Work Reflections

Reflecting on Work

My amazing student, friend, inspiration, and co-creator, Rolen, has given me some prompts to reflect on and write about. Here is a moment I am taking to think about my work experience. Anyone who knows me knows that I do many things. I am not just a one-trick pony. When people ask me about my job, I tell them that I am a Jack/Jill of all trades. I love to learn new things and new skills, and I believe that anything I spend enough time learning about can become something I can earn an income from later in life. Having said that, the first prompt in this writing challenge is to list as many of my past and present jobs as I can think of, so I will start at the beginning.

Growing up with a self-employed entrepreneur, my father set my brother and me to work from an early age. I remember, at school fundraisers and markets, he had built an epic spinning art machine, which we called the “disco art machine.” We would charge people a fee to create their own artwork. It was more for fun than for actual big profits, and I remember my father sponsoring the paint and the paper so that my brother and I could earn a profit without any expenses.

When the disco art machine died, my brother and I started selling biltong (a local dried meat snack) at the trade fairs where my father exhibited his own artworks. It was more of a ploy to get us to stop asking him for money to spend on rides and toys, but it taught me more than I could ever express about running a small shop, managing income and expenses, and handling employee relations and customer care. We started selling biltong at the fairs when I was about 13 years old and continued until 2019, when I was 30. It is definitely some of the longest-running work experience I have had. My brother and I shared the biltong shop; he took over when I studied in Cape Town, and I took over when he moved on to bigger and better things.

After completing my studies in the health and skincare industry, I was determined to start my own mobile beauty business. After a year of struggling to make a name for myself, I joined a beauty school as a lecturer, and I discovered my passion for teaching. This was the one and only time I ever worked in a company under a real boss. I loved my students, and I loved teaching, but I also wanted to carve my own way. My strong rebellious nature did not sit well with my employer. We often had disagreements and fights. I realized that I did not want to work for someone in such a direct way and that I would be much better suited to being an independent contractor than an employee. All was not lost, however, because it was during this year of working at the beauty school that I developed a true passion for writing.

I spent all of my free time at work researching and writing lists for a website called Listverse. Maybe it wasn’t really free time—it was actually time that my employer had hoped I would invest in being productive within her business. But for me, my duties never extended past the designated responsibilities in my contract. Maybe I would have gone above and beyond if I had been paid really well, but the salary was very low, so I gave as little of myself as I needed to fulfill my contractual demands and nothing more. When I had completed my classes and my lesson preparation, I spent my time deep-diving into random topics that I wanted to write about and doing research instead.

When I finally decided to walk away from the beauty school and the whole industry, I decided that I needed to escape Africa. My then-boyfriend and I moved to Thailand with a TEFL certification on our to-do list. We planned on getting certified to teach English and remaining in Thailand for as long as possible, but life had other plans. We completed our certification in a four-month course and then tried to look for jobs. Our demands were too high. We wanted to work together in the same school or company, and after a number of interviews where employers either accepted one or the other but not both, and with our visa expiry date drawing nearer, we decided to return home after six months.

Upon our return from Thailand, I began my life as a true Jack of all trades. I taught English to Chinese people who had immigrated to Namibia for work and their children, helping them adapt to English schools. Beyond that, I started practicing as a professional makeup artist, doing makeup for weddings and photoshoots. People even began offering me money to perform fire dancing and breathing, which had started as a hobby during my student years in Cape Town. At the same time, I began creating and producing stained glass art on commission, a craft my mother had taught me when I was nine years old. I was still running the biltong shop at trade fairs and exhibitions, but I managed it from a distance and shifted my personal role to being my father’s art salesperson after his salesman retired. I gained experience in many areas and pursued many passions, never doing any work that I hated but instead turning everything I loved into a potential income stream.

At some point, my ex-boyfriend and I broke up, and I met my ex-husband, in whom I saw artistic potential. He came from the UK and started learning my father’s art as his apprentice, while I continued doing anything and everything I loved to make ends meet. After five years of making things work, COVID hit us like a bombshell. It blew up my father’s and my husband’s businesses, and almost everything I knew how to do became invalid as well. 2020 was a hard year for everyone in the world, but I learned so many valuable lessons from that COVID year.

I learned how quickly things can come and go and how much we took life and everything we had for granted. My family started living very cheaply. We would make a big pot of stew and eat it for many days in a row. We cut down on every luxury of the past and went down to the bare minimum. Of course, there were no exhibitions, no weddings, no events, and no earnings in general. All the Chinese people went home, tourists canceled, all the exhibitions ended, and all the weddings were minimized. Our income went to zero. And yet we survived. For eight or nine months, we survived.

