CERTIFIED, innit?

Dearest Reader,

Hi, hello, long time, hope you are good sha? If not, sorry please. I'm sure you're surviving through some days and winning on others.

In the spirit of showing up and sharing gist about my learning and what nots, this is me completing an article I started in April. 

Hold it! Before you give me one ridiculous bombastic side eye, I was going through a lot. And let me mention that this newly found vim was inspired by Olanrewaju Oyinbooke ’s Twitter space on “Storytelling Your Learning Effort - Making it Count”. 

Anyway, the gist is that I AM NOW A CERTIFIED DATA ANALYST!!!

Omooo, when I typed that line I was so excited, not as much anymore but it is something I am really proud of. Okay, some time last year, I told y’all I already transitioned into tech and gave you all the deets. Well, a few months ago, I got my very first Data Analytics Certificate from Digitaley Drive !

It took me longer than needed to get the certificate because when I finished learning, projects were kicking me in the gut. Then I took a break, then I continued again and took a break and continued and the cycle continued until I finished my certification project. 

Let me tell you something, I am a doer, not a finisher of things. This is not a trait I am very much proud of but hey, everyone has their problems and I wrote about my struggles with it in an article some time ago- which is why finally getting this certificate is a big deal for me.

As at when I am writing this to you, I can say I started my journey as a data analyst 15 months ago - again this is a big deal because your girl here gets bored so easily. I don’t know if it is because of adulting instincts to settle with something or the fact that I really genuinely enjoy all that data analytics entails(I am pretty sure it is because I enjoy it sha). Anyway, I am still making noise about data and sharing the gospel of it to all and sundry who care to listen and get converted.

In my 15 months of being a data analyst, I have learned, built some projects, talked about, did one or few freelance gigs and taught it, and you people I love teachinggg!!! It is deeply satisfying and answering questions from my students, oh the bliss! And  even when I don’t know the answers, the rate at which I learn and understand is faster and deeper than if I was self-learning on my own. But the gist sha is that I enjoy teaching or talking about Data Analytics the most.

Now, to talk about the “lot” I was going through that made me absent for so long. FARM! Yes, this diva was going to the farm and doing things like handling cutlasses and hoes and digging and slashing grasses- the whole archaic farm thing, yes I was very much involved in it. I am mentioning this now and here for context on future references. I am sha an Agric Student in uni, in my final year now(500 level) - side bar, this final year thing is very sweet to say because I was in my previous class for more than 18 months, and this previous class was my farm year(internship year for Agric students). Just imagine how long, drawn out and passionless that would have been for me or you sef if I did not have something else I was passionate about.

Okay, to the point of this my gist and the hidden gem I always leave in somewhere in my articles. I was burnt out during the farm year, I stopped learning data analytics actively, I stopped making my hair, I stopped dressing nice, I stopped my business. I was overwhelmed. Buuuttttttt, I put some systems in place to not lose myself completely(hehehe, this “systems” thing, I just learned it from one book like that that I am reading - James Clear ’s Atomic Habits).

Anyway, I stopped learning actively does not mean I stopped learning all together, na so so DA full my Twitter timeline and honestly that kept me focused, I learned passively, worked on only one project- that one was volunteer work sef, did plenty other things and etc, but this is me, here again, writing to you like I never left because when you deepen it, I did not actually leave.

Basically, amidst all these words and grammar, my point is that even when you don’t feel like it, show up! It might take longer, but still show up, it will be deeply annoying sometimes, but still show up. Olanrewaju Oyinbooke said something in his Twitter space about the people building the tower of Babel in the Bible, that asides the fact that they all spoke the same language, they had an agenda to agend and they kept on showing up to agend, and that was also why God had to scatter them. So my dears, showing up can be in small or huge ways, but sha be showing up, my friend Memunat Alli also says this. Till next time, keep doing small, medium and huge things to agend your agenda.

Love,

The Sweetest(literally),

OyinWoyin.

#perserverance #showup #atomichabits #dataanalytics #certificate