Surgery for the soul.

Beauty is more than what you see on the outside; the colour of your skin really doesn’t matter, we are all beautiful. So what! you have long hair, I like mine just the way it is……………that’s what we tell everyone, that’s what we tell ourselves over and over again but do we really believe it, is it really the truth?

People have always criticized each other, we are always in a competition and it has been like that for a very long time; the difference between now and the old days is that today we do everything in public, where everyone can see or hear what we say. Our grandmothers believed that white people were beautiful and sexy because they have silky hair and light skin, they believed that they are much clever than the dark skinned man and woman; through their teachings and stories we grew up believing that, worshipping them and wanting to be just like them.

Today, with technology all that knowledge spread like a plague in a small town.

Taking a look at the media industry and all that it consists of; they have tried to add diversity and preach the words “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but that only made things worse because they did that in theory, in practice everything was still the same.

It is as though they have created a platform where different races can debate and mock each other publicly. One minute being brown and thick is the in thing, months later we back to being skinny and light; the American celebrities wear Ox blood red coats then suddenly it is the colour for winter; Solange Knowles starts wearing clothes made of traditional fabrics from South Africa and Africa as a whole……guess what it’s a trend called tribal. Everything is decided for us and we keep following these trends allowing rich people to dictate us. How long are we going to live like a hamster on the hamster wheel running in circles, getting to nowhere land? 

When we talk about beauty, we are talking about how you look physically and how you carry yourself as an individual; these days you need to look beautiful on the outside for anyone to even give you 5 minutes of their time or at least have money and influence.

Listening to the song “Pretty hurts” by Beyoncé, i had an epiphany, everything made sense and I was determined to make small changes in my life, the truth is we are too far off to be something else, to see the world differently; one way or the other the media has an influence on us, it has us looking and wanting more and best believe it will deliver. Their job is to set trends, inform us and make us believe we want something even if we don’t need it; but do they deserve to be blamed for everything?

In the song Beyoncé starts off by saying “Mama said you’re a pretty girl what’s in your head it doesn’t matter, brush your hair fix your teeth, what you wear is all that matters”. As a young girl, our mothers have always told us to look beautiful; straighten ourselves and look presentable in public. From a small age we have been cute dolls who parade the streets with our parents for everyone to examine and cheer for. We grow up to love the attention, we loved hearing that we are much prettier than the other children, we have longer hair and longer smiles and that we would grow up to be heartbreakers. That all fades away with age not because we are no longer beautiful but because we have grown up and nobody sees it necessary to stop you in the streets to adore you, but it’s at that time that you need the attention the most; because now you are experiencing changes and learning to make your own decisions which can either make you or break you.

I met up with a few aspiring models in Devland at a fashion week hosted by the SAFC held at Rutz pub, their age ranged between 18-26 years old and I asked them what do they think beauty is?

They all said beauty is how a person holds themselves, their attitude and how they treat others. That’s a good definition and to an extend it is true but not realistic, we live in a different world where outside appearances matter, will get you a job and make your life better. What’s sad is, most of these models didn’t believe in what they were saying, therefore should they make it to mainstream modelling they will fall victim to scams, many of them will end up doing surgical procedures to change their appearances and fall sick chasing a dream or should I say “FAME”.

Our communities, families, friends, educators and the media are liable. They have the most influence in our lives; we go to them for guidance, we tell them our secrets, they raised us, taught us everything we know and entertained us. The cycle will continue as we all grow up and teach our children the very same thing.

We may not be able to reverse the damage done to our self-esteems or even censor the information that the media gives us but we can censor the influence it has on us and our children.

The song ends by saying “Perfection is the disease of the nation, you trying to fix something but you can’t fix something that you can’t see, and it’s the soul that needs the surgery, aint got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away the pain is inside and nobody frees you from nobody, it’s the soul, the soul that needs surgery”.

