Remembering O-week in October is a pleasant thought, only because Tshepiso was one of the first guy friends I made in this place called Rhodes, and I think he will always be a pleasant one to keep in mind. I got introduced to him and not more than three seconds later we were chatting away as if we had been friends for ages. The only way to know Tshepiso is through laughter, he amazingly is one person who captures my sense of humour even in the saddest of times. Your heart may be aching and your mind over loaded with thoughts. Thoughts which probably don’t even exist in the real world, but because the lingering of the mind is uncontrollable, you have such thoughts anyway. But then comes a soul we have been given by God, and he paints a smile on your face. He paints it carefully so as to make sure it’s long lasting and genuine.
"I grew up in Krugersdorp, Kagiso, a place of many memories, that have past and which are still to be generated", he says in the sense of being poetic and all. He lives with his aunt and his parents were never married, that might have had a minor effect on him, but "I get my mind of such worries through my music, I’m an aspiring DJ and chef", he says with a smile of assurance. In preparation of performing a dance piece he says, "I love dancing to anything that talks to my soul and makes my body move". Dreams drive this being to what he is today, along with his drama achievements. He arrogantly reminds me of the award winning character he is. "I did have full honours for drama back in high school you know, I always have to put that one in there, it impresses people", he jokes modestly. "I won the Gavin Hood best actor award, attended RAPS festival two years ago and my group and I presented Barber shop, which scored us nine awards and won best show, I did stand up comedy, I’m just naturally humorous, he says with so much wit.
This first year B-com student believes he can do anything and everything he wants to do, while leaning forward in a position to change the song playing on his laptop he says, "It’s all in the state of the mind". "The mind can take you anywhere Rose, just as long as you tell it to". I felt a moment of peace through his voice, peace which might have been tormented, therefore is experienced. In that moment he reflected the exact opposite of the vibrant full of life Tshepiso known to all, many would feel he does not have anything worthwhile or mind blowing to say, but he believes if you don’t know then you won’t care and this is one of his favourite quotes, from his very own collection. And by this he means if you don not know him you will not have any interest in who he is, for he is more than just a laugh.
1 comments:
Easy to read and entertaining profile.
This profile is an interesting look at a guy that has racked up some impressive achievements in a specific field. That of drama. To me that makes him a ‘hero’ in a very conventional sense of the word, a very modern understanding if I can term it that way, because he has excelled and been recognised for his endeavours. However I think he fits into the role of hero in the more classical sense that Propp advocated. Despite being very unassuming and just going about his life, as seen by the testimony of the writer he is very reliable and can motivate people through his infectious high spirits. The more comedic aspect of his personality may have been recognised and complimented but what makes him a hero is that he is prepared to use it to lift the spirits of others and entertain whether it is for his benefit(recognition) or the benefit of others. The individual I interviewed was a hero in his own right but in a completely different way.
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