WINNING LETTER

Homesick

I recently found myself in an international au pair situation which made me doubt many things I’d believed to be true about myself – for instance, that I’m a radical optimist. During this period of selfdiscovery I bought FAIRLADY online. This made me feel so connected to SA and kept me positive. I made another discovery – with the help of FAIRLADY, I discovered a passion for teaching and the field of entrepreneurship.

I’m qualified in both Business Psychology and teaching, but I haven’t started a career yet. It dawned on me that I’m perfectly educated to bring about a huge emphasis on entrepreneurship in SA schools. So I gathered all my FAIRLADY issues to collect the inspiring articles about local entrepreneurs to use as a starting point. This got me so excited that I’ve started drawing up lesson plans around the theme of entrepreneurship – even though I don’t have a teaching job yet!

Thank you for shining a light on the inspiring, empowering aspects of SA, for fuelling my passion and for making me burst with excitement to return home!

Carli Wust

Ed: Thank you for your enthusiasm! We can’t wait to have you back.

Silver linings

What a pleasure to find a woman my age (59) gracing the fashion feature in your June issue. And what an extra pleasure to see model Nicola Griffin wearing trendy clothing, underlining what my generation knows: that fashion is not simply for the young.

How different things are to my mother’s generation, where self-policing to avoid being called ‘mutton dressed up as lamb’ (and other denigrating comments) meant most women assumed frumpy styles from early middle age. I’m also delighted to see another dated rule broken – that long hair is only for the young. Nicola’s silver mane is gorgeous!

Professor Brenda Schmahmann

Ed: Besides being a lovely example of how to age beautifully, Nicola has led a fascinating life – yet another advantage of age. I also like your point about ‘self-policing’: the most stylish thing to be is – fully yourself!

Dismayed

The story by Melanie Carstens [For You, Mom, May 2019] left me with a feeling of dismay and disgust. The author’s attitude is smug and self-satisfied, and the tone distasteful and mercenary.

In a country where violence towards the elderly and women is endemic, this story doesn’t look at the real issue: the emotional abuse and physical neglect of an older, vulnerable woman.

I wonder why you published it – because of who Melanie is? The story assumes that a bit of public self-chastisement negates cruelty and makes it all okay.

Helen O’Donovan

Ed: It wasn’t an easy read, I agree, but that isn’t our criterion. There are many reasons for our publishing Melanie’s piece: it was a tough story that had been beautifully and honestly told. She never tried to make herself look or feel better. Also, Melanie bravely described a kind of secret guilt that many clearly feel: the enormous (and overwhelmingly positive) response to her story more than bears that out.