It's days before Christmas. A young lady sits in an armchair, Blackberry in hand and armed with the power to express her deepest desires, what she believes to be her truth based on her experience, wisdom and character. Why then is this such a difficult task. Expressing oneself is a right for all South Africans regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation or race. Yet it is these very same things which I feel prevent us from expressing our feelings without fear of being an outcast.
My own desire to find acceptance somewhere, somehow for who I am or (in reality) who I may pretend to be. The struggle of identity has been the greatest battle I have fought with myself in my youth. I believe it is something I may find difficult to completely understand or appreciate, or even know in my lifetime. However it doesn't mean I will stop trying.
Living in a world so wrapped up in superficial values which are exploited by the media, I fear that one day I shall lose sight of the person I am, the person I want to be in the future and the type of influence I want to make. Who are we? Do we care anymore for our fellow man? Are we human(e)?
I hope that this life may give me the answers I seek to find. I hope that one day I may know without the desire to satisfy others. The world is your oyster, the only person holding you back more often than not is YOU! I am learning to speak my mind and live my own truth.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Liquid Love
As a young female living in contemporary society, I often find myself lost in thought. Thoughts about love. The big "L" word, that is said too much, they're not enough(those are lyrics from Snow Patrol). The concept of love has changed over time and has become more and more abused. Having fallen in and out of love several times myself, and currently in a relationship which I would like to believe is true love, but only time will really tell, I have yet to uncover the true meaning of this word.
In history we were introduced to the term, liquid love. It refers to the weakeninng of the human bonds which we are experiencing in modern times. One may find themselves in a series of relationships without ever settling down nowadays whereas before, things such as divorce were uncommon to society. It is true then, generally speaking, that humans have adopted the ideas of liquid love, we are living in an age of consumerism where we are much more concerned with advancing ourselves in terms of finances and material assets that some of us are losing the ability to love one another genuinely. I mean when I think about it, I cant remember the last time my family spent quality time with one another and by quality time I do not mean the entire family glued in front of the television, watching a family sitcom; I mean talking and strengthening our bond as a family.
It is sad to think that many people will go through life without ever experiencing true love, half of those who decide to get married will get divorced and our lives may be built on a false sense of security which we will very soon discover cannot build the foundations of a family. I feel extremely bleak, but I guess it's going to be a choice I make depending on the type of lifestyle I may want for myself.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Jersey Shore
Although I am a little ashamed to say it, I am an avid Jersey Shore fan!Live for it, eat it, breathe it, sleep it and most importantly watch it! It has got me hooked! I argue that it's not for the wrong reasons though. In fact it is teaching me exactly how not to live my life. Come on, Snooki sleeping with pretty much every body in the house, all the fist fights that occur in the house, with Pauly D always looking innocent no matter what he does (it must have something to do with his amazing body), whether he's using a woman for sexual gain or in a fight with anyone. Although I have to admit that Angelina is quite a piece of work for fighting a mute man. At least she got him to talk, we had never seen him so angry before and quite honestly it didn't suit him. Let's just say that Pauly is the kind of person that can get away with just being handsome, he doesn't need to open his mouth, there's enough of that already in the house.
But let's not get side tracked, Jersey Shore has to be the lamest excuse for a reality TV show, and do you know what, in our society, it works! It's comforting to know that no matter how screwed up you may think you are, you can't compare to the J.S peeps! Mike, at the age of 28, living with a bunch of kids, using women like objects, and partying like a kid who's just turned eighteen! Must be some sort of inferiority complex.
The Jersey Shore cast!Poor kids, didn't their mothers ever teach them self respect. Not to point any fingers and cast the first stone, but hello it's INTERNATIONAL television! What the hell were you thinking! Doesn't looking at those clips wanna make you sick when you see ...uhum...Mike, how badly you treat women, it's called harrassment just by the way, or Sammy, I'm sorry but Ronnie cheated on you. In the real world that means you break up with the guy, and stop letting the rest of the world suffer for your insecurities!
