Be Inspired by Miss Stone

As I sit here, on Christmas eve, I can't help but think back at the year that was. I tried refraining from the 'what 2013 has taught me' messages, but I just cannot. I mean, as I sit here thinking about the reason we celebrate Christmas, I cannot help but be thankful. Thankful to the Lord. Thankful for His birth. Thankful for His sacrifices. Thankful for the blessings He has bestowed upon me. Christmas has such an overwhelming effect on me. I find myself holding back tears, of both joy and sorrow. This year, two things happened that I am very proud of: I started my blog :) It seems all my talking and ranting can now finally be put to good use! All my opinions finally have a home. I also made it into the Clinical Psychology Masters programme for next year. A very selective programme, and one that I am honored to be a part of. I know that I am more than ready for this and I will reach the end of this journey having achieved my dream of becoming a Clinical Psychologist. ...

Today, South Africans all woke up with heavy hearts. Today, South Africa and the rest of the world mourn the death of an icon. A true legend. The father of our nation. Today, we mourn the death of uTata Nelson Mandela. Social networks were buzzing with the news since last night, and many beautiful messages have been sent out, but there is one I would like to share with you today. There is one message that I would like us all to carry with us on this day and for the rest of our lives. Gareth Cliff wrote this: ‘The Father of our nation has closed his eyes, so that the rest of the world may open theirs.’ After 27 years in prison, you came out, you forgave and you became our President. The people’s President. We will never forget you Tata. We salute you always!! And we thank you for everything you have done for us. Rest In Peace. Your Soul lives on forever. You have reached your final destination Tata. Your utopia awaits. Take Care Miss Stone

As I drive through my neighbourhood in the morning, on my way to work, there are a lot of images I see that disturb me. But slowly but surely, we are turning our community around. I get mad at people sometimes when they talk about Heidedal and all the bad things that accompany it. It angers me most when they generalize. They see people drinking and fighting and automatically think we are all like that. They think we are all drunkards. They see young school girls walking around with their big bellies and think that is what all young Coloured girls are destined to become: young mothers. Young mothers who have no future. Young mothers, who have no education. They see young boys getting drunk and high, and they think that is what all Coloured boys do. They think this is all they can do. They think our boys have no ambition in life. But with every neighbourbood, there is good and bad. It is sad that they can only see our bad. We have so much good in our community, but people do not...

So, it is done. Today I handed in my resignation. This has been a year filled with many losses for me. But it has also been a year of blessings. When I sit and think about the 11 months that have gone by, I do not know whether I should laugh or cry. One thing I do know though, is that I am thankful, oh so thankful. When 2013 started, I claimed it. I told myself that this was going to be my year. Little did I know just how right I was. I decided that after 4 years of working, I was going to apply for my Masters in Psychology. This was something I had thought about very carefully, considering that Psychology Masters is a full time course. I wondered how I would cope if I were accepted and what I would do to my house if I had no income for a year (from the 2 nd year, internship, I get paid). But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it would all fall into place. I knew it would. And so, when April came around, I sent in my application forms. I believed in myself an...

I have come across a lot of race related incidents lately that do not sit well with me. Yes, we live in a diverse country. We live in a country where many race groups are expected to live together and get along with one another. This is not always easy though, but it is something we strive towards every day. So, as I was on Twitter the other day, I came across a few tweets that were aimed at Coloured people, but there was a certain tweet that really caught my attention. It read something like this: ‘I am not racist, because racism is a crime, and crime is for Coloured people.’ I looked at this tweet for a while and thought about replying to the person, but I knew my response would not be a well thought out one, since I was rather upset. And after a while, I just decided not to say anything. But I kept thinking about it though. And the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me. Yes, there was nothing I could do about someone else’s thinking, or lack thereof. Yes, that was the...

What is a bitch? A bitch is a female dog. That is what it is. However, somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost track and gave this word a different meaning. I asked a few men on Twitter what they meant when they referred to women as bitches and these are some of the answers I received: “Rudeness, arrogance and when she thinks nothing of herself ([I] don’t call women that though)” “I think it’s all about the context it is used in though it can never be in a good way. Bitch as in a whore, someone who sleeps with anyone and bitch as in cocky or bitchy.’’ One of my friends said, “Unless you’re having sex when you call a woman that, it is disrespectful.” Yes, so I laughed a little at the last one but I was still left feeling a little confused as more and more answers came in. You see, I just do not understand this concept. Are we that unimaginative that we cannot come up with new words to say to each other? Because calling someone a bitch is really getting old now. Th...

I drove past an accident scene early this morning. The vehicle was upside down, windscreen and windows smashed. It looked terrible. That was my eye opener. Early this morning, my eyes were opened. I saw that nothing is guaranteed in life. I saw that nothing lasts forever. I saw that nothing is promised. After seeing that vehicle, I drove to my parents’ home, said good morning to them, did my Mom’s hair and sat down and had a chat with my Dad. I cherished that little time I had with them. I was glad that I could share those moments with them and in the process, create more memories. I do not know how many of these moments I will still have with them, but I am grateful that this morning, I had it. This life has been given to us in order for us to live, not merely exist. This life has been given to us in order for us to experience, to see, taste, smell, hear and touch. This life has been given to us in order for us to savour the moments. Be in love with it. Have a love affair with ...