Mothotoana Family History & Genealogy

I was raised by a single parent. I guess things were alright until my mom fell sick. For as long as I could remember she had been my source of strength and I was really scared that I was losing her. We lived in my grandmother’s house. It was an abusive and violent upbringing. We were poor. I got the odd item of new clothing only on special occasions. Otherwise I was always in hand-me-downs. My mom was unemployed and I got some of my clothes from friendly neighbours. My mom’s health got worse. My mom admitted herself to the hospital because she didn’t want to be a burden on us anymore. Everything changed the day she died. It was 2007 and the following year I was in Grade 8. I felt hopeless, hard done by, life just wasn’t fair. Why did I have to lose the only love and support I knew - just like that? My sadness turned to anger. I hated being alive. At some stage I was in a relationship with an young girl . When I realised that I couldn’t carry on living like this I decided to change things around. I’ve accepted God into my life and he helps me stay motivated. Next year I’ll be re-writing the two subjects I failed. Failure in your past don’t have to determine your future. We all make mistakes – we just need to learn from them. I’m fortunate that my past decisions didn’t cause me to lose my health. Things could have turned out much worse for me. As young people we need to learn to depend on ourselves since we alone are responsible for our futures. Don’t let anything stand in your way of getting an education. It’s the key to putting us, orphans or not, on the same playing field. Where you come from doesn’t have to decide where you end up. It can get really rough growing up without the support you need. It seems easier to turn to an older man who pays your way, or slide into bad choices. But your future is a series of choices you make about what you do. You can make good choices and rise above bad luck.