2 Years later...

So, remember the girl I posted about in October 2013... (you can quickly click on the link and read it if you need to refresh your memory: That girl I've seen around )

Anyway, this news is bittersweet. Palesa disappeared after a visit from her friend's house, on her way to school. However, she never actually got to school. So we all assumed that something had happened to her on the way. A number of us talked about the possible scenarios, like, she was hit by a car and the motorist panicked and disposed of the body somewhere. Or that she had been kidnapped and human trafficked. Or even that she had eloped to France with a handsome foreign guy.
(Okay, maybe that last one is a bit much.)  Never the less, no one expected the news that surfaced a few weeks ago.

The police received a tip off that her body was buried in her friend's back yard. Yes! The friend she had visited. PLOT TWIST!!! I mean, how did that family keep her body in the yard for 2 years???
I wish we had a forensics
team from those CSI shows to examine her remains and find out exactly how she died. The police haven't said much yet. A funeral was held at the university this past weekend for her.
I know it's sad that she is no longer alive, but I do hope this will bring the family closure, and that they can finally be at peace.

I guess it's safe to say there are a lot of parents who won't want their children to visit their friends now.

Interesting Encounters

So, it's 2016. A new year. New me? Nah... not so much.

Everything is just going... slow. On a more positive note. I met a lady on new year's eve. I assume she's in her early 30s or late 20s. She was tall, with a body of a model. She had an elegant charm about her. In a nutshell, she studied law and she recently got a job offer at the UN, so she's leaving for New York in march.
"I'm a hard worker. I will not settle for anything less than the best that I can be. I'm going to New York and my circles include people like Richard Branson and (she mentioned another name that I didn't recognize, but I'm sure the person is affluent)!"

I just listened to the way she spoke. She is so ambitious, eloquent and confident. In all honesty, her story didn't make me jealous or envious, but rather, got me thinking if I'm the best Yolanda I could have been.
Quite frankly, no, I am not.

It's sad really. Knowing that in reality you're a sub-standard version of yourself. However, all hope is not lost. I think the real tragedy is when you stop trying to improve yourself.
After a hearty conversation, the conclusion was that I need to go back to school.

"There's a lady named Lara who I'd like you to meet. She is the CEO of the President's Award Youth Empowerment Programme. I think your story can inspire a lot of young people, and she might be able to help you with some of the challenges that you're facing. It hurts me to see young people not fulfilling their potential. I want you to succeed. It's up to you to enroll for the degree, because come March, I'll be jetting off to New York. Then one day, while sipping a martini on my yacht, I'll be like, Yolanda who? Oh, she didn't take my advice? shame."

At this point of the conversation, the expression on my face is just blank. Not sure if I was stuck on the part where she's sipping martinis on a yacht *rolls eyes* or visualizing myself unsuccessful.
In essence, it was weird for me, to have a stranger be so passionate about my success. Intense.

A few days later...
I tried to apply for the degree programme only to realize, it was too late, and applications for the 2016 intake were closed. I told her about it. To my dismay, this was her response:
"If I may speak plainly and with truth... seems to me like you're looking to back out. If you're not ready, leave it... but I will only introduce you to Lara when you are a registered student."

So that was the end of that.