Journey Beyond Borders : Unforseen Love in Uncharted Lands

AMINA POV Let me take you down the road of how I decided to take charge of my life and make a difference not only for myself but for my family as well... Before I get into the deep stuff I would like to introduce myself, my name is Thandiwe Amina Layana Dube and I am a South African female that comes from your typical African household from the Zulu tribe . A little context on what my childhood looked like I initially grew up in a township called Ivory Park and this is where I spent the first five years of my life. This took a turn for the good for my family when my dad decided to open his own construction supply company, which lead to a change in the financial status of my family, we were now able to relocate to the suburban area. We soon relocated to a small city Edenvale, which is where I spent the majority. of my chilldhoood, this also meant that my parents were now able to take myself and my siblings to private schools in pursuit for the best education. As you know some good things always come to an end, my fathers company was facing some issues and sales were decreasing, my parents then made the decision to transfer us to public schools when I was 14. Soon enough we went back to the township I had grown up in and to say this was a change that I was not ready to make ,but due to circumstances I had to adapt from the quiet environment to the now busy and noisy township.This is where I had now spent the rest of my teenage years. Now that you now a little more about me, let's get back to the story... The past year had definitely not gone according to the plans I had made, this was the year I was meant to finally establish my independence in the outside world without the guidance of my parents. Back in January it was finally time to get my results for my twelfth grade, I remember that night as though it was yesterday all the storm of emotions that I had experienced especially the feeling of fear. Fear, why you may ask, these results would truly determine where my future lay. On that particular day I could hardly stomach anything due to all the nerves I was feeling. Prior to all this I had set a goal for myself to pursue an education abroad, I spent the majority of my twelfth grade looking into affordable universities abroad that truly cater to the needs of international students.For as long as I can remember an education abroad was the ultimate goal. As soon as I received those results I could not be any happier that i was one step closer to accomplishing my goal. The turning point was when my parents sat me down one evening and informed about how they were not granted access to my college fund and it would only be accessed in a few years.At that particular moment I felt my heart drop as it now became evidently clear that the scholarship I was granted at these schools was not going to be enough, I remember telling myself that no matter what happens I was not going to take a gap year. I threw myself into the process of applying to more universities and scholarships, it all seemed to be crushing down right infront of me. My parents clearly could not afford to pay for my education with the burden of my siblings education as well, I was receiving rejection letters back to back due to my late attempt of apply to schools in my own country.That is one thing I will forever regret, not keeping my options open to the possibility of a local school. Just when I had given up all hope and had accepted my fate of taking a gap year I received an email from one of the numerous universities letting me know that South African individuals were being given the opportunity to apply for a full scholarship.I vividly remember thinking that I had nothing to lose and sent in my application. By the grace of God I was granted the scholarship and the opportunity to take my classes online. At that moment I was filled with so much joy as I thought about how this was one less problem for my parents to worry about. I then made the decision to commence my studies online because I felt as though that was what I needed to do because I knew that just because my tuition was taken care of there were more factors involved that I just did not have the means provide. As a couple of months went down the line I found myself yearning for the full experience of the college life as it was never my desire to take classes online. I had so much time on my hands as the online classes were quite flexible which gave me enough time to think about a way forward , when I suddenly landed myself on a video that opened my eyes to so much more that spoke about about methods of making money online. From that day onwards I found myself having an obsession with finding methods that will ensure that I can secure my own future, and that was how I found myself in the Freelancing and Affiliate marketing industry. I will admit thought the journey was definitely not smooth sailing as I made so many mistakes along the way but I kept pushing myself to not give up. I final saw the light at the end of the tunnel when I was able to secure my first payment which was way more than I had anticipated, that was like my fist breakthrough after so many failed attempts. That was my turning point when I could almost envision myself already achieving all that I had in mind, I was finally able to start saving up for my long-awaited education abroad. Take this journey with me as I experience an entirely new environment and meet new people.