In the end no matter how many plastic surgeries you do, lies you tell and fake smiles you practice; it will all still be there, the pain of not being able to love yourself the way you are and the inability to accept yourself with no conditions. If you do not learn to love yourself, you will live your whole life for other people, changing your form to such an extent that even your parents won’t be able to recognise you and even then you will still not be happy.

Instead of mirroring and seeking for the parts of the body that are unpleasing to you, try and find the one that pleases you. Let those spots be the first thing you look at in the morning, do not depend on the next person to tell you that you are beautiful, keep telling yourself that “I am beautiful” over and over again until you believe it and lastly smile genuinely.

We were made differently for a reason and guess what……there will always be someone more beautiful than the one you compare yourself to. Beauty is really in the eye of the beholder, accept yourself and be happy with whom you are and you will soon realise how better everything will be. 

Rea VaYA Rebels

Dear Blog.....

I wanted to write an article about my experience with the Rea Vaya today but I couldn’t find the right words to say, so I decided to just tell you what happened without involving a lot of politics. So this is an informal post which is based on what I heard, my opinion and what I feel about todays incident.

I catch a bus at Civic Centre in Braamfontein to Thokoza Park where I’ll be connected to a bus to my neighbourhood. Everything was going well and today I was on bus number 7044

   BUS WITH THE BUSTED WHEEL                                                                 

but just as we pass Moroka Police station; a few streets down we hear a weird and loud sound that scares some passengers and as we look around we notice that one of the wheels on the bus busted and was wrenched off the rim. That freaked me out but I soon calmed down as the driver took control of the situation.

BUS DRIVER COLLECTING WHAT REMAINED OF THE WHEEL

In the end we all went into the bus that was behind us, even though it beyond ‘overload’ we all understood that it was necessary and so we got home safely.

That is but only one misfortune that turned out good in the end, what if this happens again but this time people get hurt; it is good that the bus does not open it doors whilst it is moving bt from time to time you find the bus doors opening and closing without control sometimes it won’t even open at all. The buses are often late especially Braamfontein T2 in the morning at the Thokoza Park station, people will be forced to ride the T3 which takes too long to get to Braamfontein where we have to take another bus ‘C3’ in order to get to our respective destinations.

This is not the only thing that angers the people; the fact that the bus fare has increased ever since the smartcard has been introduced doesn’t sit well with commuters. The scanning machines sometimes do not work and people end up paying penalty fees due to malfunctioning scanning machines which is totally not their fault. Checking the balance on the smartcard has proved to be a nightmare, people who stay in townships such as Naledi, Tladi, Dhlamini, Protea Glen etc cant load money onto the card or even check their balance all because they do not have Rea Vaya stations around them the nearest being Thokoza Park where you will pay a taxi fare of R7.50 just to get there.

In town when you try to load the smartcard it’s either the agent doesn’t know exactly what they are doing or the lines are really long and the buses keep leaving you behind.

We have all grown to love and adore the BRT but something needs to be done about these small problems because that’s how it all starts and before you know it; Rea Vaya will be like the shosholoza Meyl train; unsafe, dirty and  overcrowded. 

Khuli Chana shot by Police 28 October 2013

Khuli Chana shot by police officers.

Award winning South African Hip Hop star Khuli Chana has been allegedly shot by police this morning in a mistaken identity case.

Chana was on his way to a performance in Pretoria when he stopped at the Caltex garage on New Road near the N1 highway after talking to his DJ who asked him to wait for him at the garage.

“When he was there the DJ phoned him and told him that they would meet at the venue of the gig which is Moloko” he said.

As he drove out of the garage onto the highway, he said, an unmarked minibus with about 4 police officers obstructed his way. That’s when they started shooting at him and he tried driving around it.

“They fired about six shots into his car. One bullet hit him in the finger. He then lost control of the car and hit an embankment,” he said.

Chana’s manager, Refiloe Ramogase said the police drew Chana out of the vehicle and sat him down on the road for about an hour, ignoring his cries for medical attention or even an ambulance.

