MY FIRST MARK

My first mark

Every story begins with a sentence and this is mine.

Life has been showing me flames and forcing me to be an unequipped fire fighter for survival's sake and fortunately, that worked as I am still here even today. I am a young man who grew up without the presence of his father. Even though my mother tried, her journey was cut short, and her name was called, she did not hesitate to respond. Her departure led to my first wound, my first mark. Leaving me confused and not knowing what will happen next. As young as I was, I understood that without her, my life was going to change, and I would experience challenges every now and then. My two aunts took over as my mother had accepted the heavy defeat of death, they made sure that I had everything I needed and more. School became different, my reason to succeed was gone as I wanted to make my mother proud. I became a turtle that refused to leave its shell. I became reserved and avoided crowded areas even though I used to be the reason for a crowd to exist, especially at school. My marks started to drop as if they were placed on top of a slopy hill. My teachers were concerned and tried to reach out but unfortunately, my hope was already dead by then.

Surviving is a perfect description of my life, the main reason that kept me going was getting to know that my life was never linked to that of my mother except for my existence. Understanding that I have my own purpose that is not even related to hers pumped me up. It became a little flame inside my heart that kept burning and resurrecting my unalive hope. I was in high school when that realization visited me. I had to try and pick up the pieces of my broken heart. As I kept trying to find them, my studies were badly affected, and I found myself obtaining a bachelor that only attested my entrance at the school's gates. My bachelor was not strong enough to push the gates of any university. Those were some of the consequences of my first mark.

What do you think happened after that? Do you think that I gave up? Visit again to find out. 😉  

Simphiwe wrote...