Big Breaks… Discover me somebody

Its yet another cold day in Jozi.I am reminded of my school days when I thought the reason we went to school in winter was a punishment for being children.For things we might still do which could be bad- OK a bit far fetched but I was a kid and I am pretty sure that this in the bigger picture made perfect sense.

Kind of like the way one may imagine their chances of having a big bite of the corporate pie.BEE came, BBEEE came and people like me still feel cheated.Not because we sit on our divine behinds waiting to be handed a token position,But rather that we keep knocking on all doors both proverbial and real but the keep getting slammed back in our face.

It would be nice to have the freedom to choose to do what my heart loves to do,sadly my social dynamics are such that, it is not yet possible.” Think big, don’t give up, knock on every door”,Ye ye I know its what I have been doing.I have the shattered knuckles to prove it.Its not easy wanting to be somebody you know you can be, you know you should be but…

Nonetheless life must go on.Each day should have a challenge to overcome to bring one closer to their destiny-when is my turn coming I ask.

Urban Native

The great minds of our time have concluded that culture is not a set of rules run by protocol; rather it is a dynamic concept run on the same pulse as any given society at any given time. Unlike tradition, culture really is open to interpretation. Growing up, my parents were staunch traditionalist and even though the 90’s came and went, they stood steadfast in ways carved at the beginning of the century.

Consequently I, along with my two siblings were the victims of this. Don’t get me wrong, I value the traditions of my people but I also value my sense of being in this day and age. Without throwing them aside, there are some rules I am going to bend or maybe even break. But incase, I do not make it through my parents torturous grilling about the importance of tradition this week-it has been real. 

Tradition is important to the identity of the urban youth. Tradition is stereotypically thought to be strictly Africa, however, Europeans, and white South Africans also have tradition. Defining tradition is not easy but I can say it is relative to a certain group of people then it can even differ per family. While one family can be very strict on lobola payment, another can simply view it as a formality. The significance lies in the respect or acknowledgement given to the practice. It should serve as a reminder of our roots and heritage.

 Moreover in this day, who is to say what is the right way, we have been divided by space and time, there is no real traditional council. Various customs from individual groups have become condensed with the move of people from rural areas to the urban areas. Let us use our traditional ways not to enforce a sense pf tribal authority but rather to augment the culture is comes from. Now that culture is ubuntu.Ubuntu is timeless, it’s like a universal law.