User:Braddleynzama

Personal Bibliography

Muziwokuthula Nzama [meaning house-of-peace] known as Bradley grew up as a third child, at a place called Khusane in uMzinyathi located on the east of Durban, KZN. Since both parents had siblings 2 on the mother side and 9 on the father’s side, so Bradley grew up as number 28th grandchild. He grew up in a small neighbourhood with adults—his parents,5 aunties, 3 uncles and 8 cousins, 13 nephews and grandparent (Granny)1993-1996 at the time.

There was a lot happening at that time with a big family of about 32 children in one yard. Family feud drove Bradley his mom (Zandile Mthimkhulu) and his 3 siblings 1 sister (Delisile Nzama) and 2 brothers (Bheki Nzama and Misokuhle). Leaving his dad (Nkosinathi Bani Nzama) behind.

Zandile his mother wasn’t working at the time and they had no birth certificates. This means they did not have any government grant in the family. Because of this, he never really knew what it meant to be a kid, everyone in the family had to go out and get something to put on the table. Since the adults around Bradley were quite overprotective and there is a saying that goes…’hungry stomachs cause anger’, he had learned how to relate well with other kids even with all this going on in his life.

Growing up, Bradley felt accustomed to the company of adults and 1 younger sister. He stated buying his own stuff when he was in Grade 8/ standard 6. He was always more mature than the other children at school. Even when he gained friends, he often felt annoyed at them while growing up because he felt that they were too childish. He spent most of his time alone or getting things done, anything that involved him getting paid. Things were quite reasonable at that time as *inyala maize meal, 500g was still R2.50.* These acts involved fetching of water for neighbours and collecting wood for cooking. Lucky, the neighbourhood was not that rich and everyone was slightly struggling and all this wasn’t much noticeable to others.

The house they used was not owned by his mother. The house belonged to one of the family members that was not leaving in the area at the time. So, this was as if they were the trusted guardians. The house was a 1 room, 1 dining and a kitchen. The house had not electricity on it and was built with mud, using bamboo and rods for structure. The house also had no running water or concrete as a holding foundation for the house. All sides had collapsed once or twice when it rained and they had to rebuild it and sleep inside that very same day.

The adults who raised Bradley were mostly his teachers and neighbours that invested a lot in him and taught him well—this encouraged him to excel in all of his subjects as well as any hobbies he decided to take up. He used his drawing skills to show what he was thinking and feeling as his drawings were very detailed and spiritually provoking in a way. Now that he's all grown up, accepts that back then, he may have seemed smug to his peers.

While she didn't realize this back then, she hadn't learned self-awareness until years later. When Christine was in high school, she started feeling the pressure from her parents' and grandparents' high expectations. Gradually, she stopped joining extra-curricular activities and instead, made the choice to work.

Still, Christine graduated at the top of her class, although she wasn't the valedictorian. Looking back, Christine thinks that she didn't try as hard because she didn't want to give her family the satisfaction.

Then when it was time for college, she chose to go to a public university that was far from her home instead of the private university her parents hoped she would attend. She made this choice so she could feel like a "small fish in a big pond."

Throughout her college life, Christine didn't join a lot of outside activities. She joined a sorority and even because the president of the group after several of her sisters convinced her to take the role.

She also worked to pay her bills and, after several jobs, she started working for an investment firm. From there, she aimed to meet her potential, take on new challenges, but she didn't strive hard to go beyond expectations.

Probably because of the kind of family she grew up in, Christine never imagined herself having a family of her own. She didn't want to get tied down by a husband and children, so she always believed that marriage wasn't for her.

But in the year 2010, she met a man named Don and—after some happy years together—she decided to tie the knot with him. One year later, they welcomed their first daughter into their life. Since then, she let go of her career-woman life and became a stay-at-home mom. Christine feels both happy and proud of this role of hers.

She feels like this is the perfect role for her as she watches her young daughter grow into a happy little girl. Christine remains driven but this time, not for herself, but for her daughter. Although she still finds it challenging to relate to children, she feels like she is an expert when it comes to her child.

Even though she never learned how to be a kid, she's hoping her little bundle of joy will teach her the joys of childhood when the time comes. This is where she gets her strength and motivation.