Name: Shafeeqah Lawrence

Social Media Handle/Username: Shafeeqah.lawrence

Introduce Yourself/Tell About Yourself: Hey there. I’m Shafeeqah Lawrence and I’m 19 years of age. I finished my 12 years of school in 2020 and that was extremely a tough year. Reason as to why I say it was tough, is because I had no motivation whatsoever due to the Corona virus hitting everyone for that period of time. Jobs were lost, people lost their loved ones, some felt demotivated at their educational institution and others lost themselves. I can vouch for most of those mentioned above unfortunately. Matric was a tough year because I had to be there for myself, push myself to work hard. I struggled a lot because of prelims, but pushed myself during my final exam and I’m honestly happy for that. My dad left his job in 2020 as well and he was the breadwinner in our little house so things became hard. People usually see me as some Instagram/tiktok person that has no problems whatsoever and that I’m living my best life, but it’s quite the opposite. If they could see beyond social media, they’d be asking “how is she still smiling” lol. I’m a happy person that doesn’t feel the need to show people my weak side. Unfortunately I check other people’s well being before my own and that’s kind of terrible seeing as I need to put myself first, but I’m trying. I have a passion for becoming a serious business woman one day, but also doing my other jobs on the sidelines. I did a one year Human Resources Management course in 2021 and did tutoring on the sidelines just to get extra pocket money for myself. Also, I did a couple photoshoots with my friend which is a really amazing photographer/videographer. We starting off slowly with the whole modeling thing so in due time big things will happen for the both of us because I’ve always wanted to do modeling or become a model reason as to why I’m always so active on Instagram, to make myself known. I’m trusting the process though. This year I plan to continue studying and do the tutoring on the sidelines again as well as helping my cousin with her catering business. Honestly, I enjoy going out with friends, but I’d like to do that knowing I have my own money to spend instead of letting them continously spoil me. So therefore I prefer to work hard for the things I want knowing for the past few years I was not being spoon fed like others. I enjoy drawing because it takes my mind off a lot of things and I love listening to music because my imagination runs wild. Reading is another thing I enjoy, especially if it’s comic books (call me a nerd), but I love it. Watching kdramas are another thing I love. Okay I love a lot of things lol. Well…that’s a little something about me.

What Inspires You Every day? : The fact that I open my eyes every morning gives me motivation to do better because God gave me the opportunity to go for what I want when he decided to open my eyes. Also the circumstances in my house motivates me to do better and to say “I don’t want myself or my future kids to go through what I went through.” therefore basically my surroundings strive me to do better and to be better.

What is some words of wisdom you live by?: “teamwork makes the dream work”
“put yourself in their shoes”
“don’t do it if you wouldn’t like it being done to you”
“regardless, do what you want because at the end of the day, they’ll always judge you”
“love yourself yesterday, today and tomorrow”

What is your ultimate goal in life? : To become happy and successful in life.

What are your thoughts on people who seek attention on social media, and what message would you like to give them? : Social media isn’t everything. The people on social media don’t really care about you, yeah they might envy you or wanna be like you, but at the end of the day all of those things don’t even matter. Ask yourself, if something bad happens to you, will all those people that envy you or wanna be like you, be there for you? Think about it.

How would you help people around the world who are going through mental health problems? : I have this thing where I want people to tell me what’s on their mind or open up to me (only if they okay with it) on what they going through etc, because I know myself and I know that I’m a good listener. I’d encourage them to speak to a stranger like myself perhaps just to let a load off their shoulders. I might not be able to help the situation, but I can help by giving some sort of advice and just lending an ear. Bottling things up is not good and I had to learn that the hard way.

How would you describe a better world for us all? : If people could see beyond their eyes and not be judgmental.
If people could stop hurting others physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually for unnecessary purposes then life would be a tiny bit better.

What else would you like to tell others about you or your life?: My life as a teenager, (I’m almost 20 years of age) is not as easy as you think it is. There are many hardships I face, but that’s not for the world to see. Consider what you want to say before saying it because at the end of the day you don’t know people’s circumstances and my life on social media is sometimes just a front or some kind of escape. With that, I learn a lot by just observing the way people speak or respond over social media VS in person.