Self Made
Online pic. Uche Jombo.I wish you had met me earlier, before I got self-made. No. I don’t mean like self-made millionaires. I mean how I changed from how nature made me and how parents and grandparents raised me. I was beautiful and I knew it. I felt beautiful because aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbours, my parents’ friends and teachers told me so.
The sun emerged every day, put in some work and went to bed. And I grew up. I took charge of myself, became self-made. I experimented with food and lifestyles until I reached this stage, where I don’t look into the mirror, for fear of seeing this self-made woman. I cannot avoid the small bathroom mirror because I must brush my teeth and also check if there are no prickly pears on my face. They mostly come from what we eat. No problem in that department because the face is still smooth. I once worked with a woman who wanted to remain thin so she ate only chocolate. Poor thing! She had sand particles on her face.
I try not to think about this self-made woman but sometimes I can’t avoid it. I must take showers and it is like lifting weights. Things need to be lifted and buffed. That is when I remember the natural woman who enjoyed showers because there were no road blocks. Water just flowed.
Don’t get me wrong. I love me, self-made or not. I cannot complain about natural fixtures that come with growing up because there is bound to be beauty spots in the shape of mountains, roots, valleys and curves. I represent.
Nonqaba waka Msimang
Blogger Without Borders
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