SEEING RED...

Ok TMI TMI TMI (boys you might want to scroll or skip this one or not hear me out)

Friend, do you remember your first period? I remember mine like it was yesterday chillle!

In 2010 I left the home I grew up in, leaving my parents behind, to my dad's hometown.

A year or two later my dad moved as well so I stayed with him and my baby sister. One day I woke up with so much discomfort around my abdomen and went to the bathroom and I saw RED, luckily for me my pjs wear black and I had an idea of what was happening. I was so embarrassed, and I did not want my dad to see me or even know what was going on, so I called my mom because she was in another city, she called my sister's friends' mom who then told me to take a bath and gave me Stayfree pads. I have been using the brand ever since.

For some reason, I feel like Stayfree pads minimize my cramps (do not at me, it is the comfort is brought to me that reminds me of my first period). They are super comfortable and as a heavy flow girlie and girl boss, I never worry about any leakages at night or as I go about my day getting the brand.

I have the most brutal period cramps and as much as on some days I just want to eat ice cream and sleep I have to show up for myself and Stayfree helps me show up confidently knowing I am good/ taken care of.

We all have different stories about our first period and our journeys in womanhood. Embarrassing times, the 'OH SHIT' moments and another girl gladly giving you a pad and making sure you were good.

Unfortunately, some girls' stories are a little sadder.

Reality is in SA, there are girls who cannot go to school because they do not have sanatory towels, some girls are using cloth or toilet paper because they cannot afford them. “Bread or Pad?” That is the decision they must make every single month.

This is a friendly reminder to you my girly that some girls do not have an easy and pleasant introduction to womanhood and I plea with you to please donate sanitory towels to young girls close to you or to amazing organisations that are trying to help our girls.

NB: There is no witty ending to this post lol.

DM me on Instagram to donate @teydablogger and share your story in the comments x

Nurturing Your Inner Child

Hi Pumpkin x

I hope you have been good. I know it has been a minute since you've heard from me but I hope that this post is going to make you understand my reason(s) why I took a minute off.

I have not shared this with anyone, nor have I been vocal about this so things may get a little emo...Ok maybe a lot!

I don't know where or how to begin but I am just going to roll with it, so please bare with me.

In the month of July, I took Mondays off for myself (and I was kinda forced to at work because I have accumulated so many leave days, lol). I never took leave because I am genuinely a workerholic and I never felt the need to not work. Also I always want to show up.

You sick? go to work and stick it out. There is no rest for kids like me, that's what I always told myself. I took that time off and got into therapy because I was sick and tired of the untriggered anxiety attacks. My coping mechanisms were not working for me anymore and reality is, I had so much healing to do. Breathing and counting down from ten wasn't working anymore I needed to get into the real issue(s).

'Healing my inner child' to me means validating my feeling and telling myself that whatever I am feeling in that moment is OK. Be it is anger, happiness, anxiety, stress, inadequacy or whatever but it is valid. This is because I was always told that I am too "emotional and sensitive" which made me feel like I needed to say less and shrink myself so I do not appear like that. We all want to be seen as tough and cool not whinny and weak right?!

Nurturing my inner child means being kind to myself, affirming myself, celebrating myself, being the person I needed and wished to be like as a kid and showing up for myself.

Being intentional, soft and allowing myself to be vulnerable has made such a huge difference in my life, in how I treat people and my perspective in life. I am kinder, softer, more gentle, patient and compassionate. It feels AMAZING to feel like I am intune with the deepest parts of myself.

I do not like being .....uhm what does our generation call being mean again? Oh yeah, "TOUGH". I don't want to be cool or to fit in, I want to be myself and belong (but akunyanzelekanga). I do not enjoy constantly thinking I need to show face just to be seen as a BADDIE or act like I ain't got time in the world to show kindess.

I am at a place where I am like "damn, I truly and genuinely like myself". I stopped saying I am stupid when I mess up but I motivate myself. I pay more attention on what makes me happy and I do more of that. I want more for myself and I will do more for myself.

When my cup is full and overflowing I am able to fill other people's cups. My life is more than just mine. I am God's vessel. I will fail over and over and over again but I will not give up on myself because I know he will never give up on me.

The world needs more kindess, show more of that and don't forget yourself while you at it.

Love,

Tey

I COME BACKK! MENTAL HEALTH "TAP IN"

Hi Ya'll! 🙈

I know I know....Please check me later we got some things to get to lol (read that in Nicki's voice). No for real though, I am so happy I am writing again and I hope that you are doing well and you are keeping safe.

It is almost the end of the year and most people are feeling the year-end-fatigue. 2021 has been a LOT for most, if not all of us and I am just here to check up on you and let you know what's up with me because DAMN shit has been real to say the least.

God has been great no lie. My Jordan year has been nothing but blessings on blessings, my family is healthy, my career is slowly blossoming 🤞, I am healthy and I am excited about the future and yes I am still single haha... I will let you know when that changes *don't hold your breath though*.

Honestly things ain't as rosey as they may sound in the above paragraph. In the past weeks my anxiety has been through the roof. I am one of those people who get really anxious when it's close to their birthday (and the end of the year) because questions like 'am I happy with the woman I am today', 'have I been a good person', and another year passes ' what do I have to show for it' keep me up at night. As much as these questions are suppose to help me reflect and adjust where needed I find myself dwelling in the bad even though the good outweighs the bad.

At this point let's just call a spade a spade - I have IMPOSTER SYNDROM but we are not going to do that because I have already self-dignosed myself with SOCIAL ANXIETY therefor I am not trying to speak a whole bunch of things into my life, AYT!?

Some say that I have done well for "someone my age" and that is funny to me because I have done nothing but chase my dreams and I am nowhere near where I want to be but I am grateful to God for putting the puzzles together.

If you have been feeling some type of way or share the same sentiment as me I just want to let you know that it's OK! it's ok not to be OK. It's OK to be fine today and to not be OK the next day. 2020 and 2021 have been crazy for everyone to say the least .

When I started writing this blog post a week or so ago I was anxious and going through-it all then the following week I was cool and I felt like I shouldn't publish it because y'all know I am authentic with my shit and I am big on expressing myself so I was confused and Indecisive with the direction I wanted to take with this blog post - To cry and have a cry-party with you or to tell you to BOSS UP, YOU GOT THIS and ya da ya ya...

Fact is shit ain't that easy! I allow myself to go through the emotions cry, laugh, whine, or whatever "But still, like dust, I'll rise"(Maya Angelou's words). I just need you to not be your own enemy. I need you to be kind to yourself and for you to believe that everything that is happening to you right now is simply preparing you for your future and your dreams.

You're doing fine, doing your best and that is enough.

You are probably at war with yourself and feeling like you haven't done enough yet merely because, here comes the cliché, the pressure of social media. I believe that how you are feeling right now partly has something to do with the way you have been speaking to yourself and your thoughts, you know the sayings YOU GOT THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH IN YOUR TONGUE and MIND OVER MATTER.

Granted it is not always easy to be optimistic especially because our brains are 'wired' to always think about the worst. My bet is that is because of ones past - if there was a point in your life that you never had it easy fear will always take you back to that place when good things happen to/for you but what matters is you being brave enough to rise about that and believing that you deserve the life you dream of and that you deserve second chances.

Yikes that got tense huh!?!

Anyway please practise gratitude and be kind to yourself. I am so proud of us I mean look at you killing it and holding yourself down like a true champ!

PS: Please checkout my latest Youtube video and see me go through it

XoXo