Hey friends,
I am in good spirits … the spider bite’s jeebies on my skin is lessening … Geez, it was constantly feeling like there was a bug in my bloodstream running a freaking mock. Weird sensations from the venom, nothing like I’ve ever felt before, obviously, because someone has never gotten two bites in a space of two weeks, one in particular, a bite that makes you think of the film Tarantulas. Maybe I’ll convert to T Tarantino. No man, Quentin Tarantino is married, not him…😉
Oh! Well, this bug scene will become history soon. I don’t know what made me think of this topic in the subject heading, but I can tell you one thing, I wish someone told me this at the youngest age possible when I was ready to understand its meaning. I think this would have changed a lot how I did things in the past, nonetheless, at least I know better now.
Ever felt like life is a constant race? I remember how this felt when I didn’t have all the knowledge I have right now. Until I got burnt out in the rat race of the corporate world, I began wondering that there must be other ways to living life without having to feel like you have to compete all the darn time. More and more I realise traditional values and practices by far seem to be the ones that last longer. They came from a very wise place and that was a life where instant gratification never really existed. Think about who is surviving in the current times? The ones that set solid foundations working every single day patiently, head down, hard with consistency, accepting that in life some things even if we don’t like it is part of the package; meaning acceptance (certainly not meaning that you should accept toxicity).
Drawing from parts of the scenes in my book I can tell you that I wasn’t a student with high performance, I can tell you that I was scraping passes and then as the years passed I’d pass properly but stayed average. Never was mathematical, I could draw really good, Jesus, I started enjoying literature from the age of 15. Not a very popular kid at all. So, if we were to play Harry Potter, I’d say I was in Hufflepuff. It’s funny if you have to go to one school your entire life, and there’s only one school, for example, let’s say the school of magic, Hogwarts, then it’s interesting how you eventually become boxed according to the rest of your siblings, i.e., in the house their ancestors were placed in going on from one generation to the next. Harry could choose his own character so could Hermoine, but Ron was always put in a box, i.e., Weasleys.
So, if people were to see me now, it’s actually the case, they can’t believe it’s the same Patel that went to school with them, that Patel was a ghost, throughout her entire school life. School isn’t easy especially if you are going to be with mostly the same crowd for 13 years. Unfortunately, you are the brand even then whether you’re in Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Let’s face it, no one is interested in your sports team just whether you’re a winner or a loser – Unless you can change the world this is how the majority sees it, but remember one thing, the journey of life is a long race, and you might find that you have moments when you are air, fire, earth and water. If you don’t give up, you are the King/Queen. So, no sorting hat can tell you who you are, only you, so go be your own hero – T. Dench Patel, 10 February 2020, 16:50
This is what It’s often the case where the last person in the race becomes the legacy is trying to demonstrate. You will be boxed left, right and centre by the world and by your nearest and dearest. None mean to be bad, all of them are reflecting some sort of illusion, almost like fear that doesn’t ever come to pass in the way it’s thought of. Neville Longbottom was boxed his entire life in all the series of Harry Potter, he faced up to himself and chose his own character, he chose him, it was he who destroyed the very last haucrux, Nagini, that ended you know who (nope not referring to that other you know who – joke). So, when you change the game and the name that people have given you which you often live by because living out of that puts everyone else in a shock, forget everyone else, it’s you that fear how will everyone else take it if you genuinely do what you want to do. This is the journey of the person who is always last, slow, or boxed as such. The minute they can see this, free themselves from the perception of others, the courage is really in freeing yourself from their idea of you then you are unstoppable at becoming the legacy winner without even forcing or trying. The event/opportunity gets presented to those who patiently work at it, who work mainly on their truths even if it’s not a nice picture. – T. Dench Patel, 10 February 2021, 17:11
I’m not sure if you read the article where I tell you that I had one of the lowest marks in the class in my compositions when I was 13 years old, I was asked to stand up in front of the entire class, I literally was sitting at 3/10 or 4/10 on those compositions. I just couldn’t find anything to write about, words never came to me, stories never came to me, nothing, blank, absolutely blank. I thought there was something wrong with me, everyone seemed to have something they could write about so why am I struggling with this, now I make sense of those chapters here. Writer, dancer, traveller, … the list goes on, “T Patel, are we talking of the same person who went to school with us?” is what people can’t believe.
Yours sincerely,
T. Dench Patel
Thank you for the comments and support. Thank you for offering to donate if there was a donate button on here. I prefer not to take donations. You can support by purchasing my books (Paperback or Kindle), The South African: True Colours, The South African: Roamer or my children’s book Light. These books can be found on Amazon mainly and other sites in your country.
The audiobook for The South African: True Colours is available on iTunes, Apple and Audible. The South African: Roamer and Light will be released soon.
Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to re-evaluate them