Enough ranting and raving though, I think it would make me look like a hypocrite for watching it, but as I'm sure most people will agree with me, watching Jersey Shore is a great life lesson. They should include it as part of the Life Orientation syllabus in school and call it "How not to live your life".
Monday, October 18, 2010
You've come a long way, baby, but is this where you want to go?
Letting out a deep long sigh, I shall blog about something which is of great importance to me. Women's Rights and equality, those thoughts of the yesteryear which have faded within our memories like those of childhood fantasies. However, without the struggle of women long ago, I don't think I'd be able to be sitting here right now, at the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies, studying for a test and blogging about what I'm about to blog about.
It seems we have forgotten, and by forgetting I do not mean that we should wake up every day of our long lives and thank God for the opportunities that we now have as women, but rather, just reflect on the type of image that you as an individual woman are reflecting on society and what you may believe is true about yourself and your abilities. I choose to ignore those who believe that women are still inferior to men, if you ask me they should really get out of that cave they're living in. However, I do find myself questioning the path my own life is taking. Although given the freedom that we do possess nowadays, there is a somewhat careless attitude that youthful women of the 21st century possess which has not been witnessed before this time. Is it because we know that we do not need men, or is it a manifestation of a careless society, whereby not respecting ourselves has become what we choose to live by and promote, not only to our peers but as mothers to our daughters and sisters.
One may question what it is exactly I am referring to, all you need to do is look around, or perhaps if that does not give you inspiration as to what it is I am talking about, just watch any reality TV show, observe the behaviours of women,and compare it to about ten years ago.
There definitely seems to be a change in attitude. What we as women forget though is that, no matter how powerful we may be, we are not men. In actual fact, why would we want to be men. Making stupid, impulsive mistakes which aren't justifies and behaving in a manner which denies you the respect that you deserve as an adult...
Using our bodies as weapons to create a world riddled with sexual content that a society without it seems almost ridiculous or impossible.
This is not to say that I am Innocent within all of this, yet I feel that I have acknowledged my role as a woman in the 21st century. Yes, that role is changing, however, today it should change to become an ambassador of good will, we already have our Independence, and can by all means be anything we want to be, it is the respect which comes with understanding who you are as an individual first that seems to have been left with the innocence of childhood, for I do believe that although we are continually moulding who we are going to be in the future, we already know who we want to be when we are young, and that image has been tainted.
It seems we have forgotten, and by forgetting I do not mean that we should wake up every day of our long lives and thank God for the opportunities that we now have as women, but rather, just reflect on the type of image that you as an individual woman are reflecting on society and what you may believe is true about yourself and your abilities. I choose to ignore those who believe that women are still inferior to men, if you ask me they should really get out of that cave they're living in. However, I do find myself questioning the path my own life is taking. Although given the freedom that we do possess nowadays, there is a somewhat careless attitude that youthful women of the 21st century possess which has not been witnessed before this time. Is it because we know that we do not need men, or is it a manifestation of a careless society, whereby not respecting ourselves has become what we choose to live by and promote, not only to our peers but as mothers to our daughters and sisters.
One may question what it is exactly I am referring to, all you need to do is look around, or perhaps if that does not give you inspiration as to what it is I am talking about, just watch any reality TV show, observe the behaviours of women,and compare it to about ten years ago.
There definitely seems to be a change in attitude. What we as women forget though is that, no matter how powerful we may be, we are not men. In actual fact, why would we want to be men. Making stupid, impulsive mistakes which aren't justifies and behaving in a manner which denies you the respect that you deserve as an adult...
Using our bodies as weapons to create a world riddled with sexual content that a society without it seems almost ridiculous or impossible.
This is not to say that I am Innocent within all of this, yet I feel that I have acknowledged my role as a woman in the 21st century. Yes, that role is changing, however, today it should change to become an ambassador of good will, we already have our Independence, and can by all means be anything we want to be, it is the respect which comes with understanding who you are as an individual first that seems to have been left with the innocence of childhood, for I do believe that although we are continually moulding who we are going to be in the future, we already know who we want to be when we are young, and that image has been tainted.
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