Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived on a farm in the land of Limpopo. The girl was bright in colour and extremely beautiful. A shy girl who was trapped under a dark cloud of bad luck. The people from around the farm took her for granted because she was extremely sweet, friendly and quite easy to approach. Her family treated her like she was invisible and unimportant.

In her teenage years she experienced traumatic events that were way beyond her age, which led her to live a very quiet and meaningless life with no purpose. She had no dream or goals in life whatsoever. As she matured, she adopted a dual lifestyle, which she applied at home and outside.

It all began when she was in her last year of school in Grade 12 She met a guy who was the opposite of everyone she had ever met. At first, she pushed him away, but he kept coming back. Finally she opened up to him. It was as if she were dreaming each time they were together. She came to discover herself through him. This guy treated her like a queen, something that she was unaccustomed to.

He supported her, even though people discouraged him from being with her. Thanks to him, the girl discovered her calling. She was a good writer at heart, she could write effortlessly. Her boyfriend then urged her to record some of her writing pieces. People in and around her community started listening to those written recordings, without knowing who had written and recorded them.

Then there was a function at her school for the class of grade 12. It was a special occasion since the entire community and parents were invited. The guy told the girl, his girlfriend, to write something special for the occasion even if there was no guarantee that she would be able to perform it in person. What the girl didn’t know at the time was that she was already on the list of people who were going to speak at the function. Then the day of the function arrived, it perfect and well organised.

The performances were booked back to back. Finally it was the girls turn to get on the stage. She was nervous but as usual she looked flawless. She searched the crowd for her boyfriend, but he was nowhere to be seen. She then stood ready to face the crowd and realised that he had created her an opportunity to reclaim her dignity and respect. Everyone was quiet but she could see the surprise in their faces. She then recited her poem and owned the stage with her powerful voice.

The girl rendered the crowd speechless. Her entire community looked at her with amazement. She had with one poem, changed the way that they had perceived her. They gave her a standing ovation after her performance. When she went backstage her boyfriend (who had motivated and supported her) was back stage waiting to give her a hug and congratulate her on her outstanding performance. As the girl realised the turning point in her life she cried tears of relief and joy.

Through her example of standing up for herself, people in her community had the courage to do the same. Everyone thought that she was a bad person that she was good for nothing and she proved them wrong. This was the turning point in her life.

From that day forward the girl worked very hard to achieve the highest academic results in order to prove to her peers and community that she was indeed good at something. People in and around her community aw her as a good example. Her community learned a lesson from her, that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because one cannot know who or what a person is by looking at them from the outside.

As for the guy and the girl, they moved to Johannesburg to further their studies together. They continued living their lives afterwards, the guy an engineer and the girl still pursuing her dreams as a writer!