Sam Pinn Chronicles

So you have managed to secure the school of your dreams and just when you think it is time to sit back and enjoy the spoils of all your efforts to get your child into a high school you realize that this is only the tip of the iceberg because now the real hustle begins! Since our acceptance we have been to a new parent meeting, sports training (yes for next year already), sport open day to explore options for next year which we have already chosen as per the numerous forms we have had to complete, and lastly the dreaded and not cheap task of purchasing School Uniform. You will note in one of my earlier blogs of High School Woes that I discuss the huge jump in tuition fees from Primary School to High School. This is only the start as you have to purchase a full new set of uniform inclusive of Blazer, the total cost of anything from R1500 to R5000! Then there is that lovely "voluntary donation" you are giving to the school yearly over and above your monthly donations, but

So this year was the year I became a mother of a teenager! I don't even know how this happened because honestly I remember my High School Matric Ball like it was yesterday. When I told this to the cashier at Exclusive books when buying my now teenager his favourite books for his birthday she laughed way too loud which led me to believe that despite my denial I must definitely look older than I think. Once again I know that having been a teenager myself that life just seems to be out to get you and nothing seems fair but being on the other side now I am like WTH is wrong with you and why are you sooooooooooooooooo moody. Honestly being the only female in a house full of males I should be the only one allowed to throw hissy fits but no I can tell you boys can throw tantrums just as well as girls lol. Everything seems like such an effort and every request seems like its monumental, take for example when I say "Please can you go and dry off the dishes in the kitchen",

In life you will be faced with so many decisions, choices and disappointments and sometimes you may find yourself asking the question, why am I doing this? I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have heard people tell me urgh, why do I have to go to work again today? Or to those that are studying when it comes down to prepping for an exam they ask themselves why did I put myself through this? I have one piece of advise to you all, Find your Reason! For anything in life you do things for a reason, that reason may just be to earn money but then I ask you why do you need to earn money, and if you dig deeper I am sure you will say to support your family, to pay for a Bond so you have a roof over your head, for food to live, schooling for your kids, whatever it may be - YOU HAVE A REASON so dig deep and find it. Very few people can say that they truly LOVE what they do, when you love your job getting up for work becomes easier, dealing with difficult days is that much easie

As a young girl I loved reading Fairytales which would usually end with the Prince who won the heart of the Princess, they got married and lived happily ever after. This is what I believed true love is and what happened in real life, but having grown up I sit back and reflect on the teachings of these fairytales and wonder how misguided they are. For those of you who are married you know that as thrilling as the chase was and as whirlwind as your relationship may have been, it is not truly the only hard work required in your relationship and in the words of Beyoncé "putting a ring on it" does not mean that you can now just sit back and enjoy the spoils of your hard work. On the contrary the hard work begins when you say I do, not because there is anything wrong with the person you chose or that your relationship is doomed but simply because any great marriage requires work. Lets take my life as an example, I met my husband at the end of my high school career at the age o

Over the last few weeks I have had the same statement told to me in different situations "You are too nice". This has really got me thinking that people perceive someone who is nice as a weakness or a flaw and this is not just in the working environment but society as a whole. For anyone that knows me they will say I am a nice person, friendly and always willing to help, does this then mean that I am perceived to have less respect or power/command than someone who is loud, ruthless or puts the fear of God in someone when they speak? I honestly don't agree, I believe that when you treat others with the respect and dignity that we would like to be treated with, this earns us the desired respect of others and that they are far more willing to listen to what you have to say. The reality is that as nice as I am, I have the ability to be harsh or stern when needed and I am most certainly not a pushover (just ask my kids or hubby lol). You need to have a balance of being

There are very few times in my life that I have failed or felt sheer disappointment in myself, today was one of those days. I started my distance learning BComm 3 years ago and this semester I did my first two 3rd year modules. I managed to receive a distinction for my one module and failed the other (two extreme opposites, go figure). I cant even begin to describe the gut wrenching feeling I felt when I received the result with the word FAIL on it, such a simple word with such negative connotations to it. For those that know me, you will know that I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I am so critical of myself and always expect the best of me so hearing that I was none of these ultimately felt like my world was crashing. The disappointment stems from the fact that I am currently receiving a bursary so failing is not even an option given the financial implications of having to pay out of my own pocket to redo the module again but the biggest thing ultimately is having to redo the m

