To those of you who have decided you want to know more, this is my story. I don’t want to introduce myself at this point but this is a narrative of my life, well, my teenage life, and how it all started.

When I hear someone yelling or talking about Botlokwa, my blood just cools down because that’s where I was born. I was born at Botlokwa Hospital in Limpopo, Matoks, just outside Polokwane. I don’t remember much about when my mother was changing my nappies but I remember some of my days in preschool. In Botlokwa there was a place called Maphosa, which I think was under Chief Machaka. I lived with my grandmother, mother and aunt; I didn’t care about my so-called father even a little bit that time.

When I was in Grade 3, my mom moved to Seshego with her partner and it happened that I had to move with her because, according to her, she wouldn’t leave me. This was a great opportunity for me, as I didn’t know anything about township life, but what saddened me was the thought of leaving my dearest friends and my closest family. Life is not what we expect of it! That I knew as time went on.

This is exactly where my so-called tale starts, in Seshego zone 1, close to Grace and Hope Special School. I remember I arrived at Seshego around December 2012. Well, like any other kid my age, it was easy for me to make friends. They all loved me and I loved them all.

Time passed by and we had to move to another place. Luckily for me we remained in the same block as before and we had more space. By that time my mom had a daughter, she was two or three years old by that time. I liked the idea of having a little sister but I was always outside in the streets of Seshego with my best friend Kgothatso and her brother Thoriso. I really enjoyed spending time with them and they always stood up for me when some of our peers called me names because, well, I was from Botlokwa.

Things were going well and I had pretty much adjusted. One day it was raining out of nowhere and I had to run home. When I got there, my mom said I should go with her and my stepfather to collect my little sister from her preschool. Little did we know hell would break loose! We went to get my little sister, but by the time we got home, we had decided to remain in the car. Let me just say God always does wonders. My mother, little sister and I were in the car, but my stepfather decided to go inside.

For this part just close your eyes: close your eyes and imagine seeing your father coming from the house all wet, holding a laptop in his hands and saying, “Roof e fofile.” We were all shocked, and by ‘all’ I include everyone who resided in the same yard for more than two years, plus the community. By that point for me it only meant I would be trashed more, and that was true. Some of my peers spread rumours that when the storm took the roof I was sleeping and a brick hit me. Many people believed them.

That very same day of the storm, we had to gather what we could and move to our pastor’s yard, where she had just built rental rooms, and again we were lucky because we had nowhere else to go. I think we stayed there for a year or something, from when I was in Grade 6. When I passed Grade 7 I had to go to high school and I was so excited and nervous at the same time.

Tell us: Have you ever moved to a new school? How was your experience?