Thread by @ephraimzuva

#WritingCommunity #books #amwriting

I arrived in the Big Apple, New York City from the hills of Natal, South Africa to glamour-shock. The big city lights intimidated me in so many ways. It’s safe to say I was not prepared for the life that awaited me in the Big Apple

In the absence of my mother, community, and the priest I had no one to guide me. As such, I had to rely solely on what they taught me.
It remained to be seen if that would keep me on the straight and narrow.
Truth is one is never prepared for the charms of the big Apple.

Natal didn’t present a lot of challenges to my character and tests to my spirituality.
The immediate struggle I faced in the concrete jungle of #NewYorkCity was to fit in. I had to fit in if I were to properly integrate and function in that environment.

#ColumbiaUniversity was equally intimidating. Students were from different backgrounds but most had a certain elegance that I lacked. If I were to fit in I had to unlearn everything I was taught and embrace what my new environment was teaching me.

First to go was the way I carried myself,I replaced it with a bump into my step. I started walking like I had a purpose. Second was my religious affirmation. The environment was unkind to religious folks. Religion like politics was touted man’s effort at controlling another man.

Sobriety was considered un-cool. It was in that frenzy I was introduced to everything foreign to my upbringing, sex, drugs, and alcohol.