Self- actualization is one of those things that every single one of us needs to do in this day and age. I’m black and was born in 1989…wasn’t really apart of the apartheid regime but I do have an understanding of what happened those years.

Hence my decision to look to the future and believe that everyone has a story to tell. Give every person of every culture, every color and gender a chance to be who they want to be and practice their beliefs. I am open - minded and would like to believe that one day all of us would treat each other with respect and that the color of my skin won’t matter.

Last night in a public place I was threatened by a man for no reason other than the color of my skin. This man shoved me and even threatened to break my arms. The people around us stood by as this guy thought it was appropriate to treat another human being with such utter disrespect.

I want you to keep in mind that this is only my experience and my personal opinion. As shocking and humiliating as it was, I Success Katlego Aletta Tia Lekabe refuse to let it change who I am and how I see people and this country. I know that I can’t control the actions of others, I can only control my own. I choose to look to the future and not the past.

Today I want to challenge you to do the same. To build rather than break, to love rather than hate and to treat every fellow South African with the respect that surely you would want to be treated with.

Let’s leave a better world for our children than the one we were born into. Morena boloka sechaba sa rona…God bless our nation!