Kaffir Boy Journal #8 On Hope

Hope is what is keeping my in school right now. Hope is also all we have too. Hope is what is keeping us alive. Without hope my mother wouldn’t be wasting her time trying to keep me in school or take me to school in the first place. If I could get through school without any trouble things will look good for me. Also if Mrs. Smith could teach me tennis, maybe I could play with other people, and then maybe I could get a scholarship for college. I don’t know but maybe something big could happen in the future. The opportunity to meet Mrs. Smith is a privilege because if my grandma and I could get to know Mrs. Smith and her family, she could help me become somebody. Or maybe get me into tennis competitions because just the thought of tennis seems really fun after soccer. Or maybe she could get me into a soccer competition. Anyway hope is what helped my mother have patience and get a job and my grandma to believe that her boss would allow me to go with her to work. At first I was wondering why my grandma and mom were excited about getting me to go to work with my grandma. Well it was because they have hope that if I went to Mrs. Smith’s place, they would benefit me in some way. Before I agreed to go, or was forced to go, I completely refused. I didn’t want to go to a white neighborhood filled with white people everywhere. I even tried to runaway but my mother stopped me giving my two opinions before I went outside. She told me I either go with my grandma to her boss’s place or I go outside and don’t come back, and with that said I agreed because I knew my mother wasn’t lying. My grandma was so happy that I finally agreed to go with her to her job. My mother believed that if I went, I would get hand-me-downs once I got personally with Mrs. Smith’s son. Well basically any old things that the son didn’t want anymore. It was a one in a lifetime opportunity and I had to take it. I guess the education opening opportunities was true. Who knew my opportunity would come in so quick. I honestly didn’t think I would get any opportunity with white people. But now I am having a little bit of hope.