Reflections on the year 2020 and vision for 2021
2020 was a year of turbulence and blessings. The year of Covid’19. The year of high rates of unemployment, deaths, sicknesses, divorce, mental health issues, gender based violence, interrupted schooling, etc. 2020 has taught me to continue to be grateful and appreciate who I am and where I come from. This year has cemented my wish of wanting to go back to my roots and live my life the way life was lived in the past (the life of planting your own food/vegetables, eating a lot of plants and drinking medicinal remedies, walking a lot and being self-sufficient and self-sustainable). I entered this year with vigour and carrying with me a list of affirmation items appearing on my vision board.
These are some of my affirmations:
- I make myself proud of me
- I no longer let myself down
- I honour myself first or all else is lost
- I keep fit
- I am admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa
- I travel more
- I give back to children (they are close to my heart)
- I read books
- I have written a children’s book and published it internationally
- I eat less meat, sleep less and walk more. My body needs more plants
- I am happy all the time
- I do what I love
- I make a difference in the lives of people
- I listen to my children more
- I let my green fingers do the talking
There is power in reciting your affirmations on a daily basis. My mind was automatically conditioned to achieve what I set for myself. The power of knowing that you have control of any success in your life is amazing and I am truly grateful for constant personal development that got me to have a complete change of mindset. A mindset that is fertile and ready for change. I started my preparation for 2020 during December of 2019 when I gathered all my journals in which I have been scribbling my poems and short stories. I was reading one after the other and was getting excited about the fact that I already had my first book. I then took my laptop and consolidated what I had and… Voila!!!!…There was my first book. I had so much content that I wanted to write everything at once. But then I remembered that I don’t like thick books and because I am writing for children, they will not read thick books and I had to reduce the content.
The thrill of the process of writing and the editing of my book really cemented my joy. When the book was finally published, it was a dream come true. There is one particular moment that takes the cup in the whole process. When I got my sample books in the mail, I immediately took one of them to my mother. As she was reading it, she stumbled upon a poem that I dedicated to her and she told me she had no idea I felt that way and she cried and cried and I cried and cried and we consoled each other. In a nutshell, it really had to take the writing of this book to realise the extent of my mother’s sacrifices and the love she had for her children. The writing of this book had brought me to realise that you can be vulnerable and not have to always protect your emotions. So I am no longer hiding behind the curtain of having to be strong all the time.
I have seen myself entering uncharted territories especially doing live or recorded Facebook/Radio/TV/Skype interviews. Something I dreaded to do. Let me share a little secret. I felt like running away every time I had to do an interview. So I had to devise a confidence boosting strategy. For me, looking beautiful has always given me the confidence I needed. So even when I was doing a radio interview, I would make sure I looked good. You know what they say…. ”When you look good, you feel good.”
I saw myself doing a number of photoshoots. Guess what? The first time I had my make-up done professionally, I literally fell off the chair when I was done because I could not believe it was me. I was taking my own breath away with my beauty. I kept saying Oh My Gosh!!!. I have never looked back since and now I know I am beautiful.
I would get so nervous and literally get worried a few days before my interviews but as soon as the moment arrived, I would light up and beam and realized that I become alive when I talk about my book. I realized that for the longest part of my life, I have ignored my creative being and it is time that I let that child out.
I am allowing that child to scream, cry, play, shout at the top of her voice, dance and experience all the emotions she has denied herself to experience. I would say, let your inner child out, let her/him experience what she/he has missed. Let your veil fall. Let the walls in front of and surrounding you crack and fall. Just declare that there are no more limitations.
My book, “The Brave Little African Girl”, is sold in multiple countries such as China, Japan, United Kingdom, USA, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and more. This cemented my belief in the 4th industrial revolution that as a society we have to adapt to the new normal. I was interviewed by top TV and Radio stations in South Africa and the UK. The book also received a number of outstanding reviews from the likes of The Pacific Book Reviews and the US Review of Books. It also appeared in The Guardian Weekly, The Publisher’s Weekly, etc.
It is December 2020 and as always, my New Year has already started. 2021 holds in store for me the path I was meant to walk on, the path of ensuring that I contribute positively to the lives of young people, the path of farming vegetables and medicinal plants and advocating for the plight of women and children. Writing will continue to give me the voice that was so buried, the voice that I forgot I had, the voice that will fulfil my purpose. In this year (2021) the audiobook of The Brave Little African Girl will be available for sale and I will publish my second book, “Listening to the Whispering Voice Within”. I pledge to remain a child at heart as that looks good on me…
I am excited, super pumped and looking forward to more uncharted territories.