The Full Story

My complicated journey with Literature started in grade 1 during a class on language fundamentals. We were introduced to each other by the teacher using the ‘A, B, C’s. Months passed and I noticed my classmates began to get to know words well, while I struggled. It felt like there was a wall made of stained glass between us preventing me from clearly seeing and understanding them.

Every day I doubted my intellect and ability as I failed to read, spell, and understand while my peers were milestones ahead of me. I had to work much harder than my peers with extra classes in order to reach the same result. When I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia in the third grade, it was a relief to finally know the problem. I knew with enough hard work I could achieve despite having dyslexia.

Soon after my remedial and extra classes increased in both frequency and duration as part of the fight against words. Over the years the stained-glass wall became clearer and clearer for me to see through.

Then came the day I finally understood words well enough to see the beauty of Literature. It was during a 7th grade English literature class that I fell in love with poetry and soon I came to love all components of storytelling that literature has to offer.

Despite loving Literature, I still did not even consider or think of it as a possible career path until I attended Vega open day seeking to be a designer. Literature called out to me in the form of a copywriter lecture that I met that day and I was informed of the career path that I knew was made for me. Unfortunately studying copywriting at Vega would be a chapter in my life I would have to do in my second language (English) which proved itself to be another obstacle.

The fight against words turned into a fight against dyslexia I fight for my love of literature and I still fight for my love of literature daily by continuously improving my vocabulary in both English and Afrikaans. Driven by my love of Literature I am to

In the past, I struggled to see and understand words clearly. Now I use words as a tool to craft impactful, but clear copy.