This is my Canvas, I'ma paint it how I want...

You the captain of your own ship young man - a smooth sea never raised a skilled sailor.

- that's a quote I saw on Google!

A picture of Salim - Photo: France Richia

My name Abdul Salim Nkosi. Well, guess what? I know exactly what is on your mind already, you probably wondering how I may have Arabic names and an African (Nguni) surname. I get that a lot, I remember there was a point in my life where that question really frustrated me, my peers and acquaintances always assumed and considered me not South African, it was only during my late teen ages that I started embracing the fact that maybe I am unique. And believe me, when I say this, it excites me now when someone asks about it. For context and clarity’s sake, both of my parents are mixed breeds, mom is not South African, so I guess you kind of get the picture of where the surname originates from.

I grew up in a very big dark township called Daveyton located around the East rand of Gauteng, I use the word “dark” to highlight that coming from where I come from, making it this far is like a dream come true. Because of minimal exposure and limited opportunities, it took me a long time to discover what is it that I would like to venture into as a professional career, I remember there was a point where I got accepted and registered for a Ba in Environmental studies at Unisa, looking back now that I am on my honours level, it all makes sense, my passion and aspirations always had something to do with the people, their society, and what influences their surroundings which I discovered to be journalism.

In 2021, I took the leap of faith and changed to Ba in Communication at North-West University and since that day I’ve always preached to anyone who is pursuing a professional career to always standardize instead of optimizing, by this I mean it is safe to do something that you are passionate about over and over, you improve as you go, and it gets easier with time.

Making it to Wits, especially doing my honours degree here, has made me realize that anything is possible, you know when they say the sky is the limit? Well, I believe that now. We tend to not celebrate our achievements, and this is one of the reasons that contributes to people feeling like they are not thriving as much as they could be. With confidence, I say this because every morning even if it feels like not doing it, I will do it and convince myself that it would have been anyone else but here I am, and it is me.

Salim Nkosi and his friends - Karabo Gift Sambo

My biggest reflection so far is meeting and getting to know my fellow student journalists, throughout the past three weeks I have learned that we are a pack of creatives and skillful individuals, and I hope that we all make it work and learn from one another.  Though I feel like a first year all over again, my second biggest reflection was meeting students from my alma mater, and friends that I lived and studied with during my undergraduate. The list is just endless, and I aim to reflect on the journey more often now that it has commenced.

This year is all about learning, networking, creating, and most importantly, personal growth. I know it will get tougher, but we will all by the end conquer the so-called “Wits edge.”