Driving the same car for over 10 years is normal.
Using the same phone until it breaks and packs up is normal.
Taking food to work everyday is absolutely normal.
Repeating the same clothes and shoes is very normal.
Saying no to things you can’t afford is very normal.
Be normal.
At age 17, she was rejected from college.
At age 25, her mother died from the disease.
At age 26, she moved to Portugal to teach English.
At age 27, she got married.
Her husband abused her. Her daughter was born.
At age 28, she got divorced and was diagnosed with severe depression.
At age 29, she was a single mother living on welfare.
At age 30, she didn't want to be on this earth.
But she directed all her passion into doing the one thing she could do better than anyone else.
And that was writing.
At age 31, she finally published her first book.
At age 35, she released four books and was named Author of the Year.
At age 42, she sold 11 million copies of her new book on the first release day.
This woman is J.K. Rowling. Remember how she considered suicide at age 30?
Harry Potter is a global brand worth more than 15 billion dollars.
Never give up. Believe in yourself. Be passionate. Work hard. It’s never too late.
She is J.K. Rowling
No One Warns Immigrants About the Silence
When people move to the UK, everyone says, “You’ll be fine.”
But no one warns you about the silence.
The kind that fills your chest when you come home from a 12-hour shift …too tired to cook, too broke to order food …and the walls don’t answer when you talk.
Back home, in Africa, there was always noise …neighbours arguing, radios playing, kids laughing outside, boda guys shouting across the road.
Here, even the air feels like it’s watching you quietly.
At first, you think you’re strong.
You smile through the cold, through the confused looks when you don’t catch the accent, through the “where are you really from?” that hides behind polite smiles.
But it’s the small things that wear you down.
Having to repeat your name until it doesn’t sound like you anymore.
Being called “love” but never truly seen.
Hearing your qualifications don’t count because they’re “not UK standard.”
You start from scratch. Again.
Washing dishes. Cleaning houses. Sending money home like it doesn’t ache.
Telling your family you’re fine, even when you cry at the bus stop because your card declined.
Still… there are moments.
Catching the eye of another African on the bus and sharing a silent smile.
Hearing an Afrobeats song in a corner shop and feeling your heart breathe again.
Cooking familiar food in a cold kitchen and, for a moment, it smells like home.
And slowly, life rebuilds itself.
Not the way you imagined, but piece by piece ….quietly, stubbornly, beautifully.
Because being an immigrant isn’t just about survival.
It’s about learning to belong in a place that never expected you to stay… and still daring to call it home.
1. You are missing out on the best furniture. Our Therapaedic beds are incomparable. Our case goods made from teak are the best. We acquired the Steel Force premises in Bulawayo and migrated to Bulawayo years back. After loosing a lot of money to Civil Servants when Government banned direct payrolls deductions, we stopped credit sales, closed down shops and introduced virtual sales from our Showroom in the Harare Agricultural Show grounds. We remain the largest local manufacturer and our main customers are institutional.
2. The TN Baker is the one that operates tn grill. I gave the business to my sons. They have great plans for this business which they have started to implement.
3. All our businesses are very well run. They are run by professionals. You must reconsider your decision not to do business with us as your bias was not informed by facts. Whatever decision you make, we wish you the best.
@ZelenskyyUa Emotions were never going to lead you anywhere. Wisdom is knowing that signing the minerals deal with the US is enough security guarantee for your country. Happy though you have cannibalised your ego.
The absence of functional traffic lights or clear signage at intersections is often cited as a challenge, but it is the lack of basic human decency that is truly alarming.
Instead of exercising patience, empathy, and common sense, many road users resort to aggressive behaviour, refusing to yield to others even when it is clear that they have the right of way.
The “me-first” mentality that pervades our roads is not only frustrating but also downright dangerous, leading to unnecessary conflicts, accidents, and even violence.
It is high time we reclaim our roads and rediscover the value of courtesy, respect, and kindness towards fellow road users.