Being a young girl of sixteen years old, in grade 10 is difficult but having the support of my role means a great deal. My role model and my inspiration in life is my father, Xolani Snuka. My father is the person who keeps me driven, ambitious and focused in my studies and education.

My mother once told me a story about my father. He grew up with his step mother who did not care about him. She did not want him to go to school and get an education like all children in the village. But my father promised himself that one day he would get an education and become what he wanted to become in life. He did just that at the age of 48. He went to University while working hard to provide for his family and to pay for his studies.

That showed me that no matter how old you are, and as long as you know what you want in life, you can still get an education. It is up to you as a person and what you want to do.

At that moment I realised that education is really the key to open doors for yourself. That short story changed my life in a whole new and different way. It made me see that I was now an adult and I didn’t care about the education I was being given. I was ungrateful and also had an attitude. I was going nowhere.

Now, more than ever, I am grateful and blessed for the education that I get. I will study hard and go to University and get my degree, honors and masters. I will get a bursary to go overseas so that I can further my studies of becoming a lawyer or an accountant and fulfill my dreams.

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Tell us what you think: Who is your role model?