L KGOFELO

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L KGOFELO

how beliefs shaped my thoughts, behaviour and attitude

17 May 2024, 20:47 Publicly Viewable

Lethabo Kgofelo

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Cultural beliefs play an important role in shaping a person's thoughts, behaviour and attitudes.

As a Pedi girl I grew up in Limpopo, Polokwane. I can proudly say that the way my family has raised me and how the people in my culture do things shape my life and how i behave.

In the Pedi culture, the first thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the respect for elders. Respect for Elders plays an important role as it shows how you have been raised as an individual despite your age. A teenager's behaviour of having no respect for an elder person can be traced back to the parents and the people who raised the child. Like they say,'an apple does not fall far from the tree'

In my culture kids from the age of eight to sixteen have to go to the mountains every June and it is known as initiation, not going to initiation can simply explain how your behviour is a certain way. On the mountains, males and females perform different role, females are taught how to cook, clean and wash clothes from an early age and males are taught how to do men duties such as cutting the logs, and if you reach your teenage years or even adulthood not knowing how to do these thongs, people can easily point out that you did not go to the mountains and they refer you as a "leshoboro". 

A Day In The Life of A University Student

14 Mar 2024, 20:39 Publicly Viewable

Lethabo Kgofelo

50638378

 

Who would've thought that a slothful person like me would be productive? Yeah that's how lazy I am, like a sloth. This is how my day went.

My eyes snapped open, still heavy with sleep, being awoken  by the shrill sound of the alarm, shattering my peaceful sleep. The day began with a rollercoaster of feelings, I was feeling anxious and happy at the same time. I knew i had to choose one emotion, and obviously I would choose the joyful one because being anxious is now part of my daily routine.

I pulled myself out of bed like a sloth, headed to to open my curtains as i was struck by the soft light of dawn filtering through the curtains. I knew it was laundry day because my clothes were starting to pile up like garbage at a dumping site. I was so indecisive, I had class at 09:00, I told my skeptical self that I had an hour to do my laundry, the other part of me was drowning in thoughts thinking i won't be done by 09:00. I quickly made myself a bowl of cereal filled with warm fresh milk. I headed to the bathroom and took a nice warm shower, felt like my body was unwinding from  the previous exhausting days where i had thousand submissions and tests.I got out in a rush like i was running track. It was 08;00 , an hour left before a long day is about to start.  I got dressed, as indecisive as i was i just picked up the closest outfit from my messy wadrobe. 

I rushed to the shuttle with my earpods plugged in my ears, my favourite gospel song playing, cheering me up for a new beautiful day. Getting in the shuttle felt like a stampede as everyone was pushing to get to class on time. Finaly arrived on campus, texted my friend so i don't look screwed and lost like a little sheep without its mother. I finally got to my first class of the day 3 minutes late, and as usual , you'd find the class looking at you like a thief just stole in a neighbourhood. My friend and I chose the nearest seat close to the enterance door, eagerly took notes and participated, papers filled with black ink. The hours flew by as we immersed ourselves in the world of academia, absorbing new information and expanding our knowledge. 

After the morning class it was time for a quick satisfying lunch, the bowl of warm cereal has left my small tummy. We rushed to the cafeteria and bought lunch to fill our groaning stomachs. We then rushed to our last class of the day, I couldnt participate as i was sleepy from the lunch. Class was terminated before time, best news of the day that filled my ears with breeze. We visited the library filled with dedicated students, silent as a baby stealing sweets. We did our school work and became productive.

As the day progressed my friend and I headed to the ice cream shop to reward ourselves. Finally, as the sun sets and the day comes to an end, we headed back to our dorms, exhausted but satisfied. I was contemplating on whether i should cook or rest. I decided to make myself some spaghetti and mince so i can fill my not so empty stomach,

I crawled in bed and that was the most satisfying moment of my life.

Reflective Blog, stereotype, othering and misinformation

10 Mar 2024, 15:01 Publicly Viewable

Lethabo Kgofelo

50638378

As i was watching the video "The Danger of A Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg?si=Ghif8O_zfxaUBT6g I became fully aware that I'm also guilty like Chimamanda's roommate as I use to think that the country Zimbabwe does not have any good qualities because of their bad governance.  The danger of a single story is a real thing as it gives you a bad perspective on something else. This also led to views such as stereotyping the people from Zimbabwe. I also thought that every person that comes from Zimbabwe will be dark skinned only because I have seen a few Zimbabweans with dark skins. I hold myself accountable of stereotype and being mislead by information that is not valid. Like Chimamanda said, single stories create stereotypes and not that they are untrue but they make one sided story. According to Cambridge Dictionary( Stereotype English Meaning, 2024) stereotype can be defined as a set of ideas that people have about a person or group of people. Chimamnda also stated that stereotype robs people dignity and makes recognition of equal humanity. As a black girl that has attended an Afrikaans school since pre school, I can say that i have experienced  stereotype my whole life, it may not be seen as a big deal but sometimes stereotypes shape how we view ourselves. I always wanted to be in the swimming team but "being black" made it a setback as i would think that they only want white kids in the swimming team. This also falls under the concept of Othering which is defined as the process whereby an individual or group of people are given negative characteristics whereareas they are the opposite (Rohleder,2014).

 

 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story. 2009, 7 Oct. TED [YouTube video], https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg?si=Ghif8O_zfxaUBT6g Date of access: 10 Mar.2024.

Rohleder, P. 2014. Springer Link. Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Cambridge, UK.https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_414 Date of access: 10 Mar. 2024.

Walter, L. 2024. Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stereotype Date of access: 10 Mar. 2024.