With all the anticipation, all the stress and all the additional grey hairs I have acquired during the High School application process the day finally arrived for parents all across the Western Cape to find out the fate of their kids applications for school in 2020. Then insert additional stress as parents who applied for more than 1 school have to help these kids make this life changing decision to select the right school, they have until the 12 of July to make said selection however many of the schools contact you via e-mail to encourage you to make a choice sooner than later so that those kids who are on their waiting lists can be given a space. How then do you select your dream school? Of all the interviews we went for I got some sound advise and the most common statement was make sure your child picks a school that they feel comfortable with. Yes its important to get the best school for your child's future but finding the one that best fits your child is more important.

As humans our innate ability to make excuses and justify is outstanding, I am sure if we ever had to compete against another type of life form and they held a challenge which included excuses and justification we would win hands down! It is this ability however that holds us back from reaching our true potential, whether it be that you are taking on a new challenge, doing part time studies or starting a diet we have already formulated 100's of excuses as to why we are unable to reach our goals which we have not even yet started trying to achieve. So how do we overcome these excuses? Personally I don't think there is one recipe or quick win to do this, what works for me however is to understand why I am doing something and to know that I am doing it for me, not for someone who made a comment about how I looked, not for someone who said if I wanted to get anywhere in life I needed a Degree and most certainly not for anyone who made me feel anything other than loved. Peopl

If they were to advertise the role of a PARENT would any of us really apply? Would you really want a job that you have to commit to for life, one that does not involve any salary or vacation time, I can think of a few colourful words we may have said to that ad lol. As I get older I find my patience that used to be quite extensive dwindling, I remember calling the boys to come and brush their teeth, then calling them again and again and again, now I call twice and start barking. I love my kids more than anything in this world (other than my hubby of course) and would lay my life on the line for them in a heartbeat but sometimes I find myself not really liking them at any given point in time, is it not crazy that someone you love soooooooooooooo much makes you want to strangle them at times. I often sit and think is this what is it was like for my parents because in my mind I was a model daughter who did very little wrong (don't ask my parents though). Being a parent is not

Throughout my life I have struggled with this question, three simple words, am I enough? The answer however is never as simple as a yes or a no sadly. I have always considered myself a go-getter, someone who strived for greatness and was often my biggest critic. This was not always a bad thing because it drove me to be the best version of myself I could be, but it also made me feel like I could do more or be more. I can see this manifest in so many aspects of my life, my marriage, my work, my friendships, my studies and my role as a mother. The reality however is, if you met me you would not believe a word I am saying because as so many people have told me "you look so confident, I wish I was as confident as you are". Well you know what they say, fake it till you make it! I feel like life's unrealistic pressures adds fuel to this insecurity fire most of us have within. Social media will have you believe that the amount of followers quantifies your popularity whic

As per my previous blog I discussed the saga that is the High School application process 2019, we are nearing the end of this process and 8 High School applications, 8 Open Days, 3 interviews and 1 acceptance later we now find ourselves in the difficult position of having to make a decision on our chosen schools. We have been reeling over this question since our first application, "Which school should we choose if all accept us?". Now the dilemma for me is I am a grown woman struggling with this life changing decision so how in heavens name must my 12 year old son be feeling? The reality here is that we all as parents want the best for our kids which means the best and sometimes most expensive schools however are they the right choice? I have discussed this topic with so many people in the last few months and have the following thoughts on the matter. For us it was all about allowing our son to attend the school he felt most comfortable with hence the 8 open days we atte

Firstly I cannot even fathom that I have a soon to be teenager as I feel like I merely celebrated my 21st Birthday last year lol. As if this daunting reality is not stressful enough I now have to contend with High School Applications as well, and for those that have not yet gone through this process, brace yourself - you are in for a rollercoaster ride. We (future 2020 Grade 8's) in the Western Cape are part of a lucky group of people who get to pilot a new online application system with the Western Cape Education Department (Yeah Us - Not). This year in conjunction with following the normal hard copy process we have to do a similar online process which in retrospect is not all that bad and honestly it gives us stressed out parents some feeling of power in tracking the progress of our applications. Being the OCD person that I am I researched the heck out of future High Schools and created a spreadsheet, this was then utilized by my kid's current primary school to provide ot