2020 was more than just the COVID experience for me. Personally, I experienced a full spiritual awakening, which completely changed my life and my understanding of reality (You can read more about that experience Here). As with many people, COVID pushed me into the online world, and it did the same for me. At the end of 2020, I joined a couple of online English teaching platforms. I was the first person in my family to start earning an income after COVID. Slowly, my husband and father regained their flow, and I started working full-time teaching English online.

I began investing more of my life into the growth of my students, and in 2022, I experienced my next awakening: a creation awakening. I started going on an amazing journey of learning more and more and wanting to create more. In 2022, I started learning again, taking courses in life coaching, hypnosis, meditation facilitation, and more. Even now, as I write this article on 12/12/2024, right before the next full moon, I know the energy is in full potential to support everything I do. I never cared about or believed in any psychedelic or holistic star-sign beliefs, but after my 2020 experience, I can no longer deny my own experience. I have to open myself up to new beliefs and understandings that can better support my journey.

That brings me to my current moment and situation. I could say 2024 was the year that everything changed, but it has been much shorter than that. Only in the last three months has everything truly changed. Three months ago, I joined a workshop about making your own medicine drum. A medicine drum is a type of drum used as a sound healing tool. The vibration of the drum has a positive and healing effect on your cells. In the process of birthing my drum, I birthed a whole new life.

After the workshop, my life changed rapidly and completely. Within two weeks, my husband told me he wanted to leave me. A week later, a longtime friend and dear sister and I decided to start renting a small space to conduct massages, life coaching, hypnosis and meditation journeys, and energy healing practices. At the moment, I am building up my client base while continuing to teach English online, but I feel myself expanding and growing in all directions.

Even now, as I write this blog post, loosely following the prompts of Rolen, I can feel and sense that there is so much more lying ahead in our journey together. My work, the jobs I choose to do, and the way I approach my career are constantly evolving. Reflecting on everything I do, have done, and would like to do in the future, I realize that I have never truly done a job I hated. Even when lecturing at Camelot, I didn’t hate my job; I just didn’t get along with my boss. I actually loved teaching.

I value growth and learning as constant parts of my daily process. I have never focused on high earnings or job security. I trust and believe that I always have what I need when I need it. If there is anything I don’t like, I know it’s up to me to change my perspective or approach to improve the situation. Through everything I do, I create and leave little impacts in the hearts and lives of others and myself. This gives me great drive and passion to stand up every day and learn something new, to wake up and develop myself a little more, or to give someone a small perspective shift.

Looking back at the journey that brought me here, I realize how each experience shaped my perspective and honed my skills. From managing the biltong shop with my brother to exploring the world of stained glass art, every chapter added depth to my understanding of life and work. My ability to adapt and learn has been the cornerstone of my career. Whether it was teaching English to children and adults, performing as a fire dancer, or creating meaningful pieces of art, I embraced each opportunity with curiosity and determination. These experiences not only allowed me to grow but also enabled me to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enriching my worldview.

I often reflect on the lessons learned during challenging times, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. Those months of uncertainty taught me resilience and the importance of community and resourcefulness. They also deepened my appreciation for the simpler things in life. Sharing a pot of stew with loved ones, finding joy in small victories, and discovering new ways to create value became the anchors that kept me grounded.

As I navigate this new chapter of my life, I am reminded of the power of transformation. The creation of my medicine drum marked a significant turning point, symbolizing not just a new beginning but also a deeper connection to my purpose. It inspired me to step into a role where I could guide and support others on their journeys, blending my skills in teaching, coaching, and healing. This fusion of passions feels like the culmination of years of exploration and self-discovery.

I have no idea what 2025 will hold for me. I know I am on a rollercoaster of life, and it is completely unpredictable. I could never have imagined being in this space and position in my life right now. What I do hope is that I continue to follow my heart and intuition, trusting completely as spirit guides me forward. I know I am always exactly where I need to be in life to gain the experience I need to move in the direction I am meant to go to fulfill my destiny.

As I close this reflection, I feel immense gratitude for the journey so far. Each twist and turn has been a stepping stone, leading me closer to the person I am becoming. The work I do, in all its forms, is a reflection of my values and passions. It is a testament to the belief that we can create meaningful and fulfilling lives by staying true to ourselves and embracing the endless possibilities that lie ahead.