The whole is more than the sum of its parts. – Aristotle
It’s 10: 31 PM on day 190 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck 🙁 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – filled with salad and mutton gravy and watch TV.
Several people – my mother included – have told me that I am wise beyond my years and although that this is true to a certain extent I think that they have forgotten that I am just a nineteen soon-to-be twenty-year-old girl trying to find my place in the world with that said I would like to take this moment to introduce you to all aspects of me – from my favourite music, movies and books to my greatest hopes, fears and future travel destinations – like me or leave me I don’t mind either way 🙂
Nisha: The Human Being
I hope to:
Learn how to do things by myself
Become an author
Buy a house
Travel the world
I am afraid of:
Public speaking
Rejection
The possibility of having to live with my parents for the rest of my life
My disability has made me a better person – that’s what I learned today 🙂
It’s 8: 34 PM on day 189 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – for breakfast, watch the movie Life as We Know It staring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel and Josh Lucas with my sister (in South Africa March 21st is Human Rights’ Day so we are given a public holiday)– it was a heart-warming story of two people who hated each other coming together to raise a child after the death of their mutual best friends I would recommend it to anyone who likes romantic comedies – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – two donations were made today: the first one was a $10 from @bonuschief (Frank) and the second one was a $110 donation from @LegalEagleStar (Tom) of EARLY & BALDWIN SOLICITORS – thanks guys you make me want to get up in the morning and do this all over again 🙂 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – filled with butternut and mutton gravy – I made a conscious effort not to ingest any meat because I was on lent and it paid off in spite of my brother who was doing everything in his power to get me to take a bite LOL 🙂 – and watch TV.
Today I was watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show titled Sister Wives it was about a man, his four wives and sixteen children and I caught myself thinking what, how, why … this is wrong and in that moment I decided that I would not do to others what others did to me because I knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of judgment every time I went out people would stare and make up their minds about me before I had even said a word. Have your limitations been a blessing rather than a curse?
The best things in life aren’t things. – Art Buchwald
It’s 10: 30 PM on day 188 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – for breakfast, join Triberr – the concept of Triberr is really simple everybody in your tribe automatically retweets your blog posts for you and you do the same for them – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, watch TV, feed myself butternut and curry for dinner and tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck 🙁
Two weeks ago on Saturday I woke up to hear that my father and uncle had made a joint offer to buy another house – they already owed one together – and I remember thinking we already have four houses let’s leave some for other people and I said as much to my mother who’s response was God will provide houses for the other people and in that moment I finally understood that the reason I felt like an alien in my own family was because their primary aim in life was to consume and own while mine was to gather and give away. Have you become so obsessed with the accumulation of things that you’ve forgotten what it means to truly live?
People who feel insecure within themselves will try to tear you down – that’s what I learned today 🙁
It’s 10: 58 PM on day 187 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, make sandwiches for the people in our housekeeper’s neighborhood (if you have no idea what I am talking about refer to ‘Day 184’) – it was a relatively drama-free morning with the only snag being that there wasn’t enough foil paper but that too was not a problem without a solution we decided to stack the sandwiches on top of each other – a HUGE thanks must go to mom who helped me every step of the way – I LOVE you mommy 🙂 – feed myself a bread and jam sandwich for breakfast while watching TV – food tastes better when you eat after you give to other people 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch and tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign only stopping to feed myself Spring rolls for dinner – @sharoneden (Sharon) made a donation of $53.85 – thanks again Sharon 🙂
Today as I sat at our dining table buttering the bread for the sandwiches my mom and I were making my dad came up behind me and said why don’t you do two first and in that moment he made me feel so incompetent so I said if you’re not doing anything shut up and although I don’t regret saying it I do regret the way I said it because those words were unbecoming of me. Are your insecurities causing you to be mean?
It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going. – Anthony Burgess
It’s 8: 12 PM on day 186 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself French fries for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, exercise for 5 minutes, tweet about my campaign some more – @whoamitome (Juliana) who by the way has donated once before made another donation of $20 – thanks Juliana 🙂 – and feed myself butternut for dinner
A couple of days ago I was watching a Cricket World Cup match held in India on TV and I suddenly felt a twinge of guilt because I saw how proud the people of India were of being Indian while I was not and to make up for that I would like to take this opportunity to bring you the best of India – from architecture to food, music, movies and celebrities – enjoy 🙂
Welcome to my motherland
Taj Mahal – Wonder of the World
Taj Mahal, a mausoleum that was built on the southern bank of the Yamuna (Jumna) River, outside Agra in India, by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Arjumand Banu Begam (also called Mumtaz Mahal, of which the name Taj Mahal is a corruption). She died in childbirth in the town of Burhanpur in 1631, after having been the emperor’s inseparable companion since their marriage in 1612. The building was commenced around 1632 by plans prepared by a council of architects from India, Persia, Central Asia, and beyond. More than 20,000 workmen were employed daily to complete the mausoleum itself by about 1643 and the immediate adjuncts (mosques, wall and gateway) by about 1649. The entire Taj complex took 22 years to complete, at a cost of 40,000,000 rupees.
The Golden Temple, Amritsar
The Golden Temple was first built by the fifth guru, Guru Arjun Singhji, to house the Granth Sahib – the holy book of the Sikhs. It was rebuilt in 1803 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The temple is also known as Darbar Sahib or Hari Mandir Sahib. The temple is located in Amritsar and is the holiest place of the Sikh faith. It is built in the middle of a holy pool. The dome of the temple is covered by a gold leaf. The interior decoration consists of inlay work done with semi-precious stones in a delicate floral design.
