My daughter found one of my old laptops and asked me to switch it on, hoping to download games. I reluctantly indulged her, but what was meant to be a teachable moment of the obsolescence of technology turned into a walk down memory lane for me. This laptop holds most of my pictures and written content from my Honours year up until a few years after I left journalism. I was blown away by the girl I saw; bold, creative, and excited about life. Not just in her pictures, but in the stories she told. I used to tell interesting stories: feature articles about new brides, Black Love, the arts, successful women in business (I giggle now at the fact that this feature was called “Woman on Top”), rising stars, and even articles about celebrity homes and how they were styled.
Once I left the magazine world, I didn’t stop. I started a blog and wrote whatever my heart wanted to share with the world. I wasn’t worried about views or comments. I didn’t care about stats, demographics, or whether the thought had already been shared. Oh, what fun!
This experience sparked a thought: what happened to that young woman who would just write? I love writing! Hence, we are here, on this blog. Did corporate ambition and other adulting factors drain the capacity for free flow writing out of me? I still write every day, for work, for clients, for my PhD. But that is such technical, prescriptive content. Interestingly, a few weeks back, I attended a writing workshop that sparked my journaling to improve. So, for the past couple of weeks, I have been free flow journaling my feelings and thoughts, which will never make it to the internet, lol.
Another thought hit me: did the writing stop because we were told that people no longer read long-form content and prefer vlogs? I believe there is an audience for everyone. When I was in high school, I organised an HIV/AIDS awareness assembly, motivated by the idea that even if one person was educated, that was enough for me. My point is, I’d love to remember that girl who did things because she loved them. Not for aesthetics, platform stats, etc., but because she felt it would be interesting to at least one person, even if that one person is herself a few years later, needing to remember that she is bold, fun, creative, and phenomenal.
In conclusion, in a world that is overly curated, I hope you look back at a moment in time when you did something you liked, and it reminds you that we only have one life. Live, baby!
Tokiso Molefe 