The year 2017 arrived; I was in Grade 8 attending Bokamoso Secondary School in Seshego zone 2. I can say it was very lit in the first week of school, then I started to feel as if I wasn’t in the right place, as that very same year I started to have pimples. Of all the girls in the school I was regarded as one of the boys, even though they all made fun of my skin and how big my nose was.

At the point I felt like everyone was against me, there was this girl called Tshegofatšo Masalesa. She was a blessing from the Gods as we clicked and had something in common: being criticised. I was upset by it but she was strong and firm. On top of that she didn’t care about who said what about her, and for that I admired her and I still do, even though I last saw her that year. 2017 was the worst year ever but all that changed when an angel was conceived and my mother called her Bokamoso. Let me just say I loved her like nothing else in this whole world.

I still love her very much. I remember before the year was over I asked my mom to transfer me to another school, which was the same school our relative was at. She started saying she would think about it but eventually she said yes.

Do you know the feeling of moving to a new school knowing that all that was odd would now be even? Well, that was how I felt knowing that I would change my path and make friends. The year was 2018 and I was in Grade 9 with a new friend who had also just changed school. Her name was Mamoi. She made me confident but she was way too confident.

That very same year I had a classmate called Phillip Moraneng and he taught me what I needed to know. I remember him saying, “Oskaya le lefase mfanaka,” and I just nodded. He was a real friend, and he made me see what I couldn’t see. He also told me what to be careful with in the teenage world. And for that, “Thank you Philly.” 2018 passed and obviously my friends passed well, and I did too, which meant a new grade.

When the new year arrived I was excited but one of my friends changed school and I was so hurt because I usually spent my break time with her, so that meant I had to make a new friend. By luck I met someone close to home, a person I could chat to about our village Botlokwa. We clicked and became best of friends. Her name is Tshepiso Makadikwa. Tshepiso was such a vibrant person but sometimes she could just get out of hand. I had many friends. Mokgadi the oldest, Mapitsi the complex one, Itumeleng the shy one, and also Munei who was a guy who once beat me up.

The thing was, when I started to know them better I started to change my path, and numerous times I would just snap at my teachers. I would shout at them and that wasn’t my intention but I just felt like I had to do it. I started to be unruly and thought I knew better than everyone else in the world.

All this started when I started to get in touch with my biological father, but what I know is that I don’t even have to blame someone for my horrible ways. At home I was always grumpy, thinking about why I had to live with someone else’s father while mine was still alive. Little did I know my own father wanted nothing to do with me. I can even say I did say some things that weren’t true to my new friends.

Tell us: What did you learn from this chapter?