The beliefs that I grew up knowing were that men are dominant and women are submissive. men don't cry or shouldn't express their emotions because it is a sign of weakness. This is the type of environment that I grew up in.

1. Collectivism: Growing up in a culture that values collectivism has deeply influenced my perspective. In my community, there’s a strong emphasis on interconnectedness, family bonds, and group harmony. We prioritize the needs of the collective over individual desires. This has shaped my understanding of relationships, decision-making, and the importance of community support.

2. Ancestor Veneration: Ancestor veneration is a common practice in my ethnic group. We honor our ancestors through rituals, ceremonies, and maintaining family traditions. This belief underscores the continuity of life beyond our own existence and reinforces a sense of responsibility toward future generations. It has instilled in me a reverence for history, heritage, and the interconnectedness of past, present, and future.

My journey hasn't been the easiest, for starters making friends, this is a new environment, and we meet new people that have a lot of energies (which can be positive or negative ), but in my case, I met both. At the core of my networks is my family. This includes my immediate family, parents, siblings, and close relatives. The relationship I share with them is deeply rooted in unconditional love, support, and shared history. Our exchanges often revolve around emotional support, guidance, and shared responsibilities. Family gatherings, phone calls, and digital communication platforms keep us connected despite physical distances. This network is foundational, providing a sense of belonging and a reliable support system.

My friends form another vital network. These are people I have met through various stages of life school, university, and social activities. The bonds here are formed through shared experiences, mutual interests, and trust. With friends, the exchanges range from emotional support and advice to sharing resources and collaborating on personal projects. Social media, messaging apps, and regular meet-ups facilitate our interactions. This network is dynamic and diverse, offering different perspectives and companionship. Friends such as Milla, Khanyi, Khanyi, Mpho, Paballo, Lerato, Kedumetse, Phenyo, Prudence and Kokesto, Out of all the people that I have listed above the ones that I can say were my true friend are Koketso and Khanyi, they stood with me through my lowest, never judged my, always had the best intentions for me, and told me the honest truth when necessary. Khanyi was and is still my friend since highschool, Kokesto is my roommate and a sister that I never had.

A Day in My Life

This is how my day started, I woke up and asked the Lord for strength before starting my day.  My timetable is not hectic today, so I brushed my teeth, made my bed, ate breakfast, showered, and left for school.

The topic we learned today was quite interesting during class, and I learned a lot. Learning about the different theorists in psychology and their work is a lot to memorize. After class, I met up with my friend, and we went to Insleep to buy ice cream, then hung out in her room.

Later on, I went back to my room, and cooked supper, I decided to cook my favourite meal (creamy samp and beef stew), my roommate likes how I cook my samp, so I dished up for her.  We then watched a series Youngins, told each other about our day, and went to sleep

According to  Wainana (2005) How to Write about Africa, the TEDTalks presented by Ngozi, and Bart-Williams – Change Your Channel, there are a lot of stereotypes and misinformation about African countries, written by Western writers and media. Africa is portrayed as a poor continent with lack of resources, uneducated people, and it is full of diseases.
In my own experience, it is expected that we should be multilingual, and in some cases that does not work. During orientation, I was part of the Lavaria koshuis and it was mostly white people, so some of them were Afrikaaners, the main issue at hand was English, my English was not as good as theirs, so when we had to introduce ourselves, we couldn't understand Afrikaans, and it was unfair because we were told to try our best when speaking English, and they made comments in Afrikaans saying that they will not translate in English. WE avoided making this a big issue by just speaking English and moving on with life.