Mzungu Memories

The Challenge

"Challenge yourself to change your World" Before you can really start to do as the ICS motto tells you, you have to first change yourself.

Some of the changes are very much conscious. Learning to jump in the deep end, learning to take a deep breath and do the things that really scare you, learning a new language, adapting to a new culture and new norms.

But the majority of them go completely unnoticed. One day, you find yourself stood in front of 50 rowdy teenagers and you realise that you're not shaking, that your heart isn't racing. One day, you get half way through the day before realising that you've left the house without make up on for the first time since you were 13. And then you realise that you've been doing it every day for 8 weeks. And then you look in a mirror and can see beauty, unmasked and natural.

One day, you realise that your entire life path has changed, that everything you do when you return home is going to make you think and reflect. You can never be the same person. You have seen hope in the most doubtful of places, and you have seen utter despair. You have seen kindness and selflessness from 8 year old children who have absolutely nothing, who gift you with a 90 year old coin they found on the street.

One day you realise that you've outgrown a relationship, and you understand that it's okay, and that that's just a part of life. You realise that relationships and friendships come and go, and that the people in your life are there for a reason.

Only when you've changed yourself, when you've learned to look at who you truly are, the good, the bad and the ugly, only when you can embrace your flaws and continue in the face of challenges, hurdles and adversity, despite all the odds, can you begin to start changing your world.