#AtoZchallenge (2018) Opinionated sexagenarian’s theme

English (Afrikaans below):

I enrolled to participate in the A to Z April (2018) blog challenge which requires that I write and publish 26 blogs, which represents all 26 letters of the Alphabet, during the month of April. I will be writing the blogs in English and will make the Afrikaans translation available in the same post.

My theme for this challenge is “feelings” of a sexagenarian and the influence of social media. Our generation, especially those of us who grew up in a conservative South African Christian community, never really learned to investigate and discuss our feelings. There were certain emotions that we would certainly never have exposed to public scrutiny, especially if you were a woman. It cannot be disputed that the event of social media has a lot to do with the fact that, these days, all and sundry bounce their feelings around in public. This applies to people of all ages; we’ve all learned to say what we think, or for lack of words, use an emoji to describe how we feel 😀😍😡 I thought it would be interesting to compare the difference between how I learned to deal with my own emotions between then and now.

Afrikaans:

Ek het ingeskryf om deel te neem aan die A to Z April (2018) bloguitdaging wat vereis dat ek 26 blogs moet skryf en publiseer, wat al 26 letters van die Alfabet verteenwoordig,  gedurende Aprilmaand. Ek gaan die blogs in Engels skryf en die Afrikaanse vertaling beskikbaar maak in dieselfde pos.

My tema vir hierdie uitdaging is “gevoelens” van ‘n sestig-plusser en die invloed van sosiale media. Ons generasie, veral diegene wat grootgeword het in ‘n konserwatiewe Suid-Afrikaanse Christelike gemeenskap, het nooit regtig geleer om ons gevoelens  te ondersoek en te bespreek nie.  Daar was sekere emosies wat ons beslis nooit in die openbaar sou laat blyk het nie, veral nie as jy ‘n vrou was nie. Dit kan nie betwis word nie dat die koms van sosiale media baie te doen het met die feit dat een en almal deesdae hulle gevoelens in die openbaar rondbons. Dit geld vir persone van alle ouderdomme; ons het almal geleer om te sê wat ons dink of, by gebrek aan woorde, ‘n emoji te gebruik om te beskryf hoe ons voel 😀😍😡 Ek het gedink dat dit interessant sou wees om ‘n vergelyking te tref tussen die hantering van my eie emosies tussen toe en nou.

All my entries for the #AtoZchallenge (April 2018) will be published here.