Have you ever had an amazing day with friends and family, beautiful scenes and delicious food? Of course a few selfies were taken, but what happens when oops you pressed the “DELETE” button on your phone. Not only is the picture gone, but so is the memory you had for that day. I love capturing special moments and keeping them for a lifetime, which inspired me to desire a scrapbook.

Growing up, I was the type of kid that instead of asking for a Barbie doll, I would ask for a pack of glitter pens, fancy art paper, paint and a whole lot of creative stuff. As the years went by, I knew that I had some sort of creative skill. Everyone knew I always wanted a scrapbook to express myself, but for some reason it took me years to get one.

Three years ago, I had to go for a major spine operation. I was diagnosed with scoliosis, which is a curvature on the spine. Although I was not in any pain, the structure of my spine was visible and made me lose confidence in myself. This was a very dull moment in my life, but the operation was successful and after eight days in hospital, I was finally discharged. When I came home, I saw my older sister holding a present for me. A square box wrapped in sparkly pink paper. I tried to guess what it was, and I was on point. A SCRAPBOOK! This was the perfect time to receive a gift that I always longed for and up till today it remains my special object.

Ever since I have had a scrapbook, there is never a moment of boredom. My scrapbook is filled with handmade crafts, artistic borders and colourful frames that surround photographs. It has a chronological order of unfolding each stage of my life: from birth, to my days at school and university, and it features my family and friends close to my heart. I also include sentimental items such as: school badges, my first school speech, report cards, paper cuttings of my matric results, hospital tags, prom tickets and more. Each photograph tells a story, each page has a theme and the entire book is filled with memories.

My scrapbook is special to me for two reasons. Firstly, it was given to me by my only sister, who has played a huge role in my life and has always been an inspiration to me. Secondly, it gives me the opportunity to capture and store memories in a creative way. I am able to take a photograph of anything special to me, stick it, design a theme for it and have it last forever. There are days where I can just sit and browse through my scrapbook and reminisce about the past and special moments.

I’ve often been asked: “If there was a fire in your house, what would be the one thing you would save?”

You guessed it…my scrapbook!