So whilst chatting to my cousins a few nights ago I was quite disappointed to learn about the cattish behaviour of our young Muslim girls at university. Apparently its all about glitz and glamour and competing with each other in terms of clothing, cars and of course more respect is given to a girl who originates from the so called elite northern suburbs. I personally believe that no child is brought up with this snotty elitist attitude. It all boils down to upbringing...If you think that university is all about a fashion parade I'm sorry to burst your bubble..It isn't. It is quite sad that many of our young men and women are so consumed with materialism that they fail to see the bigger picture in life. A few weeks ago I was at a function and at our table there was a lady going on for herself about how her daughters only wear branded clothing and they go to an award winning hairdresser etc etc and for university they need to have new clothing all the time.She asked me if I'm also into big brands. My answer was simple, " Aunty what brands are you talking about. Everything nowadays is made in China, Indonesia and India at a ridiculously low price and gullible people like you will pay thousands of rand for the garment just because it has a specific name on it. I'm not a gullible human being.I understand how the world functions and I've also had an opportunity to visit these factories during my travels. It is quite disgusting to see that the workers sewing these branded clothing lines earn less than a dollar a day and yet these branded companies make millions out of the consumer." It reminds me of another story. A few years ago I was working at Milpark hospital as the retail pharmacy manager. There were days that I use to use a Nissan 1400 bakkie to work out of convenience. It was parked off in the driveway and it was so economical on fuel. One day I got to work not realizing that I was being scrutinized by an Indian family in the parking lot. After an hour two at work, my colleague called me saying that a patients family would like to see me to discuss the patients treatment regimen. When I came to the front, I met the family, sat them down and assisted them with their issues. After the discussion as they were leaving, the patients dad asked me, " I think I seen you this morning in the parking lot. Were you the lady in the van." I was like, yes it was me so... The man said, " I never expected an educated person to be riding in a van." I said that a vehicle does not define you as a person and neither is it a benchmark for my integrity as a medical professional..I must be honest I really don't care what car I drive as long as I'm getting from point A to point B.
In an online article I read recently, it was stated that some of the most successful people in the world viewed fashion as a frivolity. In their opinion it is a complete waste of time stressing about what to wear when there are more important pressing issues at hand. Most people find it strange that I wear the same uniform as my staff to work everyday. Why? The answer is simple. I wake up in the morning knowing exactly what to wear and hence I leave the house on time to beat the traffic. I get to work early and hence I am more productive. It is also cost effective. Wearing immaculate formal wear to work everyday means an excess expenditure on clothing and accessories. I rather invest a few more rand on noteworthy investments that would give me returns as opposed to wasting it on clothing. I work with my staff as a team and hence there is no atmosphere of dominance where I would naturally appear to be of a higher level to them had I chosen to wear designer clothing or branded clothing to work everyday. In this way my staff feel comfortable enough with me to discuss any issue that may perturb them.
In my opinion qualities of simplicity and humbleness surpasses personality traits of pride and arrogance. The more you become consumed into materialism the further away you move from the Almighty. I'd rather have God as my friend than a group of cattish women trying to emulate satanic dolls like the Kardashians..It is sad that in today's materialistic fake world of illusion, a person is not respected for what they have on the inside..its all about wealth, glitz and glamour. What a sad state of affairs, isn't it?
