Category Archives: My journey towards independence

My journey from utter helplessness to independence

Day 2857: “Kids Meet A Person With Cerebral Palsy”

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

It’s 12 : 18 PM on day 2857 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and hang out with family

Recently I watched “Kids Meet A Person With Cerebral Palsy” – an informal question and answer session between kids and an adult with Cerebral Palsy – I LOVED how curious and open to learning those kids were if only more adults were like that. Watch ““Kids Meet A Person With Cerebral Palsy” below:

Day 2856: July 9-16 Goals

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Every Monday is a chance to start a new life, so use it.

It’s 1 : 23 PM on day 2856 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and hang out with family

Last Monday I set some goals and today I will again be evaluating myself to measure my progress and I’ll be setting some goals for the coming week as well. Take a look:

July 2-9 Goals Self-Evaluation

Continue to be kind, honest and generous [tried]
Be the best Supersidekick to my Superhero Catherine Constantinides [tried]
Spend time outside as often as I can [did]
Finish reading When Dimple Met Rishi
Learn 7+ new things [didn’t more often than I did]
Write done 7 beautiful moments – 1 for every day of the week [did more often than not]
Eat or drink something new [had homemade rusks from our neighbour ]
Use social media to showcase the ability of differently-abled people and teach that Different IS COOL [I tried]

Highlights Of The Week

Spending time with K – that girl is my sun and my moon [I had planned for us to do a community service thing together but we couldn’t find the place, I got the wrong phone number for the place.. everything that could go wrong did and yet that girl still thought the world of me and with that a piece of my heart was forever hers]
Meeting Donae Carelse Goosen – Founder of the Norman Goosen Memorial Soup Kitchen and a lovely lady in my city who feeds the children and elderly in her area on a weekly basis
Participating in Dischem Pharmacy’s #MillionComforts Campaign which provides school girls with sanitary pads
Superhero Catherine Constantinides making into News24’s 100 Young Mandelas of the Future list [I think it’s very appropriate that Catherine has been dubbed a Mandela of the future she is the best of humanity her humility and kindness is breath-taking – I’ve never shared this publicly but last year my helper passed out on the floor while my parents were at work I tried calling dad but wasn’t getting through so I quickly sent Catherine a private message on Twitter asking her to quickly phone my father and tell him to come home ASAP she paused everything she was doing, called my dad and stayed online with me until help arrived I would later find out when I messaged her she was organizing a dinner happening that night which a South African Minister would be attending AND STILL SHE DROPPED EVERYTHING TO HELP ME I was blown away]
Calling a friend to say happy birthday

July 9-16 Goals

Continue to be kind, honest and generous
Be the best Supersidekick to my Superhero Catherine Constantinides
Spend time outside as often as I can
Finish reading Choose Joy
Learn 7+ new things
Write done 7 beautiful moments – 1 for every day of the week
Eat or drink something new
Use social media to showcase the ability of differently-abled people and teach that Different IS COOL

Day 2855: Exploring Robben Island #BeTheLegacy #Mandela100 | Michael Cost

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“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” – Nelson Mandela

It’s 12 : 07 PM on day 2855 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and hang out with family

Recently I watched “Exploring Robben Island #BeTheLegacy #Mandela100” – a video Michael Cost created in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and YouTube in honour of Nelson Mandela’s centenary – the video is so well done and beautifully shot that that I have to share it. Watch “Exploring Robben Island #BeTheLegacy #Mandela100” below:

Day 2854: Donae Carelse Goosen and Norman Goosen Memorial Soup Kitchen

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Real angels don’t have wings – that’s what I keep realizing.

It’s 11 : 06 AM on day 2854 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and have breakfast with mom.

Recently I had the privilege of meeting Donae Carelse Goosen – Founder of the Norman Goosen Memorial Soup Kitchen and a lovely lady in my city who feeds the children and elderly in her area on a weekly basis – she had no halo or angel wings she was just Donae making sure that her community doesn’t fall through the cracks and I LOVED THAT I was blown away when I heard that even when she has nothing to cook for people she makes them sandwiches. Donae, ordinary-extraordinary people like you are the bedrock of South Africa thank you for all you are and all you do I celebrate you.

East London friends: Next time you go grocery shopping buy a little extra and drop the groceries off with Donae she’ll make sure our children and elderly are fed. It takes EACH OF US to make South Africa a better country for ALL OF US. #PlayYourPart #Mandela100 #BeTheLegacy . To get in touch with Donae visit the Norman Goosen Memorial Soup Kitchen Facebook page

Day 2853: Catherine Constantinides makes the #100YoungMandelas List

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“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation”― Nelson Mandela

It’s 11 : 43 AM on day 2853 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and have breakfast with mom.

