Tag Archives: People

Day 112

You can die years before your heart stops beating – that’s what I figured out today 🙁

It’s 8: 40 PM on day 112 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, research college writing courses – I am thinking about enrolling for a ‘Write A Novel’ course with the SA Writers’ College – an online college that offers a variety of writing courses – feed myself Custard for brunch, , wheel myself from the centre of the sitting room to its door – I originally indented to wheel myself to my bedroom but after 15 minutes of attempting to get myself unstuck from the doorway I finally gave up and asked my mother to wheel me to my bedroom 🙁 – go and visit my cousins – this place is never going to me the same – all of them are going to college – feed myself a KFC Twister – a wrap consisting of chicken strips, salad and sweet-chili sauce – and exercise for 10 minutes

This morning as I watched my grandma cry over the fact that my father had accused her of bed-wetting I realized that the woman sitting in front of me was just a mere shell of the woman that my grandma used to be and that just made me want to drop to my knees and cry 🙁 Have you ever witnessed the systematic destruction of another human being? 🙁

Day 111

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Envy – the resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody else’s success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions.

It’s 7: 15 PM on day 111 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a homemade Wrap consisting of beef strips, vegetables and sweet-chili sauce for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for most of the day – I must have sent out at least 50 donations requests and FINALLY someone agreed to make a donation – I am nothing if not persistent LOL 🙂 – feed myself Malva Pudding for lunch, exercise for 15 minutes, wheel myself from my bedroom to the end of the corridor – I was just 2 meters away from the dining when my mother had insisted on pushing me the rest of the way because my dinner was getting cold – I was SO mad – and feed myself Fish fingers for dinner.

I am the eldest of three children and although my sister has always been the golden child I have never been envious of her because I knew that she had worked hard for everything that she got but today as I watched her walk from our bedroom to the dining room in less than 30 seconds I felt an unmistakable surge of envy coarse through me because I knew that she hadn’t worked for her ability to walk. Have you ever been envious of somebody that you loved? 🙁

Day 110

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“When you learn, teach, when you get, give.”
— Maya Angelou

It’s 7: 59 PM on day 110 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself barbeque left-overs from last night for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours –my friends did most of the heavy lifting today I just helped out – I LOVE Twitter 🙂 – feed myself Malva Pudding for lunch – yum! 🙂 – watch TV, go to the bathroom by myself – I made a HUGE mess maybe my mom’s right and I should let her do everything but what’s going to happen when she’s no longer around 🙁 – and exercise for 15 minutes

A few years ago I was watching Oprah – it’s funny how every important in my life is tied to that show – and she happened to mention the fact that she had kept a gratitude journal for years and I figured it worked for her so from that day onwards I too have kept a gratitude journal and in the spirit of paying it forward I’m asking everybody I know to follow in my footsteps. Will you keep a gratitude journal? 🙂

Day 109

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Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.

– Author Unknown

It’s 10: 42 PM on day 109 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and Kadala Curry – made of brown chickpeas – for breakfast, brush my teeth – my mom constantly complains that I don’t do anything and when I try to brush my teeth over the sink – I usually brush my teeth perched on the toilet spitting the toothpaste and water into a small bucket – she says I’m making a mess – I just can’t win with her 🙁 – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – I was hoping that people would donate to my cause in the spirit of starting the year off on a good note – no such luck 🙁 – feed myself carrots for lunch, exercise for 15 minutes – the 15 minutes went by in the blink of an in large part due to the fact that I was watching my favourite show The Ghost Whisperer – imagine what life would be like if we could talk to those who were no longer with us – and play host to the 20+ people who were at our New Year’s Eve barbeque – it was so much fun we played board games and ate – A LOT LOL 🙂

In the spirit of New Year’s Eve I spent a few hours after breakfast reflecting on the year that was 2010 and as I saw my life with different eyes I finally realized that the only thing standing between me and my goals for 2011 (see below) is the intense hate that I feel towards my father for the way I grew up and so as we approach a new year I give my father a gift that we both can share – the gift of forgiveness. Have you let go of all the hate that you’ve felt in 2010? 🙂

My goals for 2011

To raise $4 500 for The Water Project Inc through my Clean Water for All Campaign

To be physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually independent of my parents

To write a book and have it published

Happy New Year everyone! 🙂

Day 108

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Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

It’s 9: 45 PM on day 108 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Spring rolls for breakfast, cry about my life for a while – crying didn’t make my problems disappear but it did make me feel better 🙂 – tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – still no luck :(– feed myself steak and mash potatoes for lunch, go to the bathroom by myself – the back of my t-shirt fall into the toilet water and my mom had to help me change – again LOL – and exercise for 30 minutes – my back hurts 🙁

Yesterday I sent my cousin a message wishing her all the best on her impending nuptials – she’s getting married today – and after reading her reply I spontaneously burst into tears at first I thought I was crying because I wouldn’t be attending the wedding but then I caught myself thinking daddy didn’t take me to the wedding so maybe I’m not good enough and after a moment of reflection I thought to myself of course you’re good enough God made you and with that my tears dried up and I didn’t feel so alone anymore. Have you ever consciously contradicted your negative thoughts? 🙂

