Profile: Anthea van Niekerk

Profile Story: Anthea van Niekerk 

Born on Friday the 12th of October 1990, Anthea is a young, free-spirited and cultured soul. At times a rebel without a cause but basically a happy chappie hippie. The eldest of two daughters (must have been torture for the poor dad) is very passionate about life and her motto in life is to live life one second at a time. Some of her hobbies include reading, writing and playing pool.  She is also an avid (or as she puts it) obsessive fan of Assassins Creed and Guitar Hero. She’s a huge fan of Aerosmith, The Beatles and The Ramones. This “closet fan” of country music would like to master the art of playing the acoustic guitar and hopefully realise her dream of flying a helicopter (someday). As a little girl she dreamt of becoming a doctor someday but in good time learned she has a fear of blood, so that was the end of that. One of her best childhood memories is playing under the sprinklers on a hot summer’s day. Something that lies very close to her heart is child abuse and animal cruelty. She gets deeply affected when she sees people, especially children, living in vulgar, impoverished circumstances. Not a fan of making long-term plans or preparing for the future, she says “I try not to think or dwell on that so much, I choose to rather live for now.” Although if she were to plan - a Range Rover in the future would be pretty neat.

Dreams come true everyday

Take a look in the mirror, who do you see looking back? Is it the person you wanna be? Or is there someone else you were meant to be? The person you should've been but fell short of. Is someone telling you, you can or you won't because you can. Believe that love is out there. Believe that dreams come true everyday because they do. Sometimes happiness doesn't come from money or power, sometimes happiness comes from good friends and family and from the quiet nobility of living a good life. Believe that dreams come true everyday because they do. So take a look in that mirror and remind yourself to be happy because you deserve to be. Believe that dreams come true everyday because they do....

Book Review: It's me. Anna

Based on a true story. This disturbing book is a real life account of sexual abuse through the eyes of the victim. It is translated from Afrikaans and won the Bookseller’s Choice Award last year.

I have found that this book is most definitely not for the faint hearted and is written with honesty. Flashbacks are used to alternate between horrific events in the past to the present, where the main character is on her way to kill her abusive stepfather. It’s me, Anna is filled with shocking events and provokes anger in the reader that turns into rage by the end of the book.

For me, the most unsettling part of the book, however, is the author’s note at the back, where she links the story to her personal experience. Following that is an informative afterword, with a take on child abuse by Sharon Lewis, author of An adult’s guide to childhood trauma.

All these years she has called herself "Silent Anna", because she couldn't tell anyone what happened between her and her stepfather. Now, many years later, she finally has the courage to break the silence and reveal the sexual abuse she suffered, its impact on her life and how she has finally manged to overcome it.

This book is a must read. Not only because it tells the story of a young girl's determination to survive and to overcome her traumatic childhood , but it is also because the story is being told with such sincerity and honesty.

The language use is fairly colloquial and is easy to read and comprehend. Foul language is of constant usage in the book, therefore this does not make it suitable for the younger ages.

This book made a real impact on my life as it makes one think about different situations. It also gives people the ability to realise that anyone can deal with similar situations and help to overcome your worst fears. LIfe holds many unsuspected trials and It's me. Anna helps in understanding what others are going through and learning from the authors experience.

 In the ned one can only but say that it is a well-writen book and is most certainly worth reading. However, you might just need some Kleenex to dry those tears for some of the scenes.

STUPID MISTAKES? I THINK NOT

News can really have a major impact on the way we tend to think. I was told bthe most shocking piece of info today and I still can't belive that its true.
Why don't people think befopre they act? I'm pretty sure everybody knows that with every decision we make, there will most certainly be consequences.
Think before you do something stupid!

CUT THE CRAP!!!

Why is it that lecturers think they can just do as they please? God we as students are also human! Like we come every single day and pitch for class, but some of them think nothing of it to just stay absent.

can you blame students if they have a certain attitude towards them???

Back to where we started

Yet another semester at CPUT and I feel like crying LOL. I don't want to be back. The holiday was just way too short. I need atleast a month to relax my mind and body.
the first day started out well, but then Mass Communication hit me. We were getting our results and my heart suddenly started racing.
Lucky for me I passed!!! Couldn't be more greatful. One less mark to worry about.

Guys & Friends

Just when I thought life was going great...shit happens. Why can't we just be friends? Why did things have to turn out to be so complicated?
It's not like the feeling aint mutual, but thing were said to the other party and mistakes were made. I first need to figure out if I'm prepared to lose a friend...
If only things were that simple. Help me!