Dare to be happy, to be you. I dare you (because your life depends on it).
‘I want to be happy‘ said by a toddler sounds innocently profound and all the little human happens to be talking about in that moment is that she’s taking a nap in the sun or getting an extra slice of watermelon. A dare used to be a call to adventure. Be yourself sounded like bogus advice: kante what have I been doing? The simplest terms have become the most complicated.
My favourite adjective-come-verb in the English language is: to disarm (adj. Disarming). It’s such a lovely compliment to call it “a disarming smile.” as in: Your countenance has moved me in such a way that I’m dropping my weapons/I didn’t see you coming and you knocked the wind out of me/I didn’t have time to put up my walls/we could’ve been at odds but instead you’ve won me over. You disarmed me. This is the story about my fight with beauty and how lipstick of all things, is what eventually disarmed me.
Sticky Post
I’m learning to listen to all the dreams I whisper and “joke” about so that I don’t have to to reckon with the extent of my longing. The whispers are like seeds: tend to them for they’re trying to tell you the things that you’re not ready (or willing) to know about yourself yet.
I love contradiction. I enjoy being one. I love that the human experience is one shot, no training wheels and full of surprises (and it’s been a while since I did a listicle of my weird and wonderful unsolicited thoughts on stuff).
Continue reading “Norms & Conditions”
This is Vol 2.0 of the year collection of all the little things that brought me joy and kept me sane (Vol 1 here). I hope they bring you joy too. Take only what you want and need. This year has been a lot. Please enjoy.
Also:THIS IS MY 50TH BLOG POST!!!
“I’m lovely and lonely and belong deeply to myself”. All hail Queen Warsan Shire. Let’s break this down really quickly. Lovely: is one of my favourite words, it’s pure and unambiguous. Lonely: some people think that alone means lonely. I am not some people. My name is Ntoetse Lerotholi and I believe in community, I Belong. I’m also one of the most social “loners” you’ll … Continue reading I’m Lovely not Lonely & Belong, deeply
A heartbroken human is a raw human. You get to confront all of the stuff you usually swat away. You learn the depths of your sorrow, the cost of your loss and the limits of your crazy. And hopefully you treat this raw exposed nerve version of yourself with grace and without judgement.
We’re all living through a pandeminc and we’ve all had our hearts broken.
Music is the connective tissue that holds our memories suspended in time. We all hold a library of music and memories within us. If you trace the albums that define your moments across a lifetime, you’ll have a time capsule. This exercise is part Trip Down Memory Lane, part Artist Spotlight (full-time absurdly abstract). Enjoy!
I’m so proud to be part of a generation of women who are coming for everything. We sit on the shoulders of the many women who came before us. While the views have improved, we’re also constantly ducking the glass shards that are almost constantly falling from the ceilings we continue to shatter.
Collaborative Eavesdropping 