This was at Gold Reef City in 1996, when I was in Grade 1. The people in the photograph with me are some of the first friends I made at Marian College (and my brother.) Two of the girls in this picture (Melissa Rokebrand and Vera Khumalo) were recently my bridesmaids at my wedding on 1 May 2015. That’s a good 19 years later!
A photo of me and one of my best friend’s from high school (and matric dance date) Dino Batista, at our matric dance in 2007. The theme was Casino Royale, and we really had a blast! Dino has since gone on to start up a really successful business, Molecular Bars which he co-founded with Domenico De Lorenzo, Alicia Bulter, and Dominic Walsh.
Our final week in matric (and dress up week) in 2007 was one of the most memorable week’s I have at Marian. The class of 2007 had a blast dressing up and enjoying our final week of school. Our dress up themes ranged from movie stars, to trailer park, to hippies and more!
Sports days were among my favourite days at Marian. Being outdoors, the vibe and fun, and the competition in the air was amazing. I was part of Valerian (the red house.) The sense of comradery on sports days among people from different grades was something I loved the most. Everyone of different ages coming together to compete against the other colour houses. So much fun.
In 2004, I entered a writing competition as part of Cell C’s “Take A Girl Child To Work Day” during my time at Marian, and to my surprise, I won! My prize was spending a day with iconic African musician, Pops Mohamed, as well as being awarded with a bicycle and helmet. I was 15 years old at the time, and my day with Pops was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. He exposed me to so much about the local music industry and music production, which I was interested in as a possible career at the time.