“It was only after I had arrived with my lawyer did they allow him to go to the Hospital. Essentially he was forced to sit on the road with no medical attention,” Ramogase said.

Khuli Chana was rushed to the Sunninghill hospital where he was treated and discharged to recover at his home.

“He’s just very lucky that the bullets ended up in the vehicle’s seat. One bullet is lodged in his finger and there’s some shrapnel in his back,” Ramogase said.

Police maintain that they fired two warning shots, but Morule denies this and has opened a case of attempted murder.

made in the image of God

Created in the image of God

 As a child i never understood why we are considered to be black people, of all colours, of all the other names we could be called why was it black. They have explained to me millions of times why but i have never really warmed up to the term "black people". I prefer to be called an African, that is what i am, it explains me clearly also better than the word black. 
Some time in February i was at school working during the holidays and i told the young coloured girl sitting next to me that i do not like the term black people and i prefer African, she laughed and said that i am ashamed of who i am, that i do not acknowledge that i am black,, she continued on to say that she doesnt blame me for she too would be ashamed of being black if she was. 

I found what she said really insulting, so i lost it in class. I found it really silly that in these times there are still young people who consider black people to be unacceptable in society, especially with her being coloured she should know better. 

the reason why i prefer being called African rather that black is because over the years people have managed to associate the colour black with  a lot of bad things for example; black roses, black car with black windows and black magic etc.  

For so many years Africans have been attacked, killed, punished and discriminated against because of the colour of their skin.Around the world leaders were born to help combat this fight against inequality due to the colour of our skin, they spoke words of wisdom that uplifted their kind, most of them grew to love themselves exactly the way they looked, accepting who and what they are. but as the war between men and men seemed to be cooling down, a bigger one started and this time it was between men and media. 

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The media was created to be a platform where the public could voice their opinions, a place where the state was supposed to give out information that would give the public some security but today it is used for peoples selfish acts and though in theory it is still used to benefit the public and their desire for information in practise that isn't the issue. 

The media has taken on the responsibility of deciding what is and what is not acceptable in society when it comes to the physical looks of a person. according to the media in order for one to be considered to be beautiful, they need to be light in complexion, slender and have beautiful long hair. They continuously advertise products that make a black girl or boy wish to be white, products such as hair extensions, make up and surgery.  They call it "enhancing your beauty". 

With this said i know and believe that i am a beautiful African, black (whatever you want to call it) girl. i am proud of who i am and i am mostly proud of the road that black people have traveled.

If you are a black child and you still hate yourself for the colour which God has given you, all i have to say is work on it, trust in God and believe in yourself.  Being black does not define who you are but it will play a role in defining the kind of person you will turn out to be. 

We are loved and favored by God, you are beautiful and do not depend on make up and extensions to make you feel beautiful, your beauty is natural. People will always talk, just keep your held up high and be confidence and you will see a huge difference. Research on your history, look up to celebrities that preach being black and proud so you can be empowered. The power is in your hands. 

Created in the image of God

Created in the image of God

Women all over the world struggle to accept their bodies, it may seem as though only the petite ones are insecure about their bodies but fact is each and every women around the world, skinny or over weight, black, asian or white struggle to accept themselves exactly as they are.

In the world of today you no longer find grown women only with these kinds of insecurities but children from as little as 9 years old complain about their bodies, which is sad because at that age they supposed to be playing around, having fun and enjoying their childhood, body shape and size is suppose to be the last thing on their minds.

Thinking deeper I can understand why they got caught up in this sick trend of trying to look perfect.

We are continuously exposed to television programmes that feed us their thoughts on what the “ideal body is”. Our parents are constantly buying all these products to remain younger, plastic surgery has become normal and looking like your ordinary self is just not on.

At a young age children are exposed to this kind of lifestyle, when their parents enter them in pageants and beauty contests, where they learn to put on makeup, tan their soft clear skin and blow out their hair, fight for beauty and constantly upgrade their look just to win the title of a beautiful queen. At a vulnerable and tender ager they are taught that looking like your ordinary self won’t make you pretty. So sad!

