A coming of age

Nothing screams 'the year is over' quite like Christmas decorations, year end functions and that drunk uncle who suddenly remembers that he has family.

Yes, its that time of the year when I will stuff my face silly with all kinds of fatty foods and have no regrets.

Its a time when my family gets together and we sing our lungs out after a hearty meal with my grandmother beaming at her brood.

A time when our worries are less and the stress of the year seems like it was nothing at all.

Neighbours will be happy, and we will all wait in anticipation for the new year countdown and the song that will be played into 2014.

Children play till the sun goes down and the streets are filled with music as people prepare to get sloshed.

This time of the year is also very emotional for me because it is a reminder that in just a few weeks I grow a year older.

Maybe I will be lucky this year and have Santa give me the fountain of youth as a gift. I have been a very good girl.

And yes if I can help it, I would like to stay twenty- something for the rest of my life.

This year has been a great year for me and I have been blessed far more than I could ever imagine

I started working as a journo for this paper in March, a blessing I will forever be grateful for.

Funny times, hard times and crazy situations that added to the flavour that was my 2013.

I went from being plain old Thabile to being called Sisi we-African Reporter and Miss Reporter by some.

All I know is I must have been doing something right because I even managed to get myself a stalker.

A real life crazy person who thought it was ok to call me in the middle of the night with a story or an alcohol inspired hello.

Who would have ever thought? I'm not even Beyoncé (I could be close though, who knows?)

The highlight of the year was definitely going to see my all time favourite style icon Rihanna at her Diamonds World Tour in Soweto.

Oh and what an interesting time it was to be a journalist during the passing of our precious former president Nelson Mandela.

Reading up on Madiba and the wonderful documentaries they had on his life taught me so much about what the man stood for.

A big part of me wished our paper was a daily newspaper so we could document the historical event for our readers to keep.

It is amazing how much we learn in a year, I look at Thabi in 2012 and the Thabi who is writing this and I see that so much has happened.

I look forward to the new year, new goals new opportunities and new experiences.

I would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Thank you for your continued support and for taking the time to read my crazy columns, I hope the year ahead is everything you hope it to be.