and I am glad about the year. But, 2010 is almost here. I look forward to it. My resolutions seem to change and I am glad that each year has seen me closer to my students, a better teacher and student, a better friend. For 2010:

a) I look forward to being a good friend, a better brother, a better teacher still in terms of how I teach and touch my students for the future. Some have sent me emails saying they were glad to have me as their teacher. One sent me an email saying despite having been hard with them, they were glad I taught them the need for hard work and really missed me. I never take that for granted. I want to be friends with the people around me and see the change I believe in be the change they become. I want to see happier faces around me. I want to see people forge towards the future with a zeal and determination. I want to touch them for the best of who they are. I want to be a friend to all that come into my life, and now more than ever, I am determined to be that. More so, I am determined to open up my life to more people and stop the idea that I am an ‘inaccessible person’

b) I look forward to some great moments of my life. I look forward to making 28 years, which is for sure. I look forward to the day of both my introduction and wedding, marrying the woman of my dreams will be an answer to a prayer I made at 14 after my mother’s death in 1997. I look forward to starting that part of my life, without any fear but with the zeal and faith only God can grant. Nothing gives ne great satisfaction as becoming a better person and as each day unfolds, I am sure God has great plans in store for me. There is a time when a man realises that lots of things have to come in place with him and before he knows it, so much times seems to be wasted if he is not focused. I focus on getting my relationships better, on seeing the times I have not seen this year come to fulfilment. Each moment of my life in the New Year shall be cherished because it is a lesson and a pathway into a newer and better life. I hold on to great dreams for the New Year and nothing is going to stop me in this regard.

c) The most important thing I look forward to in the new year and resolve with all gusto to do is have a great relationship with God. I understand that we sometimes fail. We sometimes do not keep to the mark and track that God has put up for us. That is one thing we must understand. I know I make mistakes but I also know God grant me the grace to be a better person in my relationship with Him. I intend to seek God more, to improve my prayer life, to read the Bible and get to internalise and understand it, to see God make me a person that He has always yearned I should be. I intend to let people become a priority in my relationship with God because that is why He created me. Loving God means loving people and as I have always argued, it is our greatest act of worship. God shall take precedent in all I do and the basic question I will ask myself in any situation will be: What would Jesus do? I am sure that acts as a check mate for my actions and decisions. When God acts on our behalf, we are sure of having all things moving the way He wants them to move. Nothing beats the love and greatness that He alone deserves and has. God shall be my all in all and as He raises me to another level, I expect to move from glory to glory as I love Him more and more.

For each of us, decisions mean a lot. God comes first in my life, my friends, family and people come next. My job comes next and I have known what these priorities mean in their order. I am proud of the person I have turned out to be, the values that have been built in me, the people that have touched my life through the years, and most of all, the past that has shaped me into whom I am.

What have you decided to do?

A great New Year to you from the warmest of my heart!