YOLO- you only live once

since tomorrow is guarenteed to no one, I believe its time to live it up, laught it off and aspire to inspre before you expire!!

You strike a woman, you strike a rock!

To the pillar of mankind, the peacemakers, humanitarians and all round ladies of this world…

 

Long gone are the days whereby women were confounded to the norms of the male chauvinists. Being bounded to the stereotype that their place was in the kitchen, running the household, and basically being a fertility case, meant to breed babies and have no hopes of ever going beyond that, and claiming their independence.

The 20 000 woman, of all races, that all marched along to the union buildings in 1956 were not only protesting the Pass Law, but an attempt to prove that they weren’t going to be silenced by unjust laws and intimidated by society’s norms of how they should act and live their lives.

We are now in the 21^st century, oppression gone, equality set into place between the races but what about Gender equality? Woman are still being discriminated against, classed as being lower than man, and mostly incapable of fulfilling tasks that aren’t household related. The 21^st century woman is more than capable of making it to university and qualifying for a degree. However society never gives them half a mind, always ready to judge and discredits them. Now that the dark days are gone, women are more empowered to choose their destinies and claim independence.

Women aren’t asking to be spoon fed, but rather to be recognized for their abilities and capability of excelling in their given professions. It all starts internally, woman need to empower themselves, be ready to embrace the new revolution, and stand firm, like the women who marched in 1956, show no intimidation and take a stand against society.

Always remember, “wathint'abafazi wathint'imbokodo” (you strike a woman, you strike a rock)

Happy Woman’s month to all the ladies out there of all ages, races, generations! You surely do make a difference in this world. It’s time to make a stand once again, and united to fight society and its norms!

BY: Siyamthanda Mhlangabezo

 

 

Until when will we put it off?

An open letter to the youth, by the youth…

“We are still young; we have plenty of time to figure out what we want to do with our lives.” What if I tell you this statement is bogus. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone, so I believe it’s time to stop putting everything off but actually start showing some action.

We all have dreams, some big and some small but they are OUR dreams nonetheless. I’m a prime example of what determination can earn you, hard work guarantees success. I hail from Bedford, a small farm town in the heart of the Eastern Cape, a poverty stricken place where the cycle of non-educated keeps repeating itself, where education is your key out and innovation is your ultimate weapon to prosper. I had a dream to study journalism at a higher institution, and everyone thought it was just a fantasy but I proved them all wrong, pushed myself to the edge, worked hard in high school in order to achieve University entrance and well long story short, I’m due to graduate in April 2015.

I managed to achieve this because I didn’t put off any of my dreams, I didn’t make any excuses, I didn’t justify failure, heck that word does not exist in my vocabulary. So what I’m trying to say is empower yourself, a little bit of confidence, faith in yourself and your abilities and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, you can build the life you have always wanted for yourself. It’s not going to be easy, no journey to success ever is but perseverance and a good support structure should see you through.

You come up with a “crazy idea”: Companies don't want to fund you, banks don't want to fund you and all your friends laugh at it and say “you’re crazy, it'll never work” Then after struggling to develop and market your "crazy idea": Your friends remind you of how they've always been there for you, companies want a piece of your pie and banks call you with different banking options to choose from.
Basically what I am saying is that, in life, if you don't believe in yourself, no one will. If you don't believe you can do it, no one will. "Obstacles are just a test to see if you truly deserve success". Strive to be different and when you are, people will strive to be like you. Like Steve Jobs once said: “STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH”

So until you make that decision, to better your life, and determine your own destiny, nothing is going to change, the cycle will just continue.

 

Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it is done”

 

By: Siyamthanda Mhlangabezo