Adolescence was a very awkward time for me. Where my body was concerned, everything happened at an accelerated rate. The crimson tide rolled in early in 1995 when I was 12-years-old and in standard four. At that point, the birds-and-bees discussion had not occurred yet so understandably I was traumatised and refused to leave the bathroom. Ouma had to hurry on those little stumps she called legs to buy those crap sanitary napkins of back in the day. Learning to walk like a normal person and not like a gun-slinging cowboy was the first challenge. Not long after (in fact, this was during the June-holidays) the rack popped out right into a respectable B-cup. Balancing and walking up straight became the new challenge. I learned that children of any age (whether in their childhood or teens) should be seen and not heard. In other words, my thoughts and feelings would never be taken into account and my opinions mattered too little to make any kind of contribution. And then I also learned that the values planted in me as a child by parents and teachers (like sharing, respect for elders, respect for your body and waiting until marriage) became null and void in the transition to high school. Not even the adults were impressed with what was called the "little girl lost" act. A failed attempt at seeking the approval of my peers and teachers followed along with trying to find my place in the world.
This should sound familiar to most of us; that time when we didn't stand out but didn't quite fit in (to quote the Hanson-brothers). There was honestly a time when I thought that my adolescence was the single, most horrible event of my life thus far, but I had another thing coming: my THIRTIES!
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