No wonder people all over the world grow with insecurities, but that’s another days topic, today we are talking about different shapes and sizes of women and accepting your body, loving yourself and being happy.

A study done on 3000 different women in London revealed 6 different shapes of women. The butternut squash, apple, carrot, pear, broccoli and aubergine.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

The bust area and hip area are the same size but the waist is smaller by + - 10 inches

APPLE

The waist is equal to/or larger than the hips and bust area.

BROCCOLI

The bust is the widest part and hips, waist are about the same size

CARROT

Bust and hips are wider than the waist.

PEAR

Waist is + - 10 inches smaller than hips and the bust area are not as large as the hips.

AUBERGINE

Bust area is small, has large hips.

The female body is a product of a women’s skeletal structure and the quantity and distribution of muscle and fat on the body. Oestrogen also plays a huge and vital role on how a women develops her unique body parts during pregnancy and puberty.

Even with that said, there has been a lot of debate on what should and what shouldn’t be considered the ideal body for a woman, with attraction and health being a factor. This all differs from culture to culture but because culture is always changing so it can keep up with times, slowly we are all becoming part of one culture, globally.

So that you do not get confused with these different types when it comes to finding your unique body shape, I’ll try to show you how similar they are, but different names.

·         Hourglass more or less the same as butternut squash

·         Spoon more or less the same as pear and aubergine

·         Triangle more or less the same as broccoli

·         Rectangle more or less the same as apple

So do not pull out your hair and trying to figure this out, it’s not rocket science. Take some time out and see if you can do a better job than me.

More on shapes and sizes of different body’s, here are pictures of the alternative categorization of woman body shape.

 Incurved waist, wide hips

Incurved waist, narrow hips

Straight waist, wide hips

Straight waist, narrow hips

Though there had been a study done and 6 body shapes were found and revealed, two women who go by the names Trinny and Susannal argue to have 12 body types.

Those pictures are all supplied by trinny and susannal.

To conclude im going to say, love you body, you were made in the perfect image of the Almighty God, with love and care. You are therefore far from imperfect; in fact you are the most beautiful person on earth because there is only one you. Teach our siblings and children to love their unique selves and embrace it, you only live once.

Take pictures of yourself naked and instead of focussing on the places of your body you do not like look at the ones that you like and focus on them slowly moving to ones you don’t and ask yourself why you do not like those places, then if it’s nothing you can change with a simple cream, starting accepting it, it was there for a reason.

                                                                                          

Ladies love yourself, you are beautiful.

You are a mother, sister, bestfriend, father, aunt, daughter, mother Teresa and most favoured by God. 

Embrace your birthday suit, love it, respect, cover certain areas and treat it like the temple it is.

God loves you as you are and once you start loving yourself you’ll know and understand why God favours you above all his creations. 

a girls best friend

A girl’s best friend

Like a man adores his cars, having to always pimp it up just to make it look good, ladies love to look good and they always pimping themselves up, with shoes!

A girls obsession with shoes is hard for a guy to understand, its seen as unnecessary spending of money. Shoes are an investment and it seems that men will never know or understand why, and women will never understand why men can sit the whole day doing nothing but playing video games or buying expensive rims for a car.

With that said and done I can continue on to the main subject. As much as every lady carries and undying love for shoes, there are conditions though. Conditions exist for a woman loving shoes and shoes, yes shoes have a condition to loving a woman.

(Laughing)

There are certain shoes that aren’t meant for specific people, depending on your body shape, weight and sense of style of course.

There are 4 types of body shapes and as you can see above, they are known as the apple, pear, and hourglass and rectangle shape. And since this is all about a girl’s best friend I’ll give you a few tips unto which shoes work for who and you will find that it is mostly not about body shape that restricts a person from the types of shoes, specifically heels they can wear but it is their posture and weight.

