Do you have a story to tell?
Every individual, who has experienced life on planet Earth, has a personal history to relate about his or her journeying through life, whether they know it or not. In life there are numerous histories being made by people from all corners of the globe and from different cultures but no two journeys are the same.
To begin a life is to begin a historical journey and each life has its own individual story. In life there are numerous histories being made by people from all corners of the globe and from different cultures but no two journeys are the same. Everyone has life experiences that are uniquely different from everyone else. Even if two or three or more people have had the very same experience, they will each narrate it in a different way, because their perspectives differ from each other’s.
Therefore, one’s life is a book which was written long before the foundations of the earth were even laid because it is said in the Bible that God knew you before you were even formed in your mother’s womb. When you were born, you actually began a historical journey with its own individual story and your personal story should be told in your own voice. Perhaps at such a time as this is when most Zimbabweans have the most stories to tell, because many people in society are wrestling with simple “bread and butter” issues and the problem of “making ends meet” Those in the Diaspora have even more stories to tell of their lives away from home. Recently, a local newspaper reported that legendary musician, Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo had recently released an album with the apt title, “Exile” and no guessing what he is singing about on the album.
Usually when people hear the word “history” their minds immediately recede back to high school because their association of history is the subject that they studied in high school, at which they recall that they could not cram the dates, the names and the incidences which they learnt in the subject, and they remember how they had to crack their heads during exam time. When asked to talk about their lives, many people are hesitant and unsure of themselves and they literary become tongue tied. Some will eventually say, “My life is so boring and ordinary. Nothing exciting has ever happened to me.” However, with a little supportive encouragement, if these people begin to recount the people they know, the places they have visited and the events that have transpired throughout their lives, even they will be amazed at how fascinating their lives have actually been.
No matter how insignificant or uneventful your own life may appear to be, your memories are too important to be swept under the carpet. Everyone has had diverse experiences in life, with some of the experiences having been truly amazing. Some have had close shaves with death, for instance the people who have been involved in some of Zimbabwe’s most tragic bus disasters, but have been fortunate enough to have survived to tell the tale. Some people may have found their way out of a difficult situation that seemed impossible to conquer at the time and yet there are others who have sailed through life and had no major obstacles thrust upon them. Yet others have lived in a pleasant and peaceful family life and others have been thrust by fate into a broken and loveless family life that subsequently destroyed and distorted their own perception of life, leading them to a life of crime. Talk to the organization, Prison Fellowship Zimbabwe (PFZ), and they will give you many stories of prisoners, who landed up in prison, because of their unfortunate circumstances in life.
Some people have had the good fortune to travel widely and to see many parts of the world and others have never set foot outside the town that they were born in. Some people have become renowned through their professional careers, business ventures or sporting prowess such as Zimbabwe’s swimming champion, Kirsty Coventry, who has won gold and silver world medals in swimming, but others have only served as bridges, allowing others to cross to their destinies, and they themselves never rising. Some have had children and grandchildren but others have only yearned to have this blessing. Some have amassed much wealth and others have remained at the bottom rung of the corporate ladder.
Three Zimbabwean female authors, Debra Chidakwa, Lutanga Shaba and Norah Spie realizing that their lives were stories truly worth to be read, wrote their biographical stories, depicting their diverse experiences in their eventful lives. Their stories were written with brutal honesty and indeed they courageously and heroically wrote and shared their stories with sincere openness and leaving no stone unturned. The stories remain imprinted upon my memory, long after I read them.
Debra Chidakwa, who is now resident in the United Kingdom, grew up during the 1970s during the tumulus time of the Zimbabwean liberation war and in her book titled, This Is My Story And This Is My Song, she narrates how she suffered a horrifying childhood and in her young adulthood she was grossly exploited and taken advantage of by top politicians who held prestigious government positions.
The book, Secrets Of A Woman’s Soul, which is also based on a true story, was written by Lutanga Shaba, a lawyer by profession, who founded The Women’s Trust, a non-governmental women’s organization which is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, which she founded. In her book she narrates a story of her personal strength and hope in despair and she tells her gripping story with a candidness that is brutal and touching. She speaks out to empty her heart on issues related to HIV/AIDS and poses several thought-provoking questions based on circumstances that once surrounded her life, which include, extreme poverty and the tragic battle for survival and HIV/AIDS.
Norah Spie’s life experiences are chronicled in her book which she titled, Parallel Lines. In this book she reveals the dreams and the aspirations of a young African girl as she grows up, goes to school, looks for her first job and has her first romance. Norah is currently a journalist/broadcaster and works for a radio station in Birmingham, UK. She has lived in Sweden, France and is now based in the UK
Based on these three women’s stories, it is evidently clear that no matter how insignificant or uneventful one’s life may appear to be on the surface, individual memories are too important to be swept under the carpet.
Related Articles
- Ruby Magosvongwe and Steven Millhauser on the short story
- Echoes of Young Voices short story competition
- Publish Or Perish
- Tsitsi Dangarembga and the Greenies story
- Bury yourself in a good book
- The Uncertainty of Hope by Valerie Tagwira- a discussion
- The Asylum Story of Courage Shumba
- Arnold Schwarzenegger Marketing…True Story
- Petinah Gappah- two book deals in one
- Hats off to THE PSYKOZ and co.
- How would you tell the story of Zimbabwe?
- 86 Mothers in Law?!
Give me a Random Article
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
