By Kefiloe Kajane
Sixteen-year old Relebohile Tapole of Maseru is a young author who has published her first book ‘Pride Before a Fall’ this month, which is meant to encourage other teenagers.
‘Pride Before a Fall’ is a compilation of poems that Tapole says are her personal experiences and challenges that she went through; she hopes will they serve as encouragement to young girls her age.
Tapole, who is doing her grade 12 this year, said she has been compiling poems for years and she knew that one day she would want to compile them and publish them as an anthology that gives motivation and encouragement to other teenagers too.
She said the poems are a reflection of all the experiences she has had in her teenage years and the challenges that teenagers go through.
“I believe that any young girl who will read this book will be motivated, will relate to the stories and will be encouraged.
“This is my first book and when I thought about it I knew that I was going to face challenges when it came to the costs of publishing it. I did not want to burden my mother with that so I knew I needed to work hard for it.
“I have a side business that I am pushing, where I sell beauty products and a snack bar that I am helping my mom with; so I was able to save from all that for my book to be published,” she said.
Tapole says there are many things she wants to achieve with her life, and that the book is just the beginning. She wants to inspire young girls like her, show them that there are many opportunities out there that are just waiting for them to grab them.
She said writing a book it is a process that needs one to be patient as it involves a lot of research and being corrected by others.
She encouraged other young girls to know their purpose in life and to always follow their dreams without comparing themselves to others, as people are created differently.
‘Pride Before a Fall’ can be purchased direct from Relebohile Tapole at M85 through her Facebook page – Relebohile Tapole.
