On The 14th of January 1998 i had just turned 7 years old, very clueless about what grade 2 would be or what it had in store for me. An inquisitive individual i was. Articulate in every oral or reading assessment we had, i’ve always been over and above being basic. Naughty to the core because of the void i wanted to fill. I loved drawing but not just anything, specifically clothes, Designer dresses that had a unique signature touch, hahaha. In my head i probably thought i was going to be a designer one day. That explains my love for fashion in today in my youthful days, Specifically coordinating outfits together and emphasizing looks, specifically items such as shoes, bags and blazers. Coming to think of it i never took interest in designing or ever thought of taking lessons as a hobby but it’s something i can vividly put my finger on to say most of my classmates teased me about my passionate love for drawing garments. Yes the Girls really got excited to page through my sketches but the guys really had no interest. I remember as years went by, my feminine side would start revealing even more, i would still be your typical boy but laugh so hard and not so normal, slightly slap my thigh when speaking, made gestures that would give people the right to call me “GAY”. This would hurt me so much because i would think these people can see through me, while i was trying to be a typical boy that was hiding his true-self from everyone, so how obvious was it to my so-called friends and everyone else? A year after the ”BIG Millenium” which was 2001, i was just turned 10 years and was in grade 5 attending at Laudium Primary School. I had a teacher who was strict, a disciplinary at heart. My classmates had been the same people i started with in grade 1, so we knew each other. My drawing traits/hobby hadn’t left me as yet, so one day while “MR NAIDOO” was teaching i was busy indulging in my “AVANTE GARDE” Designs. Lost in my world he caught me in action shading the best dress still yet to come out of Laudium Primary, hahaha. Out of anger he then started calling me names such as SISSY, GAY and MOFFIE. The young me full of anguish started crying and cursing him then ran out of his class and never came back again, got home explained the ordeal to my mother, obviously with some twists and bends here & there i managed to get “MR NAIDOO” out of his classroom as well. Those who know my mom will tell you she’s not a woman to mess with, take this from me, she’s as feisty as they come, hard as a rock, brave as a bull and smart as a lioness that knows what’s right for her cubs. So Mommy dearest did what the pots cannot be done and took a transfer for her “GAY” son to a school in the west of Pretoria called “LAERSKOOL KWAGGASRAND”. That’s after she caused a helluva mess at my previous school A new year, A new school, new grade and new me. I was about to start a new journey without people name calling or shaping me to fit in their desired boxes. Eventually i made new friends that saw me as “OFENTSE SEAN LEWIS”, a hetrosexual ambitious boy that was as normal as everyone and had no intentions in starting to draw what expose me to be a young “David Tlale”.
Written By : Ofentse Sean Lewis
Photograph Of Mpendulo Cele By Ofentse Sean Lewis
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank You.
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