Day 107

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People will do just about anything for you if they feel an oneness with you – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 8: 10 PM on day 107 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Plain yoghurt for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – 66 days and counting till the close of my campaign – God help me! – feed myself mash potatoes for lunch, go watch Due Date at the Hemingways Mall – it was a funny and heartwarming tale of a man racing against time to make it to his wife’s side for the birth of their first child – I REALLY recommend it to anyone in desperate need of a laugh – go to the bathroom by myself – it ended up being more trouble than it was worth – the back of my t-shirt fall into the toilet water and my mom had to help me change LOL 🙂 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and mash potatoes for dinner and exercise for 15 minutes – I was SO tired that I didn’t even want to do it 🙁

Today as we –me and my sister’s best friend’s father – entered the movie theatre we couldn’t help but notice that the two seats next to me were taken which meant that my sister and her best friend couldn’t sit next to me but as luck would have it one of the woman had been wheelchair bound for a year due to a stroke so the two of them offered to vacate their seats for us and as they got up to leave I realized that the secret to getting people to do what you want lies in making the other person see themselves in you. Have you ever done something nice for somebody else because you saw yourself in him/her? 🙂

Day 106

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“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde

It’s 6: 54 PM on day 106 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – and chicken curry for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – still no luck 🙁 – wheel myself from the dining room to the sitting room – it barely took me two minutes this time – I am SO proud of myself 🙂 – feed myself plain yoghurt for lunch – weird I know LOL 🙂 – watched the 2^ndCricket between South Africa and India, exercise for 15 minutes – my mother almost broke my hips LOL 🙂 – and feed myself pizza for dinner.

I never understood what people meant when they said be yourself but after watching the game today and seeing how the South Africa players played in the face of defeat I realize that being yourself is having the courage to stay true to who you are even when things don’t work out exactly according to plan. Have you ever changed yourself to fit into a particular situation or to be liked by a particular person? 🙂

Day 105

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“Every act of dishonesty has at least two victims: the one we think of as the victim and the perpetrator as well. Each little dishonesty makes another little rotten spot somewhere in the perpetrator’s psyche.” – Lesley Conger.

It’s 8: 22 PM on day 105 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – $2 205 more to raise in 68– I am SO nervous 🙁 – slept for a few hours – my hips were killing me 🙁 – feed myself a banana for lunch, watched TV, feed myself Custard for dinner and exercise for 15 minutes – I’m sweaty and stinky and in desperate need of a cold shower LOL 🙂

Today a family friend of ours came to visit and she always asks me about my plans for the future and although I hated doing I would lie through my teeth because lying was easier than having her think of me as a loser but today as she took a sit next to me and asked me about my exams I made a decision to tell her the truth no matter how uncomfortable it made me and to my surprise it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be she just said oh I understand and walked away and in that moment I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Have you ever lied because it was too uncomfortable to tell the truth? 🙂

Day 104

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“There must be a positive and negative in everything in the universe in order to complete a circuit or circle, without which there would be no activity, no motion” – John McDonald.

It’s 11: 32 PM on day 104 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Batura – deep fried bread – and vegetable curry for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few minutes –raised $30 today – I am SO happy 🙂 – learn Biology – I never knew why some twins were fraternal and others were identical but now I do 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch and exercise for 15 minutes – it was so funny you know how usually it’s the people who are exercising who say are we done yet well today the roles were a little reversed and my mom was the one saying it – that will show her to tell me to exercise LOL 🙂

Today as I was reading an article on The Jonas Brothers (see below) I realized that not all celebrities drink, smoke and do drugs which and that realization made my heart smile because now I for certain that I wasn’t the only person in the world with ‘old fashioned’ values.

The Jonas Brothers all practice abstinence and wear purity rings to prove it. Here’s a snippet from the very lengthy article on the JoBros featured in Details Magazine:

“On a quiet Friday morning in a dressing room at Madison Square Garden, the Jonas Brothers hold out their hands to show off their purity rings. Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas—the teen-pop trio who stand, at this very moment, on the brink of hugeness—wear the metal bands on their fingers to symbolize, as Joe puts it, ‘promises to ourselves and to God that we’ll stay pure till marriage.’ Joe is 18. His ring is silver and adorned with a cross. ‘It actually ripped apart a little bit, just on the bottom, here, but I didn’t want to get a new one, because this one means so much to me,’ he says. Nick, who is 15, says, ‘I got mine made at Disney World. It’s pretty awesome.’ Kevin, at 20, is the oldest of the three, and while a punk-rock purity ring from Tiffany might represent the ultimate oxymoron, that’s exactly what he’s going for. His silver vow of abstinence is covered with studs. ‘It’s pretty rock and roll,’ Kevin says. ‘It’s getting banged up a little bit because of the guitar.’”

Day 103

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The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out. ~Thomas Babington Macaulay

It’s8: 47 PM on day 103 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Appam – bread made of rice batter – and beef curry for breakfast, watch TV, sent Christmas messages to everyone – I hope – had lunch with my aunt and her family – it was the quietest Christmas ever this year there were only 9 people whereas, last year there were at least 20 … everybody went to India for my cousin’s wedding 🙁 – feed myself Custard for dinner and exercise for 15 minutes – the old me would have said its Christmas and left at that the new me didn’t – I couldn’t be prouder of myself 🙂

We were having Christmas lunch at my cousin’s house and I happened to say something along the lines of I’m going to buy the new Taylor Swift CD and my cousin looked at me and said why would you buy music when you can download it which I have to admit I have been guilty of doing in the past but somewhere along the line I realized that every time I stole somebody paid and from that day onwards I made a decision that NOTHING I wanted was worth compromising the values that I held so dear. How far are you willing to go to get what you want? 🙂