As a tswana, I grew up surrounded by rich cultural heritage that shaped my worldview. Two teachings/ beliefs that had an impact in my life are the importance of respecting elders. We believe that our elders possess knowledge, wisdom and life experiences. I was taught that respecting an elder is not just a matter of politeness but ia a way of honoring our ancestors so they can continue giving you their blessings. The belief of respecting our elders promote the sense of humility and gratitude and has shaped my understanding of the importance of intergenerational relationships.

I was taught that the value of perseverance is very crucial in overcoming obstacles and achieving success. The value of perseverance is reflected in my daily life where I am encouraged to work hard and push through my challenges even if they seem impossible. I was taught that is not just a matter of determination but a way of preserving our cultural heritage. This has taught me a sense of resilient and also shaped my understanding of the impotance of never giving up.

Kinship networks are relationships between people who are considered as family, it can be biological family, friendships and social relationships.

In my life I have my people who plays significant roles which are my biological family and my friends. My family brings so much joy in my life. We cry and laugh together. We exchange love, care and support. My family and I share the most beautiful and cherished memories. We face challenges together. In my family that is where I find my sense of belonging. My family and I have a strong bond more especially my mother, father, my siblings and my cousins. Sharing beautiful memories with them has made me realise how family is very important to me. They are the best blessing that god has blessed me with.

Interacting with people at campus and res has created beautiful friendships were we reciprocate love, care, kindness and support. Where we exchange favours if someone helped you with something you return their kindness with helping them the next day. When one struggles with something we do not hesitate to help because we are doing it out of love and care. In my circle of friendship we build and help each other grow. We also treat each other with respect. we share laughter together even if we have our differences we apologize and share good memories.

At school we have lectures that help us create better future and have better lives. They are my inspirations, they inspire me a lot to be a better version of my self and be able to provide and take care of my self without depending on someone. Seeing someone who is successful everyday makes me very happy because I get motivated to do better everyday. I am very grateful for my lectures.

Interacting with people from my neighborhood made me realise how respect is very important in life. Respect is earned, meaning you have to respect one another in order for you to be respected. In my neighborhood we respect each other, grown ups respect young people. We greet each other every time we come across each other because that is what we were taught when growing up that when you respect grown ups your day in life will be increased and I still believe in that. Every grown up in my neighborhood I take them as my parent because they give me guidance in how to navigate life. They said "it takes a village to raise a child" meaning in my neighborhood grown ups provide and advice us positively so that we can grow in a safe and healthy environment. We believe in respect.

All my life is being interconnected with everyone that is around me. My family, circle of friends and people in my neighborhood has helped me in shaping my identity and finding my sense of belonging. They all encourage me to learn and grow from my mistakes that is why I say they play significant roles in my life in different perspectives.

Spend the day with me as I reset on my social experience. Today  as I woke up in the morning I made my bed after that I made my breakfast which is weetbix and milk after eating my breakfast I  went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and bath. After bathing I prepared everything that I need for school. I then went to the gate to wait for the bus that take us to the campus . This is my rite of separation phase.

At the gate I met my res mate or should I say my schoolmates? The bus came and took us to the campus. When the bud got to the campus I met my other class mates and we made conversations about our class and the venue where we are attending and then we went to attend our class. This is a liminal and communitas because liminal phase is passing between stages that's when I changed from being an adult to be a student and communtas is when I was with my friends and classmates, we are all the same there are no labels.

After class I went to the bus that takes us back to res. I am now going back to reality, to my own space where I make my own rules. After the bus dropped us off at res, I went straight to my room and took a shower. I then rested for an hour then prepared dinner. After eating my dinner I washed my dishes and prepared for the following day's class. After I am done I watched some tiktok the I went to sleep. this is my rites of reincorporation because I ma back to my fixed identity.

"The single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes not that they are not true, but are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's words when telling a story of how her American roommate created a single story about Africa without witnessing everything that she was told about Africa. Africa as a continent that has 54 countries with different ethnical groups. South Africa is always regarded as a place of hunger and poverty have. Some people have never been to Africa they just hear stories about Africa of how people are walking with their bare feet and are half naked and in their minds they just conclude that Africa as a whole we are dying of hunger. And that is creating a single story about Africa.

Having one story about a person without your perspective makes you create your own character about a person without having a chance to hear what their story is, and that is not okay because someone might loose their dignity due to the judgements that has been made about them. As Africans, we are being judged not because of how we are but because of the story that they have about Africa which is not true. Africa is regarded as a primitive society means that we are living in olden days for example they believe that in Africa we do not have skills to write and read. 

The main point here is that people create their own assumptions and jumping into conclusion about other groups of people without given chances to tell their stories, and that creates othering and stereotype. To avoid the danger of having a single story one each person should be given a chance to tell their stories. That can avoid creating a huge misunderstanding about a person or group. We tend to misunderstand and judge a person because we are being told same stories and we do not even bother  to hear their side and true stories. Everyone can share their stories to avoid having confusions.