14 August 2014 - 15:22pm - The day Elijah became me

On the 5th of December 2013, i found out i was expecting. Expecting what? Expecting a baby, expecting to be a mother, expecting my life to change forever.

The truth is, when you find out you are going to have a baby, a thousand thoughts race through your mind all at once. Am i ready? Is it a boy or a girl? What will my parents say? OMG! I'm going to be a mom!

Took me about a week to finally grasp reality and come to terms with the fact that in 9 months time god willing i will be holding a baby in my arms and from that moment on, my dreams, my ambitions, my life would no longer only consist of me, it would consist of heightening my dreams, pursuing my ambitions even further and changing my life to best suit my new family which will ultimately result in fulfillment of my life in ways i never thought possible.

Funny thing is when i found out i was expecting, i knew in my heart i was going to have a son even though it was only confirmed at my 13 week scan. I knew i would name him Elijah. I knew he would change my world and make me see the world through his eyes and now every morning when he wakes up, looks into my eyes i am reminded that the world is beautiful, full of possibility and that his happiness would be my life long goal.

The heading of this blog post has a very deep meaning, the day Elijah became me. When a child is born you spend days trying to figure out did this little person really form inside of me?

With each passing day as you see this little soul grow, cry, smile, laugh and talk in his own language you realise he is mine and i am his. I was no longer Donna Liedemann. I became Donna Liedemann mother of Elijah Joshua Liedemann.

He became me in every way! The most rewarding feeling was holding my baby in my arms for the first time. A moment i will remember for the rest of my life. That in every way possible was my greatest achievement. Even though world achievements may get you the best job, the best car, or the best house. Your greatest achievement as a woman is bringing a child into this world, raising them to the best of your ability and watching them grow and become somebody because YOU saw to it that they got the best! Because from the second they come into this world, YOU mirror everything they want to be, their character, the way they act and the life long lessons they will forever hold dear to them when you are no longer there.

The self conceptualisation of me

The self conceptualisation of yourself can be defined as the idea or image that you have for yourself in terms of your strengths and weaknesses, who you are as an individual and where you see yourself going forward.

In my own personal opinion, i think it takes a life time to build up your self conceptualisation as we learn more about ourselves everyday.

Who am i? Who do i want to be and what is it going to take for me to get there? Three simple but complex questions every individual seeks to discover and for some it takes years to finally answer.

I don't think i can fully answer these questions 100% but i'd like to start with what i know and hopefully one day i will be able to complete the answers.

I am a 24 year old female, born and bred in Cape Town, South Africa. I am a mother, a wife, a colleague, a student, a sister, a cousin, a grandchild, a daughter, a niece. The list can go on. Each role tells a different story but for now i will stick to the self conceptualisation of me.

I always knew if ever i wanted to achieve anything, it would take sacrifice, commitment, hard work and discipline. Without these ingredients, i would not only be able to move forward in life successfully but it would also impact my life negatively and prevent me from becoming who i always knew i was destined to be.

At 24, i am still learning more and more about who i am each passing day. Some good and some bad. I am a good listener, a hard worker, a loyal friend and i love my family. I am also impatient, sometimes inconsiderate and i tend to care to much about what other people think of me.

Where do i want to be? I want to be successful in my career in Public Relations. At the moment i am reaching my goal by completing my degree in Public Relations and also completing 5 years of experience at my current PR firm of employment. The completion of my degree this year took alot of sacrifice in terms of attending classes whilst expecting my first child, commitment in terms of not giving up even when i felt i could not endure anymore, hard work by pushing myself to complete assignments on time and making sure that i was involved in group work assignments and bringing my part and discipline in terms of reminding myself that i am completing my degree because i want to improve my career and grow in this field.

On a personal level, i want to be the best mother and wife that i can be. Like any goal, it comes with its ups and downs and as a mother i have come to realise that you become better at your role everyday and more confident in fulfilling it.

What will it take for me to get there? I will continue to utilise the 4 ingredients i have carried with me up until now but also add to it as the years go by. That for me is the beauty of one's life and one's belief. That your self growth and aspirations can define who you are and where you want to be by defining for yourself what it will take for you to get there.