In African culture, when a child is born they are given a name which somewhat echoes their destiny anticipated by their elders. The name Tiisetso, stems from the Sotho word which means ‘perseverance’ and is often used to describe ones character. The personality of the young woman I interviewed encapsulates not only her gracious smile and animated persona, but also her resilience.
Tiisetso Bridgett Phatudi, a vibrant student who lives in the complexes of New House, commonly known as “Bridgett” amongst her friends, springs from the uptown city of Johannesburg. She lives with her mother and niece in a three bedroom house in southern Johannesburg. As a child Tiisetso enjoyed playing with other children, dancing and acting which compliments her captivating persona and sunny smile which warms up your heart.
Life for Tiisetso has never been easy, growing up in a chaotic household where moving become a commonly known routine, a girl has no time to feel sorry for herself. It is like a hip hop battle (hip hop being her passion) where being on the losing team does not only mean you have let your team down, but you have exposed your weakness to your opponent. It is this belief that has led her to develop defense mechanisms which help her cope with the ever changing dynamics of life.
Life has thrown many challenges in this young lady’s life, which is why Tiisetso chooses to live her life differently from the women in her family. “My parents did not get married’ a quick glance outside the window turns into an endless stare and our eyes hardly meet anymore. These are the consequences of being raised in a broken home; Tiisetso had her mother, two sisters and her niece living with her. “My mother and older sisters have always been much closer because of the 15 year gap between us as children.’ Being an isolated child, Tiisetso found comfort in the company of her best friend, Lesego.
However the loss of Lesego posed another challenge for her to over come, losing her best friend at a tend age of 16, pushed her further towards independence. Friendships there after have been stale, ‘finding someone you trust has been the hardest thing ever,’ adds Tiisesto as her rosy cheeks turn into a flaming red color.
The idea of finding love was what kept Tiiseso going for most of her life however things changed in first year, the fairytale slowly started to come to an end and the idea of love became a dreaded nightmare. Rhodes challenged her as a person as she had to make choices which were largely influenced by people whom she thought of as good friends. This has led to her loosing herself in the process but through the belief and encouragement that Lesego’s spirit is with her, she preserves in everything she does.
Her experiences at Rhodes have changed her, the diversity in thought that she has been exposed to during her first year have provided her with different perspectives on life. Her beliefs on love, friendship and self image have been questioned. Opening up has become an issue for Tiisesto, and one sees this through out the interview as she stares blankly ahead with her eyes watery.
Tiisetso Bridgett Phatudi, a vibrant student who lives in the complexes of New House, commonly known as “Bridgett” amongst her friends, springs from the uptown city of Johannesburg. She lives with her mother and niece in a three bedroom house in southern Johannesburg. As a child Tiisetso enjoyed playing with other children, dancing and acting which compliments her captivating persona and sunny smile which warms up your heart.
Life for Tiisetso has never been easy, growing up in a chaotic household where moving become a commonly known routine, a girl has no time to feel sorry for herself. It is like a hip hop battle (hip hop being her passion) where being on the losing team does not only mean you have let your team down, but you have exposed your weakness to your opponent. It is this belief that has led her to develop defense mechanisms which help her cope with the ever changing dynamics of life.
Life has thrown many challenges in this young lady’s life, which is why Tiisetso chooses to live her life differently from the women in her family. “My parents did not get married’ a quick glance outside the window turns into an endless stare and our eyes hardly meet anymore. These are the consequences of being raised in a broken home; Tiisetso had her mother, two sisters and her niece living with her. “My mother and older sisters have always been much closer because of the 15 year gap between us as children.’ Being an isolated child, Tiisetso found comfort in the company of her best friend, Lesego.
However the loss of Lesego posed another challenge for her to over come, losing her best friend at a tend age of 16, pushed her further towards independence. Friendships there after have been stale, ‘finding someone you trust has been the hardest thing ever,’ adds Tiisesto as her rosy cheeks turn into a flaming red color.
The idea of finding love was what kept Tiiseso going for most of her life however things changed in first year, the fairytale slowly started to come to an end and the idea of love became a dreaded nightmare. Rhodes challenged her as a person as she had to make choices which were largely influenced by people whom she thought of as good friends. This has led to her loosing herself in the process but through the belief and encouragement that Lesego’s spirit is with her, she preserves in everything she does.
Her experiences at Rhodes have changed her, the diversity in thought that she has been exposed to during her first year have provided her with different perspectives on life. Her beliefs on love, friendship and self image have been questioned. Opening up has become an issue for Tiisesto, and one sees this through out the interview as she stares blankly ahead with her eyes watery.
Posts
2 comments:
The profile on Tiisetso is touching and warm without being overbearing and soppy. The choosing of Tiisetso as someone to write about was a good decision, because she provided a good story to write about. The story not only involves hardships that Tiisetso had to overcome in her own way before Rhodes, but also incorporates how Rhodes has affected the life of this young student. Tiisetso seems to be the Hero in the story when using Propp’s narrative model because she overcomes hardships and becomes the person she is today. In terms of the story structure, there is a disruption as described in Todorov’s model which is the loss of Tiisetso’s best friend and the constant moving in her family household. The profile is a joy to read and shows a true understanding of how a narrative story should be told.
After reading this story, it became apparent to me that the writer really values what is on the inside of a person rather than the surface, as the entire story is concerned with finding the real truth about her interviewee’s character and background. The writer clearly makes it her agenda to find out people’s politics.
Much of this story is an example of how to make use of the narrative format of theorist Todorov; it starts by presenting the hero (main character) as normal, happy, generally content with her life (this is what Todorov would call the equilibrium). The writer then introduces a twist, a disruption in the way the story has been going; the death of the hero’s friend (this would be the disequilibrium). The rest of the story is the hero’s attempt to return to that state of normality, of happiness that she had at the beginning. The story then ends with a new kind of normal (new equilibrium) where the hero is sad and lonely, longing for happiness; the hero is awaiting a new challenge.
Post a Comment