The Akal Takht (or the immortal throne) was established near the temple by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind Singhji. It is the seat of the supreme head of the Sikh religious authority.
India Gate
This 42-meter high structure is located on the other end of Rajpath from the Rashtrapati. Also designed by Lutyens as a war memorial, it has the names of Indian soldiers who died in World War I inscribed on it. An eternal flame, a tribute to the Unknown Soldier, was placed under the arch in 1971.
Chapati/Roti
Thin bread cooked on the griddle.
Biryani
A fancy rice casserole, often containing meat, poultry, seafood or
vegetables
Dosa
Crispy, crepe-like southern Indian specialty filled with potatoes or vegetables
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. – Mother Teresa
It’s 10: 24 PM on day 184 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself bread and jam for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, exercise for 5 minutes, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck – it was the saddest thing every 30 minutes I would click ‘Refresh’ in the hopes that someone had made a donation only no one did 🙁 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – butternut and vegetable curry for dinner and watch TV
Today our housekeeper, Nandipha came to me and asked how much it costs to attend the schools that my brother and sister go to and I replied to go to Selborne Primary – the school that my brother goes to – it costs R6 000 per month and to go to Clarendon High – it costs R10 000 per month and after I answered her question I was curious as to why she wanted to know how much it costs to go to a private school because I knew that she had already finished school so I asked why do you ask and she replied my cousin is moving here from Johannesburg and she wanted to go to the best school that there was and since your brother and sister do go to those schools I thought I’d asked you only now that I know how much it costs I’ll have to tell her to look somewhere else because those schools are too expensive and in that moment I knew that I had to help Nandipha’s community in some way so I decided that I would make some bread and jam sandwiches on Saturday and have Nandipha hand them out to her hungry neighbors. In your quest to change the world have you forgotten that the smallest things can make the biggest difference?
If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we’re apart.. I’ll always be with you. – Winnie the Pooh
It’s 9: 04 PM on day 183 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast while watching the Cricket World Cup match: South Africa vs. Ireland – congratulations to The Proteas – our national cricket team – who are officially in the quarterfinals after their victory over Ireland – bring the cup back for Mr. Mandela boys I am sure he’s rooting for you 🙂 – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – no luck – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and vegetable curry for dinner and continue to tweet about my campaign – still no luck – I’m disappointed but it’s okay I’ll keep trying 🙂
Today I was feeling all kinds of awful my body was sore, my muscles were aching and all I wanted to do was sleep but then I remembered what Will Smith said on Oprah great people do what they do hurt and suddenly I didn’t feel so tired anymore because I could see in my mind’s eye images of children dying of cholera. On a bad day do you give up on yourself or look to harness your inner strength?
Being empty of oneself is to be full of the intelligence of life which can then come to us without hindrance. – Nicole Montineri
It’s 9: 58 PM on day 182 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself bun and jam for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck – listen to Bollywood music, feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and Kadala Curry – made of brown chickpeas – for dinner and watch TV.
Today as I was listening to music feeling content within myself it occurred to me that I made people uncomfortable because I was happy in spite of the fact that I didn’t have any labels attached to me. Are you trying so hard to hold onto ‘yourself’ that you’re inadvertently blocking life’s intelligence?
The heart is a wonderful thing it has the ability to protect itself from getting hurt repeatedly – that’s what I learned today 🙂
It’s 10: 51 PM on day 181 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, go to church – the theme of the sermon was temptation and how we should combat it using the scriptures of the Bible – I could relate to the sermon because every time I feel attacked by someone I say to myself turn thy other check, turn thy other check, turn thy other check – it really works you should try it 🙂 – rest for three hours – there was a power outage and I didn’t have anything else to do LOL 🙂 – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours –no donations were made via Twitter but another cousin of mine did pitch in with $21.54 earlier in the day – I was SO happy 🙂 – feed myself Batura – deep fried bread –andvegetable curry for lunch, watch TV, feed myself a banana for dinner and tweet about my campaign some more – no further luck –
Today after church we went to the mall and as per usual I was told to stay in the car so I did only this time I didn’t feel angry, sad or disappointed because I knew that the way people treated me said nothing about me. Do you tie your self-worth to what others do or do not do?
Guys are overrated – that’s what I learned today 🙂
It’s 11: 11 PM on day 180 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – vegetable curry for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – @Pitbull1970 (Al) made a $6 – thanks Al 🙂 – start reading book Sea of Miracles by Amy Oscar (@AmyOscar on Twitter) – I haven’t read much of it but I could really relate to the parts I did read 🙂 – watch the Cricket World Cup match: South Africa vs. India – it was a close match but congratulations to The Proteas – our national cricket team – who beat India in India – it was the funniest thing my mother, my father and my brother were supporting India while I was supporting South Africa LOL 🙂 – feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – for dinner and watch Aquamarine – a coming-of-age movie about a mermaid – I had watched it about a hundred times before but my sister insisted that we watch it again and I didn’t have the heart to say no – I’m a total pushover when it comes to family 🙂
As you may or may not know I do not date because in my culture dating is prohibited until such a time that you are ready to settle down and have a family and although it used to bother me when I was younger looking back on it now I realize that not being able to date has forced me to love myself from the inside out so I guess that’s one thing my parents did right – thanks mom and dad. Do you seek love from the opposite sex because you don’t love yourself?
