Nomzamo Mbatha's letter to her younger self

What would you do if you could turn back time? That's the question Nomzamo Mbatha is asking in an inspiring letter she recently wrote to her younger self. 

"Would you wish that you were a lot braver? That you wouldn’t think twice about seizing every opportunity that came your way? Would you have wanted to invest more time in yourself or in the relationships with others around you? Would you have told yourself to work a lot harder or would you have hoped to have more fun?" she asks.

The 'isiBaya' actress says while she often reflects on her life choices, she knows they have helped her grow.

"My challenges helped me to grow and through it all, I feel stronger. Personal progress and personal freedom means that you must be brave enough to give yourself the choice! When obstacles arise, don't change your decision but rather change your direction to reach your goal." 

She encourages young South Africans to "live now and always remain authentic to you". 

Read her full letter below:

If you had the chance to turn back time, what would you tell your younger self? Would you wish that you were a lot braver? That you wouldn’t think twice about seizing every opportunity that came your way? Would you have wanted to invest more time in yourself or in the relationships with others around you? Would you have told yourself to work a lot harder or would you have hoped to have more fun?

My experience as the face of Audi South Africa’s Q Range television commercial got me thinking about this question and I wondered what opportunities I had let slip by when I was younger. The message of the commercial touched on the themes of personal freedom, personal progress and forging ahead in life and this inspired me to reflect on my own personal journey. I thought about what all of this actually means to me, at this current moment in my life.

With my busy schedule including different personal and professional commitments, I play many different roles where I have to manage the various expectations placed on me but when I’m at home or in my car (my own personal space), I am unapologetically me. For me, personal freedom reinforces my gratitude towards my struggles and the obstacles that I was faced with in life. They taught me that through dedication, hard work and commitment, I could overcome it all and continue ahead. My challenges helped me to grow and through it all, I feel stronger. Personal progress and personal freedom means that you must be brave enough to give yourself the choice! When obstacles arise, don’t change your decision but rather change your direction to reach your goal.

I often reflect back on my life choices and decisions when I was younger and if I have to recall back on one specific challenge that I was faced with while growing up, I actually cannot place my thoughts on a specific memory. Instead my motivation is to embrace those missed opportunities and challenges as they have led me to a greater sense of self-realisation.

The Audi Q Range television commercial ends with the following words: “What are you waiting for?” This completely resonates with how I live out my life as a more mature and wiser, young lady. I have to give my all and my very best in trying to accomplish my dreams. There is no option of waiting around and wasting any moment. My younger self was a lot different. I wish I had told “the younger me” to live every moment to its fullest. After all, it is those moments that shape us into the next.

To the youth of South Africa, my advice is to live now and always remain authentic to you. Remember that disappointment, failure and the resultant tears are not a sign of weakness; it’s your soul calling for the rainbow in you to come out.

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