By Dylan Aiston
The sun reflects off of her all natural hair that sits like a halo above her head. Her head rests against the palm of her hand while her eyes give off an intense, steely gaze. The tips of her nails are decorated with a faded matte red coat. Despite the halo-like appearance of her hair, Angelique has a strong distaste for the nickname ‘Angel’. “It’s Angelique, not Angel” she states in a very matter-of-fact manner. Once this clarification is made she delves straight into the content of our encounter, throwing me rapid-fire desert island scenarios and quizzing me on what my dream music concert would be.
Angelique doesn’t take long to transport me back to her inter-continental childhood. Although she was born in our very own rainbow nation, she traded the bustle of Johannesburg for the bustle of Saudi Arabia. There she spent a good portion of her youth at Tehama International School. However, in 2015 her cravings overpowered her. “I missed pap”, something clearly not readily available in Saudi Arabia. So she returned into the unwelcoming arms of the Sterkspruit Chris Private School. Every second spent there was one of regret. There isn’t a hint of enjoyment as she continued to describe her schooling career. “I would give it a three out of 10”. A sense of fond memories has started to creep back into her tone as she refers to back to her three best friends, “all of them gay.” Her mind seems to wander back to her days of dramatic arts back at school, perhaps something she hadn’t thought about when relaying her distaste for the schooling system.
Angelique’s multifaceted personality is now peeling off in layers as our conversation ventures to new depths. Her sense of humour shines through with her tongue-in-cheek description of her mother, Janice, and her father, the “sperm donor”. The humour is quickly masked with admiration as a proud description of her step-father James is made. The feeling of admiration isn’t only one-sided; Angelique’s family holds her in very high regard. Her brother, Auburn, characterises her as being very loving and respectful, with just enough drama to keep things interesting!
The sunshine ups its intensity as our conference continues. Angelique doesn’t seem to mind. “I believe in life outside” she muses. She carries on to give herself the description of an “old soul”, claiming she is “19 years old externally, 72 years old inwardly” and “I’m not religious but spiritual.” A reflective tone seeps into the conversation as she gives me the intricacies of her perfect ways to pass the time. Of all the qualms she has about being born in our generation, the fact that she will never see Queen perform live in possibly the biggest irk of them all.
Angelique continues the intimate nature of the conversation, illustrating her love for the arts. Namely her love for theatre and non-academic literature. The colour yellow, one of her favourites, has somehow entered the conversation along with her desire for pink hair.
Her voice has been unwavering throughout our interaction, yet when the topic of transphobic or homophobic people come up there is a newfound bite to her tone. Angelique is clearly unimpressed with such a breed of people. The words her brother said start to echo in my head, about how raising Angelique is helping him raise his own child. His descriptions of her caring nature seemed to cement itself as she talks about the issues facing our society.
The past hour has been transformative and enlightening. Although we may not talk a whole lot going forward, the experience of being allowed into someone else world and briefly living their life is not one to forget. Certainly not one I’ll forget any time soon.
Diversity Times 