November 2024: October wasn’t a 10/10 month

Did anyone notice that I didn’t publish my October roundup? The last time I shared one was in September, and I love the fact that a lot of people found it funny. I was so tempted to include the “sad” part of September in the story, but I just decided to keep it funny. I enjoy making people laugh; maybe I should be a comedian.

But October? I couldn’t bring myself to write about it. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t want to overshare. As much as I enjoy connecting through these updates, we should all still know less about each other, right? Yes, exactly.

If I had to sum it up, October was... uneventful. It was a month of introspection—mostly me wondering if I made the right choices in September (more on that later). October wasn’t a 10/10 kind of month; it was barely 4/10 for me.

It's not the kind of uneventful where everything is calm and peaceful, but the kind where you feel like you’re stuck in a loop. You know those days where nothing really happens, but somehow you’re still exhausted at the end of them? That was my October.

Most of the month was spent in my head, asking myself one big question: “Did I make the right decisions in September?” I was replaying conversations, revisiting choices, and second-guessing the decisions I took. It’s funny how decisions that seemed so clear and direct in the moment can start to feel blurry when you’re left alone to think about them.

It felt like I was just... there. Existing. Waiting for something to shift, but not knowing what I wanted that shift to be. It’s a strange kind of limbo, like I was just coasting, not really moving forward or backward

And I’ll admit, I struggled with that. I’m used to defining my time by what I accomplish, by meeting the targets on my to-do list. So, to look back on a whole month and not have much to show for it felt heavy. But I am kind of learning that sometimes it’s okay to just be. Not every month has to be full of milestones or events.

October gave me space, even if I didn’t ask for it. Space to think, to question, to sit with my choices. And while it didn’t make sense at the time, I think I needed that quiet discomfort.

NOVEMBER

November was awesome. I had control of my life back. Oh, that sounded funny because who took my life before? One of the best parts of November was finally going out with my friend, Precious. I’m laughing just thinking about it because we’ve been “planning” this outing for what feels like forever. You know those WhatsApp chats that go like:
“Let’s hang out soon!”
“Yes, we should!”
...and then months pass, and nothing happens? That was us.

And now, in November, I think I want to start making money from writing. How do I do that? Because honestly, I’ve also realized something that’s been on my mind for a while: writers are underpaid. No surprise there, right?

Something funny happened recently that really made me think about all this. A guy reached out to me, asking if I could help him write a proposal. I told him my rates, and his response? He said his budget was FIVE THOUSAND NAIRA... for two proposals. Yes. Five thousand. For two.

And then he had the audacity to tell me, “I know how to use ChatGPT, but I want something unique, which is why I’m coming to you.” 😅

I couldn’t help but laugh. So, I told him, “Well, if you’re paying me #5,000, it’s ChatGPT I’ll be using.” I mean, at that rate, ChatGPT’s getting the job done, not me 😅

It made me see how undervalued writing can be sometimes. People expect quality work without understanding the time, effort, and expertise that go into it. I mean, sure, anyone can use ChatGPT, but when you’re hiring a real person for a reason, you’re paying for experience, creativity, and originality, not just generic words on a page.

So now I’m asking myself, How do I actually turn this into something profitable? Any tips from fellow writers out there on how to make this work? Or if you have any side gigs on writing, please reach out to me at @estherboluwaseyi@gmail.com.

To everyone reading this, everything will be fine. Rough seas will be calm. Don’t be too hard on yourself; give yourself grace. I wish you a beautiful December.