KANYE CUTS OFF KIM
There is a new twist in the Kanye West and Kim Kardashian-west divorce saga. Apparently Kanye has changed his phone number and informed Kim she can contact him through his security.
The estranged couple have four children together and one would imagine they need to communicate frequently to successfully co-parent their kids.
An unimpressed social media had their say. “Not surprising, he’s always been an immature petty person and yet people will continue to make excuses for him and defend him like he’s some great guy,” said one Kanye critic. Consensus believes Kanye West to be firmly in the wrong in this situation. We hope to see them come to some sort of understanding amidst their divorce.
DREAMS get shattered, promises are broken, friends become enemies; I would not have believed it had I not experienced it firsthand. After all these years, I have been replaced by substances.
Me and Dotty were named the ‘Terrible twins’ by her mother after she found us in her kitchen covered with flour from head to toe. It was her father’s birthday and we were baking a cake for him. We shared almost everything, secrets, clothes, toys, and at some point said we were going to have one big family and live in a big house together. Our dreams were to be medical professionals.
We were both brought up in close knit families, went on planned holidays together and I do not remember us spending any school holidays apart Academically, and in sports, we were a force to be reckoned with. We got straight A’s at Junior School level and were admitted into the same secondary school. For the first time, we were not in the same class and it took some time for us to get used to this. However, this did not affect our popularity and in no time we were winning trophies for our school.
All this changed one Friday afternoon when Dotty asked me to go to a party with her. I wasn’t really excited about it but it was an opportunity to do something fun with her. I was shocked to find that the party was more than just students hanging out. There were older men and women there and so much alcohol! At one point Dotty disappeared with her classmate for a few minutes and when she came back she handed me a drink and offered me a piece of cake, which I declined. My friend’s behaviour started to change. She started singing at the top of her voice, danced on chairs; the last straw for me was when she started to take off her top. That’s when I dragged her home. This was the beginning of bad things. My friend started to spend most of the time with her new friends. I heard from her classmates that she wouldn’t do her assignments, slept in class and misbehaved as well. I would cover up for her when she started going out with her friends as I did not want her to get into trouble. Her grades started to drop. She was no longer the girl I grew up with.
This sudden change in Dotty really hurt me and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t tell our parents because I was afraid to get her in trouble and I didn’t want to lose my friend. Some days I would even take extra notes for her so that she didn’t get left behind. The weight of keeping my friend’s secret was weighing so heavily on me that I would sometimes burst into tears just thinking of how she had turned into a different person. I started getting headaches and fatigue as I was not sleeping nor eating well. I stopped taking care of myself and became withdrawn as she was the only friend that I had ever had. I blamed myself for the way things turned out and felt helpless.
I could no longer cover up for her after her parents were called to the school for a meeting concerning her behaviour. She blamed me for telling her parents and of course I blamed myself for not confiding in her mother as she could have been helped before things got out of control. This led to an argument between Dotty and me where I tried to make her see the dangers of her choices but that resulted in her telling me to mind my own business and stay out of her life. It felt like I had lost a sister and friend to substances.
Our school organised a wellness day for students where we were addressed by facilitators from the Botswana Police Services and BOSASNET. We were educated about substances, their effects; physically, socially and psychologically, and how to access their services. Dotty’s parents and I accompanied her to BOSASNET to enrol in their programme. I was enrolled in the programme as well as I was not coping with her use. I realised that her use had taken a toll on me as I no longer lived my life fully.
If you think that you might have a substance abuse problem, or you have a family member or friend, we encourage you to seek help. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death. You can find BOSASNET on Facebook, visit us on www.bosasnet.com or call us on 3959119 or 72659891, for more information.