Today News24.com announced the 100 Young Mandelas of the Future and I’m delighted to share that my Superhero Catherine Constantinides has made the list (I’m happy whenever anything good happens to anyone but I’m particularly happy when good things happen for and to my Superhero Catherine Constantinides because she is EVERYTHING good about humanity she drips humility, kindness, generosity, courage and integrity). Congratulations Superhero, you totally earned this please believe me and News24 .

https://mandela100.news24.com/media-grid/catherine-constantinides/

Day 2852: Dischem’s #MillionComforts Campaign

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“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. “ – Scott Adams

It’s 11 : 56 AM on day 2852 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and have breakfast with mom

Yesterday In memory of the AMAZING Gugu Zulu ( a South African driver race car who died trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, as part of a Trek4Mandela expedition to raise funds for sanitary pads for school girls) and inspired by my Superhero Catherine Constantinides (who teaches me that I can be the difference everywhere every day and whose spirit and heart I carry in mine everywhere) my family and i proudly supported Dis-Chem Pharmacies‘s #MillionComforts campaign providing girls with sanitary pads helping them stay in school.

[Note: I’m sharing this with the intention of inspiring people to donate sanitary pads whether you think i’m a saint or a sinner is none of my business because my opinion of myself doesn’t fluctuate with the world’s opinion of me]

Day 2851: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

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“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.” ― Sandhya Menon, When Dimple Met Rishi

It’s 4 : 01 PM on day 2851 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse, hang out with mom at the mall and spend time outside (in our yard – it’s such a beautiful day)

Recently I finished reading When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – a novel about a traditional Indian-American boy, Rishi, who meets Dimple, a marriage-phobic modern Indian-American girl and their journey – I love how the book accurately captured the dynamic of an Indian family although I feel I must point out what I feel is a factual inaccuracy no Indian families that I know are in a rush to marry off their eighteen-year-old these days Indian parents usually wait at least until their children are finished with university before they start arranging marriages.

Thanks Julie for sending me the book it was a fun read.

Day 2850: Feeling Your Impact

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Sometimes it’s not about seeing your impact but rather knowing you made one– that’s my message to the world

It’s 1 : 31 PM on day 2850 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and hang out with family.

Yesterday I tried something and it was a disaster so I tried again today and it worked out if things had worked out yesterday I would have been able to see my impact but the way things worked out today is also okay I know I did good and that’s enough for me.

Day 2849: July 2-9 Goals

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Set goals every week so that you may have a road map – that’s my message to the world.

It’s 3 : 26 PM on day 2849 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and do some work

Last Monday I set some goals and today I will again be evaluating myself to measure my progress and I’ll be setting some goals for the coming week as well. Take a look:

June 25-July 2^nd Goals Self-Evaluation

Continue to be kind, honest and generous [tried ]
Be the best Supersidekick to my Superhero Catherine Constantinides [tried ]
Spend time outside as often as I can [did]
Finish reading When Dimple Met Rishi [still a few pages to go]
Learn 7+ new things [not done]
Write done 7 beautiful moments – 1 for every day of the week [not done]
Eat or drink something new [had Swiss Chocolate courtesy of Superhero Catherine Constantinides – I still can’t believe my Superhero had chocolates hand-delivered to me a day after she landed from Geneva that is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me LIKE EVER]
Use social media to showcase the ability of differently-abled people and teach that Different IS COOL [tried]

Highlights Of The Week

Seeing Ella again [she’s like a warm blanket so much love and joy in her heart she makes me feel so loved and so special it’s amazing
Superhero Catherine Constantinides sending gifts with Ella that were bought for me while she in Geneva [I LOVE how much effort Catherine went to get the gifts to me she had to give to Ella who was coming into town for work then she called my dad to make sure we were free to pick up the gifts from Ella … I just thought wow wow wow (I often wonder if I matter to certain people it’s refreshing and heartwarming that with Superhero Catherine I never once have to wonder if she cares because she goes above and beyond to show me she’s there and that she cares… she makes my life every day)]
Talking to two of my aunts
Seeing the pictures mom takes of me [my mother like using her phone to photograph me and when you look at them in isolation they’re pretty but I looked at them in a series and realized that’s how she has always seen me -whole, joyful and kind – it was truly heartwarming to realize]

July 2-9 Goals

Continue to be kind, honest and generous
Be the best Supersidekick to my Superhero Catherine Constantinides
Spend time outside as often as I can
Finish reading When Dimple Met Rishi
Learn 7+ new things
Write done 7 beautiful moments – 1 for every day of the week
Eat or drink something new
Use social media to showcase the ability of differently-abled people and teach that Different IS COOL

Day 2848: Do What Feels Right TO YOU

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No matter how hard you try you’ll never make everyone happy so make yourself happy– that’s my message to the world

It’s 3 : 06 PM on day 2848 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and hang out with family

Yesterday I was reminded that no matter what I do not everybody will be happy some will say that place is not safe [poverty-stricken, crime-ridden] and I will go somewhere else and the same people will say that place is affluent this is not a legitimate charity these people are trying to scam you I can never win with some people so I give up trying I’m just going to keep doing what I feel is right