Growing up I spoke isiXhosa at home. But when I got to the Eastern Cape there was a boy who spoke English to a white person and I wanted to learn English. But when I got to Grade 4 my English teacher, Miss Matewu, used to say that in her class we must always speak English, and we did. That’s how I learnt the language. She also used to say, ‘If you want to learn to speak English you must read a lot’. I used to like speaking English, but when I got to high school I found out what I really like is to the radio, especially ‘Umhlobo Wenene’. I want to be a radio presenter. What made me love radio is that they speak isiXhosa and they don’t mix. That’s when I found out I love isiXhosa. I even stopped writing music in English and started to write in isiXhosa.

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This piece of writing was created as part of the WritingMe Writing Clubs with Sophumelela High School, Western Cape. Find out more here.