When I was fourteen years old, most of my neighbours thought I was crazy. In their eyes I was a weirdo. I was a poor kid who thought he could become more than what he actually was. How dare I have big dreams? How dare I try to stay indoors and study, speak fancy English, write rap songs and try to be a rapper? How dare I try to be a rock star in my family and neighbourhood?

Maybe if you were one my neighbours at the time, you would’ve also thought I was crazy. Or maybe you would’ve seen that I was not so crazy after all, that my dreams didn’t deserve to be treated like they were a poison that could kill the whole neighbourhood.

That year 2005: I still remember it clearly. At the end of it I went back to Dordrecht (the small town in the Eastern Cape where I’d spent a large part of my life) for the December holidays. I met a girl there – Noluvo. I was fourteen years old and feeling like I was someone very powerful.

My mother was so annoyed with the whole Noluvo thing. To her, the girl was a bad influence – someone who was going to put bad ideas into my young mind. To me, getting Noluvo made me feel cool, like I was winning a very important race or competition. I’d beaten all the big strong guys, the cool guys, who’d wanted her. I’d come in from Cape Town and shown her something she hadn’t seen before – a Xhosa kid with fancy English and a little bit of charm. (Of course, the nice haircut I had probably played a part as well, since there were no good barbershops there). Most importantly, though, I charmed her with words she’d only heard on TV. That was the first time I could really see that English was going to be a powerful tool in my life – a weapon I could use to win.

When the holiday ended and it was time to come back to Cape Town, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my neighbours, or even the other kids at my school. But I was excited. Would they believe that I had a girlfriend who liked me for my fancy English and nice haircut? Would being me finally be a good thing? I didn’t know the answers to those questions, but I was excited to find out. When I eventually arrived, though, nothing had changed. I was still a weirdo…

But let’s fast forward from all of that to 2017. English is still a powerful weapon for me. It has done exactly what I thought it could do back in 2005. It has changed my life. When I look back now, at my younger days, I’m glad I dared to be different. Growing up with my face buried in newspapers, textbooks and novels turned me into the writer, motivational speaker, poet, and lawyer that I am today. I’m glad I tried my best to stay in-doors and study, speak fancy English, write rap songs and try to be a rapper. I’m really glad I tried my best to be much more than just a poor kid from Philippi …