SZ SIMELANE

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SZ SIMELANE

Beliefs that my ethnic group have.

19 May 2024, 16:53 Publicly Viewable

There are a lot of beliefs that my ethnic group has and I'm pretty sure that there are some that I'm not aware of. Firstly, the belief that women should not wear pants is still very much alive till this day and that if you wear them as a woman you're showing signs of promiscuity and disrespect.Women are just allowed to wear skirts and dresses. Till this day my mom doesn't even wear pants in public because she didn't grow up wearing them and she says she's scared of what people might say. Luckily she never restricted my sister and I from wearing them even my father didn't. When I think about it I don't see anything wrong with wearing pants and I see other women from different ethnic groups wearing them and having no worry. This belief made me search more about women from other ethnic groups and I don't see the world the same anymore because I see that people are different and hold different beliefs and teachings from us.

Secondly,the belief that if someone is having really bad muscle strains only a person who is a twin can help relieve them. My mother is the one who told me about this, she was having really bad  pains on her neck and needed someone to stretch her , so she asked my aunt who is a twin to do it because she has the 'power' to make it feel better as she is a twin . That's when I realized that she was really serious about this and from there on I knew that most people in my ethnic group have this belief and I just decided to go along with it because it must be true. The accuracy of this belief made me realize that many people wouldn't believe it because they would think it's silly but it actually works. Now I see the world differently, I understand that even beliefs that I don't necessarily understand might actually be the real deal and the beliefs don't have to conform just because I don't understand them. People belief in different things and we shouldn't judge because what works for them makes them happy. 

Learning Activity 3: Reflection on the networks of kinship in my life.

7 Apr 2024, 14:08 Publicly Viewable

Firstly, networks of kinship refers to the large web of relationships and connections between individuals based on familial ties .These networks include immediate family , extended family and friends.In some instances,these networks extend further to include individuals who may not be biologically related but are regarded as part of the family.

The first network include my immediate family which is my mom , sister ,cousins and aunts. Since my father passed away,the relationship I've had with my mom and sister had grown. My mom has to work even when she's sick so that she can pay the bills and provide us with food. She single-handedly paid for my expensive high school fees so that I can get quality education. She didn't have to worry about that with my sister since my father was still alive . I try by all means to repay her and meet her halfway. Everything she instructs me to do I do it because that is the least I can do for her as her child. When she has back pains I make sure to rub her back for her. My sister also had a great relationship with me . We've grown close as we grew older and because all our half siblings deserted us so we only have each other. She's working now and she even gives me me money sometimes and I'm grateful for it . I consider my cousin and aunt as my immediate family because I'm closer to them than I've ever been with my own half siblings and my father's side of the family. Since my father passed, my cousin and aunt live with us in the same house and we share experiences together I consider my cousin my sister because our mothers are sister and I consider my aunt as my mother because she's my mother's sister . She helps mom pay the bills and other stuff around the house. 

Then I have my friends who I'm very close to. I can literally share anything with them and they do too.We go out together when all of us are back at home. We relate on a lot of stuff and we help each other through it. They are good friends because they've never led me astray . They've never introduced me to bad stuff like drugs , alcohol and smoking since we all want a good future. We see our peers going down a bad path but we stick together and avoid those paths.Even my pastor is a huge part of my network because he prays for my family and I, that's why even though I'm here I give my offering too for thanksgiving. My lecturers are also part of it because they impart knowledge and I pay them back by passing with good marks as an exchange. Everywhere we go we're bound to add people into our networks but it is up to us if we want to keep them there or remove them from it for good.   (500)

A day in a life of a first year student

13 Mar 2024, 21:42 Publicly Viewable

In the early morning, I get awoken by the sound of an alarm clock, I take some time to wake up but eventually I do . I pray and brace myself for what's about to happen. After praying I go to the showers to and luckily I always find it empty as I barely see my housemates all day everyday. As soon as I finish taking a shower I pick out the outfit I'll wear and then I make some cereal with juice . As a student who lives off campus, our residences expects us to request for transport 30 minutes before the time we want to depart at . When the time is approaching I leave my room after checking if all my books are in order or not, I head outside then I see my housemate waiting for transport as well. I greet her , we talk for a bit then the transport arrives and we leave. As soon as I set foot on campus my social anxiety kicks in as there are many people looking at you and it is as if they can tell that you're a first year student. Since it is Tuesday the first class was social anthropology, we learnt and learnt then it was time to leave. I couldn't leave because I had another class to attend at 1pm so my friend and I went to the cafeteria to eat as we were waiting for the next class. I arrive at the next class which was KCom at 2:15 the class ended and I rushed outside to catch my transport luckily I was on time. All the other students get in as well and we leave , heading to our residences. As soon as I arrive I take a hot shower to wash and I feel my mood enlightened all of the sudden. Thereafter I heat up my dinner and eat, then I study for about 4 hours, 2 modules. After finishing with studying I read my Bible which heals me and I pray then I charge my phone. Finally I got to bed to rest my tired eyes. 

Unveiling truths behind the world's deception: Navigating Truth.

8 Mar 2024, 22:19 Publicly Viewable

SZ Simelane,50288660

Coming into university as a 19 year old girl, I've never deeply thought about stereotypes. Stereotypes are what divides people in the first place and I see that at such a young age I've fallen into the trap of stereotyping people badly.

Are stereotypes based on truth or perception? They are based on perception because we all have different perceptions. As a girl living in South Africa, I'm literally afraid of most men I come across because of the GBV cases in which mostly women are the victims. I feel awful because I realize how I stereotyped all men as monsters and egotistic maniacs. I'm also reflecting on how I see people who are not the same race as me. Growing up all I heard about white people is mostly how racist they are , so when I went to high school with them I naturally viewed them like that. Everytime I met a white person the racist comments were always at the back of my head, but they proved me wrong. It came to my attention than the household you are brought up in and the environment determines your view of people and the world.

Ted talks by Ngozi 'The danger of a single story' and 'change your channel' How to write about Africa and Miners(1956) Body and ritual among the Nacirema highlights the kind of stereotypes made.

In Wainaina's How to write about Africa (2005) ,Wainaina refers to the western people's stereotypes about Africans and how they are seen as primitive. As sad as it is some Westerners still believe that but others changed and I see that people deserve a chance despite their skin colour.

No one is born believing in harmful stereotypes, they are learnt overtime, the good thing is they can be unlearned . (Kevin Faulconer)