I HAVE STORIES TO TELL MY GRANDCHILDREN

MARCH 1, 2009
On May 2007, I did research for my dance seminar thesis on Zimbabwe. My research was in New Mexico at an African Dance Camp. This African Dance Camp was in the middle of Albuquerque which was going through an overcast and it was very cold in the middle of their dessert environment. In this environment, I was living in a tent and taking intense dance, lecture, and music classes. The classes were all based on African culture and especially Zimbabwe. As I left, I was invited to the second session camp just concentrating on Zimbabwe but I could not attend because of summer school at Coker College. As I left the camp, I remembered the hurt feeling in my heart. It was not the fact of leaving the camp. It was the fact of leaving my culture.
I never forgot the hurt feeling and it made me in need of knowing more. What did I do? I left everything of my comfort zone and I went exploring my culture in the next best thing…..SOUTH AFRICA.
I have been here for seven months now. Through the struggles here, I found myself. I said: “I found myself”
As I looked outside of the view of Randburg, South Africa, I had come to the realization of always being on self discovery even when I am 50 years old. EVERYDAY WILL BE DIFFERENT! In result; I will be different so I owe myself to challenge my mind. I owe it to myself to see the world, read good books, spend time with family, take risks, make mistakes, cry, live on passion, love , heart break, make friends, break friendships, sin, research, and live in some one else’s shoes. All in all I owe it to myself to live life. So I could tell my grandchildren stories.
Well….I AM ALIVE. I am accomplishing my dreams.
Speaking of dreams, I had one dream all my life and it was to be a professional dancer. My professional dancing career has become like drinking alcohol before the required age. Because….once a person had become of age the trill has gone.
At sixteen, I was in the mix of the professional dancer scene. At eighteen, I went to college for dance and in the same year I received the title of top 10 dancer for the Millie Lewis Competition. At 22 years old, I had made my ultimate dream of dancing for an international company. My location had happened to be in South Africa.
I DID IT! I achieved my ultimate dream. NOW WHAT? Yes! I wanted more. Dance has become my passion but deep down inside I knew of not being a professional dancer forever.
This statement has become hard for me to say but it has become brutal honesty. When I watched Hedi Klum on television, she said:” Dance is my passion but deep down inside I knew I was not going to be a professional dancer.”
Now! I am an artist and I always will be. But…I am going into a different direction with my art. I have a need to bring dance on a higher level. Finally! I have a need to take out the question, what can you do with dance? Because….. the world will know about the intensity of dance. My new level in life…..promote dance to the mainstream.
I choose for my home base to be South Africa.
I believe people will always ask themselves, why they are here on Earth. For me, I have always asked myself that question. So I just followed my instincts. I was brought to South Africa by a dream and I will tell my grandchildren my experiences. So they could ask themselves that same question of why are their here on Earth. Hopefully, they will listen to their grandmother’s stories and find out by living life to the fullest.
In this day and age, my generation has limited stories to tell their grandchildren. I believe because my generation has become lazy because we have limited things to fight for. I often here from my elders about the civil rights movement, World War II, and my grandmother the independence in Zimbabwe. The elders have told me what they fought for. For me, I also have a need of telling my grandchildren what I fought for……SELF CHALLENGE.
Thank you Grandparents for telling me your stories! Being name after my grandmother, I hope to live up to her expectations.

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS DEDICATED TO MY LATE GRANDPA KAPFADZE AND GRANDPA MUFUKA ……………………………………………………….