Socially Savant

Dear Reader, This letter is for you and dedicated to you. I want to say thank you to you and to God. I want to say thank you to you for reading the weird and often vulnerable anecdotes of #SociallySavant. Thank you for going through the labour pains with me. Some of the moments (contractions) were aggressive and most times very long. Some moments (contractions) were soft and delicate. You availed your time to read and try and understand what I was trying to say through my words. For that I will be eternally grateful. To God, I was so mad when you rapidly moved me to this. Six years and counting, I was happy doing nothing about this. I was happy just telling my friends what I thought in the confounds of safe and warm spaces. So when you left me bare with nothing but time and a laptop I was mad and nervous. I was mad because you know I hate critics I sink and die in criticism. I suffer in silence as it replays in my head but I wrote. I was also nervous because you wanted to ...

2017 was an interesting year for me because of the different encounters I had with people from all walks of life. In July, during the International Durban Film Festival I had the opportunity of speaking to Darel Roodt, the producer and director in the film ‘Yesterday’ staring Leleti Khumalo. I had to thank him for making a film that would help me think outside the box about HIV/Aids. World Aids day brings everyone together for just one day and we congregate on social media to commemorate this remarkably unappreciated diseases. We unite just for a day to showcase how much we know and may not know for just a day. All the other days in the year we are ignorant or not bothered by this. We look away. So the day comes and what new issues will we learn? How have we better informed ourselves on the disease; the effects and any cures or new treatments.  I follow Doctor Sindisiwe van Zyl (@sindivanzyl) where she discusses the latest treatments and what is unfolding in the medica...