THINKING ABOUT LIFE

Beep! Beep! Beeeeep! Those were the sounds of the hospital machines waking me up from a deep sleep. “What is happening? Nurse! Nurse! Nurse!” I shouted as I tried to wake up my friend. “Liz, wake up! Liz! Nurse! Liz, talk to me! Please, Liz, please! Don’t do this Liz, just wake up!” I kept on shouting still trying to wake her up, with tears rolling down my cheeks. Immediately after the nurses heard me calling, they rushed over to the ward. “Please wait outside, Ma’am”, they said. I unsteadily waited outside, pacing up and down and crying softly. I remember praying softly and begging God to wake her up. A few minutes later, the nurse who’d told me to wait outside came out to me. “We tried everything we could, but unfortunately she didn’t make it. I’m so sorry for your loss”, she said while going back to where Lizzie was. Immediately after she told me the news, I started crying loudly, fell to my knees. I couldn’t handle the news very well. For some time I was so weak that I sat on t...

“You look too young to be travelling alone, where are you heading to my girl?”, asked the man I was sitting next to in the taxi on my long journey to Joburg. “Well, do you have to look old for you to travel alone?”, I replied with a fake smile. He was perhaps in his 40s, and I was definitely not interested in any further engagements with him. Deep down in my heart I kept asking myself the very same question the man had posed. I never wanted to tell anyone where my journey was leading to, but Soweto was my final destination. I had communicated with some girls I knew that I would be coming over to stay with them. They did not mind. In fact, they were very encouraging. It had been three years since I finished my matric and my life has been nothing but miserable. My senior certificate was as good as nothing. I tried applying to study universities and a college but I was rejected. In fact, I was rejected four times in different universities. I also tried looking for a job but even that ...

There are some things that many people fail to accept even in the 21 st century. Some people still cannot accept homosexual people. It is worse with parents because they end up disowning their own kids, their own flesh and blood. Such an act ends up hurting them (parents) in the process, though they do not realise at that particular moment. Most people still believe that homosexual people are either faking about who they are or are simply demon-possessed. Some people even hurl insults and show sings of disgust whenever they come across a homosexual person. During my youth days I had a gay friend, Sandziso. Well, I did not know about his sexuality at first, but I am happy now that I know. I met him at my 8 th grade. I was a newcomer and did not know anyone in the school. For the most times I was completely lonely at the school, with no one to talk to and share my lunch with for an entire week. After a week of loneliness, I saw a handsome and charming guy sitting in class, busy with hi...

Why do we dream when sometimes our dreams do not come true? Is it because they are not worth it? Or maybe they are way too big to become a reality? I wonder what life is like because I have seen many people dreaming about a lot of things, but even today their dreams are being delayed or completely shuttered, while other people’s dreams come true just at the right time. Anyway, my daughter recently told me a story about a girl she always idolises, who always had a special dream. There was a little girl who stayed in an orphanage, named Emma. Her dream was to become the best and famous singer in the whole world. She started singing when she was very young such that those around her would make fun of her and mockingly call her “Beyoncé”. As the years progressed, so did her passion for music and stardom.   Emma would spend most of her time singing. She would sing while doing home chores, walking to school and when she was bathing. Before her evening prayers, she would start by singing....

Happiness is sometimes determined by a person’s thinking style – and attitude. If one’s thinking as an individual is not matured enough to lead them into taking responsibility for their actions, particularly when they are wrong, then their whole life would be filled with hatred, grudges, regrets and bad temper. Consequently, they would never taste the fruits of happiness. Life is too short to be always bitter and sour. Many families have been destroyed because of some family members’ failure to admit to their wrongs. On the other hand, some friendships have ended because one betrayed the other and never apologised. Let me not even start with romantic relationships. It is true that sometimes we do and say crazy things to people, whether intentionally or unintentionally. As we are different people, with different attitudes and thinking styles, we handle certain situations differently. Even our reactions on certain things differ. It is always important to consider the feeling of the o...

Not all words are meant to heal but some may destroy. It is good to always consider the way you speak and what you speak to people before you destroy another person’s life. Sometimes it is good to consider other people’s feelings and how they are going to adapt to certain words. Some people are driven to depression and anxiety and end up feeling useless because of certain words directed at them by other people. In extreme cases, some end up being murderers. Lucy and Paul met three years back on a school trip. She was doing her 10 th grade, while Paul was a manager in one of the biggest museums in the country. It was love at first sight. Paul did not hesitate to ask for Lucy’s contact numbers when he saw her. Even though she was in the middle of a crowd, Paul found a way to talk to her. Later that day, Paul started to communicate with Lucy through social media platforms. They communicated almost frequently, though sometimes they would spend two days without any chat. Being a mana...

Growing up in poor rural area, where bullying was rife, was one of the most difficult things that were experienced by Sizwe in his life. Even though Sizwe and his siblings were raised by both parents, life at home was so miserable. Both of his parents were unemployed, so sometimes they would all sleep on empty stomachs. Most of their clothes were torn because their parents could not afford to buy them new ones. Sizwe was the eldest. Looking after his younger siblings was his responsibility. During break-time at school, Sizwe had to make sure that his younger siblings had eaten enough from the school kitchen or carried some food to last them until they came back the following  day to eat at school. Food at home was not something they had in abundance. Sizwe was generally known as a quiet person. He spent most of his spare time studying alone. Sometimes he would be at the back of their house at home and classes, sitting alone. Even though he was one of the brilliant stude...