Looking at the apple body shape, it is easily noticeable that these types of women carry a lot of weight on their top body part and can be skinny on the lower part of their body.

A kind of heel that will work for you is one that isn’t too high because you need to find balance and still be able to walk up tall, straight and not put a lot of strain on your feet and knees.

The pear shaped women, is exactly how you picture a pear itself. These kinds of women are thin on their upper body and carry most of their weight on their lower body parts. Like the apple shaped women, they carrying more weight on one part of their body which can make walking in the famous stilettos very difficult.  A wedge or a pussy cat heel can be very comfortable and can work to your advantage.

 

These shoes are very sexy, in style especially the wedge. It has managed to book itself a seat in every trend that has come and gone with the times, so trust me you will never go wrong with at least two pair of wedges in your closet.

The ever so perfect hourglass body shape. Many women dream of this shape, even me but let’s face it; it’s never going to happen to all of us. Our different shapes and sizes are part of the many physical attributes that makes us different and unique as women, how would we ever appreciate a certain shape or size if we were all the same.

These kinds of woman have a big bust area and beautiful curves and so it’s pretty simple for them to wear any kind of heel but like I said in the beginning it all depends on their weight. A podiatrist has been reported to have said if a woman is over 40 kg in weight then that person should avoid wearing stilettos. In a perfect situation, one with an hourglass body shape can try almost any shoe on the market.

The rectangle body shape, is of a women who has little weight, they mostly gain weight on their thighs. They have no curves, medium bust area and a portable bum. If you are in shape and take good care of yourself, you too can wear any kind of shoe.

 

Bottomline is any kind of women can wear whatever shoe they want, all thats required is that you should be in shape, learn how to stand up straight and listen to your feet, otherwise your shoes wont like you much. Another important issue with ladies is the size, your shoes size.

Do not squeeze your foot into a shoe, this will cause a number of conplications, one being bunions.

Now ladies you do not want to find yourself suffering from bunions or else you will end up hating how your toes look in a flat shoe or sandal.

Look after your feet or else bunions will be the least of your problems. When it comes to heels, despite their length, you should never wear them for more than four hours.

Take along a pair of pumps, switch shoes along the way so that your feet can rest. These days there are flat shoes that can go with each and every outfit you have in your closet, huge shoe labels make beautiful pumps and sandals so you need not worry about wearing cheap shoes. They are of quality and promise to be worth every penny, even as a flat shoe.

f your one of those ladies who prefers not to wear a heel or pumps, then do not despair there are shoes for everyone. 

 

Try the sneakers or running shoes. They are awesome for women who are always on the move, but who also want to look good too.

The all star converse shoes are in style and can look fab in almost anything.

Do not be afraid to admit it to yourself when you know that heels aren’t your stuff, in the end all the people you will be trying to impress will still be unsatisfied with how you look and all the medical problems and bills will be your problem. Be you, rock those flat shoes.

On the picture below you will see one of Hollywood’s celebrities wearing adidas sneakers and looking very beautiful. Do not feel isolated and do not doubt yourself. If you are comfortable in it and it looks decent then go out there with your head held up high and paint the town red! 

 

Nearing my conclusion, I just had to show you three shoes that I find really unnecessary.

The lady gaga shoes, now really?!

I would really understand if you did not buy these shoes, I mean they do not look comfortable, they are expensive and they are lady gagas shoes, need I say more!

 

Now these shoes look like they were made by a dragon. OMG!

 

Now these look like they should be in a museum, not worn by any living thing, whether you are human or not. Is it even possible to walk in these? Do not get me wrong the design is awesome, a master piece but for walking I am not sure. I would exhibit this, I promise you, I would be very afraid to wear it!

 There is no excuse in the world for any kind of women to look like they are hated by their shoes or for shoes to look like they are suffering. Shoes are awesome and there are a variety of shoes for everyone. Enjoy them and take good care of them, they need you and you need them.

With that said, let’s go shoe shopping ladies!