Lesson #1: Getting to know the girl behind the woman...

 

One of the most thought provoking questions that you can ask yourself is "Who am I?" It is a really difficult question if you think about it. When you really spend time trying to learn about yourself you realize that you are never constant, you are always changing, evolving and that can be good or bad, depending on circumstances, where you are in life, what you are feeding your soul etc. 

So back to the question, "Who am I?". I am a woman, a gentle and caring soul, on a path of self discovery and right now I am a single professional lady, with a variety of interests and a zest for life that has grown tremendously as I find the true meaning and value of life. I am on a journey of self discovery and self improvement, focusing on myself and becoming a better version of my self daily.

I grew up in a small town called East London, in the south eastern part of South Africa. I was a very thin child growing up, I was teased that I looked like an "ironing board" 😂 but today that's another story entirely. I am an introvert by nature, and throughout my school days I was this very quiet young lady, lacking the confidence to truly be myself. Nevertheless I persevered through high school and went on to study at Rhodes University. For me this was a big accomplishment, I was one of the first in my family, in my generation to graduate with a post graduate degree. I wanted to study further though, with the need to be independent and find my own way. I moved to Durban and studied part time, doing my Honors degree at the University of KZN. I worked as an IT lecturer at a college to pay my way through university and to take care of myself living away from home.

I met a young man whilst studying and later went on to get married. We both moved back to East London and began our married life. I was very young and rather naïve, hence there were a lot of lessons here that I will share with you but for now lets just say it was an experience and I learnt a lot from it. In these years I focused on my career and family, trying to uplift those around me. Many lessons were learnt around focusing on others before ones self, self value and worth, truly knowing and understanding yourself and being in different relationships together with the dynamics around these. One important lesson for me was keeping my trust circle small. 

I later got divorced after 10 years of marriage, but with all choices in life I have no regrets, because I believe all decisions I make in life are with the best of intentions and whether it has been good or bad, it has always contributed to my growth as a person, teaching me and molding me into who I am today. 

Post my divorce, I decided that I needed a change and embarked on a journey of self discovery. For me the first step was to claim back my independence and travel abroad by myself, experiencing other parts of the world, diverse cultures and people. I was re-discovering who I was and who I wanted to be. To be honest, at the time I was not happy with who I had become, the sacrifices I had made, the good parts of myself that I had allowed to disappear, but I decided it was time to change this around, to paint a new picture and to rise above all that was happening. I had an incredible support structure, my ma and dad, family and friends, that really provided a cushioning and supported me through a really difficult time in my life. In the pursuit of change, I moved back to Durban and got a job at an amazing IT gaming company, the first step in my journey to greater things. 

I am currently an IT professional, with a keen interest in planning, problem solving, programming and database development. Initially I didn't have any friends in Durban but was fortunate to have some family. As with all things, where there is a will there is a way and eventually with the help of Meetup I made some really great friends and like I say, I keep my circle small💖 

I have a vast amount of interests that include dancing, singing, yoga, painting, cooking, sewing, crocheting and of course now the latest on my list blogging 😉 I absolutely love walking on the beach front and exercising in the park, we are so spoilt here in Durban, the lifestyle suits me well.

I aspire to try new things and if I like it, I do more of it. I don't limit myself as I truly believe the sky is the limit and the boundaries we see are only those we create.

Lesson number 1: You will never know unless you try.....

There is so much more to this book than the cover reveals, each post will help you discover that and perhaps learn some life lessons along the way. 😉