Category Archives: Life

About anything and everything that’s close to my heart

“Take Pain Meds” – a poem by Nisha Varghese [dedicated to all those who live with #chronicpain]

Take Pain Meds” – a poem by Nisha Varghese [I wrote this for people to understand what it’s like for people who live with chronic pain]

“Take Pain Meds” – a poem by Nisha Varghese

“Take pain meds,” they say as I lay in bed my body aching and my heart hurting    

“Take laxatives,” they say as I clutch my stomach in discomfort

Keep quiet and take anything so we don’t have to listen to your pain for which we have no permanent cure

“Maybe I should take pain meds but if I start will I ever stop? It’s not like I’m ever not in pain,” she says to herself silently

Do I really want my bloodstream to be a pharmacy?

This body may be my enemy sometimes but it is the only home I will have in this life

Still, they say take pain meds

Is there a pain med for the hurt you feel when you’re treated like a condition instead of a whole human being?

  “Take pain meds,” they will always say because unless they live in a body like mine they will never understand the pain of being dismissed and unheard

Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens

PLEASE LISTEN TO ME EVEN WHEN YOU CANNOT FIX ME!

Life’s Purposes and 2021 Goals

“The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” –Michelangelo

Today is New Year’s Day and with that comes new hopes, new opportunities and new goals. Check out my life’s purpose and 2021 Goals below:

My Life’s Purposes

  1. Fill the world with kindness and love
  2. Make a difference – level the playing field for people who were born with the cards stacked against them
  3. Change perceptions about differently-abled people

2021 Goals

  1. Continue to be kind, honest, generous, grateful, loyal and filled with wonderment
  2. Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves me forever  and no matter what else I’m doing in life I will always be here for her)
  3. Raise R300 000 for the Miss Earth South Africa leadership programme in honour of my 30th year of life – The work they do truly has an impact on people and planet I TRULY LOVE IT
  4. Continue to do more for Breath of Life
  5. Eat healthily
  6. Practice Patience
  7. Sleep better
  8. Spend more time outside on sunny days
  9. Make a steady income
  10. Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL
  11. Continue to raise awareness about the Western Sahara conflict – the Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975 due to the fact that it’s rich in natural and though the UN promised a referendum in 1991 it has yet to come to pass meanwhile half of the Saharawi People have been living in the refugee camps in Algeria since 1975
  12. Choose people who choose me
  13. Read 12+ books
  14. Plant or have 30 trees planted – 1 for every year of my life
  15. Do 30+ good deeds – for every year of my life

(Note: Goals are subject to change with time and that’s ok because I will change with time)

Quite Christmas

“May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; The spirit of Christmas which is peace; The heart of Christmas which is love.” – Ada V. Hendricks

Christmas is finally here we are having a braai (barbeque) at our house by ourselves (like everyone else, I hope) in adherence to our government’s COVID19 prevention recommendations. Merry Christmas everyone – stay home, stay safe

Chasing Coral

93% of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean

Yesterday I watched Chasing Coral-a Netflix documentary that captures the bleaching of the world’s coral reefs and the reasons why – I’m not exaggerating when i say THE DOCUMENTARY HAS CHANGED MY LIFE I shall redouble my efforts  to plant trees thus  keeping oceans and cool saving corals.

Watch Chasing Coral below:

Youth Day 2020 and Me

“We know better and thus MUST DO BETTER, BE BETTER, DEMAND BETTER, BRING SOLUTIONS AND BE FEARLESS IN THE PURSUIT OF EQUALITY & JUSTICE!!! We have both an individual and collective responsibility to fight against inequality and injustice and to break down systemic inequality, femicide, GBV, racism and the many other ills we face in 2020, we need to build a new, conscious of where we have come from, understanding the pain and struggle of the past but the reality of where we are focussed on fighting for a future for all!!!!” –  Catherine Constantinides

Today is Youth Day here in South Africa – a day that honours the youth of 1976 who fought against the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools – and I reflect on the kind of South African I need to be to create the South Africa of our dream. Thanks to the youth of 1976 for their sacrifice – I will honour all of you by living in service of South Africa and the world.

#BlackOutTuesday

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Recently I watched a part of the video of George Floyd’s murder and honestly I still don’t have words but I’ll try to express myself as best as I can.

When somebody says or does something racist and you say nothing YOU ARE COMPLICIT. I know some will say “All lives matter” and that is true but all people aren’t getting murdered as much as some people AND THAT IS MY POINT #BlackOutTuesday

Teaching Girls True Beauty #BeautifulMe

Beauty is confidence – that’s my message to the world

Recently I asked the women of Twitter to show me their faces without make-up in an effort to teach little girls what true beauty is and I was blown away by the response. Take a look


https://twitter.com/ACavalluzzi/status/1262780130197409798