“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” This is one of my favorite quotes, and it just so happens to be said by the one and only Nelson Mandela. This quote can be applied to so many things in my life, but I have only really started realizing the magnitude of it until my time here. “It always seems impossible” – that it does, for me at least. Just ask my mom, she probably cannot even count the number of times I have called her up, or emailed her, or simply just told her that “I can’t write this paper,” or “I won’t be able to pass that test,” everything seems impossible for me – that is, until its done and I have finished the paper and passed the test. It sounds like such a simple quote, but for me it is a constant reminder that nothing is impossible, and I can do anything I want if I put my mind to it. Examples of this are plentiful while I am here.
For instance, it is going to be impossible for me to grocery shop on my own and cook my own food every day.
Done.
It is going to be impossible for me not have Internet, cell phone, television etc. at my disposal everyday.
Done.
It is going to be impossible to take a minibus taxi.
Done.
It is going to be impossible to hike Table Mountain.
Done.
It is going to be impossible to ever feel comfortable here in South Africa.
(Easily) done.
[There are many more examples I could give but I will spare you the long list.]
What I have learned from this is that I am stronger than I make myself out to be, and even if I may whine along the way, I always find a way to finish. And it is finishing those impossibilities that keep me going day in and day out. It is the little accomplishments that make the big picture so great. You cannot look at a painting without appreciating the time that must have been put in to it or the little details the painter must have worked so hard to get just right. Therefore, I will not be able to realize the value of my experience in South Africa without appreciating the small impossibilities that I overcame and made possible during my stay.
I have truly come to understand and appreciate Nelson Mandela’s quote during my time here in South Africa, and for that I am grateful. I am learning and growing every time I find a way to make the impossible possible. I will probably always make mountains out of molehills but I know that I am able to overcome them in one way or another. The various difficulties I have experienced here will help me in future situations for years to come. With that, there is only one thing left to say – it is going to be impossible to leave.
