11 years ago on the 10th of January 2010, I moved to South Africa to pursue my tertiary education wide-eyed (figuratively, we all know my eyes don't fully open 🤣) and naive, and now I've closed that decade-long era of my life.
Kea leboha, Afrika Borwa, for the education, the friends, the memories, lessons, love, career growth, exposure, additional languages learnt and all-round growth!!! This girl from a mining town is now (and always will be) a certified Joburger.
Although my stay in South Africa was mostly pleasant, there is no better feeling than being HOME and I almost can't believe how much I needed it.
Being a young professional living alone in Johannesburg taught me resilience, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness. However, my first stab at staying in Lusaka threw all those beautiful qualities away and reminded me that it's okay to be confused, scared, feel alone and most importantly, to ask for help when needed. My "resourcefulness" saw me move into what is quite frankly one of the ugliest houses I have ever seen in my life. I spent 5 days there and decided I couldn't live like that because as I mentioned in one of my articles, I was built for a life of comfort and deserve nice things and this wasn't it. I ran back to my safe haven (mum and dad) to re-strategise and make my come back to that perpetual construction site that is Zambia's capital city.
With all this going on, I still cannot even quantify how grateful I am for the support system that I have.
My last week in South Africa opened my eyes to how big my "village" was over there. I literally had to field calls and invitations for meals, sleepovers and rides to the airport! Thank you, thank you, thank you to my friends and family who helped me pack, fed me, kept me company, gave me rides to the airport and helped out with much-needed admin. Ke lebogile, ngiya bonga, natota, thank you. Ba Lesa ba mi shukisheni mwense.
I am looking forward to (re)growing that same kind of community now that I am back in Zambia. On my part, I am showing up intentionally for everyone (ensuring that I am not pouring from an empty cup) and that is the only energy I want this year: community, Ubuntu, connections.
I'm also especially grateful for Covid, which gave me the best year of my life! Thank you for pushing me to my greatest strengths yet, but can you go now already, we're tired and our lives have changed so mission accomplished.
2020 was an eventful year that brought about so much change for a lot us, both good and bad, so this year, as I turn 28, I am embracing rest and relaxation in my life.
What does that look like? Well, it just means that with everything I do, I will prioritise my well being and ease. Got a big project due for work? Collaborate, delegate, start early. See a well priced weekend getaway? Take it! Feel like manifesting? Make the vision boarding process as fun as possible without focusing too hard on the outcome (ha!). See some new books? Buy them (lol okay but you get it ). Finally, feel tired? REST
In this spirit of rest and relaxation, I ended my stay in South Africa with a solocation to the mother city as I celebrate and embrace the next chapter of my life.
What are you prioritising this new year?