Kiki Nakita: Throwback Thursday #1 Back To School

Friday, August 28, 2015

Throwback Thursday #1 Back To School

Good afternoon darlings, welcome to my first ever linkup.

I have been blogging since 2008 as a way to record important moments in my life, an online scrapbook of sorts.

So, I thought I'd create a place for us to share our favorite memories and moments. Each week I'll create a theme. This weeks theme is Back To School.

One of my favorite times of the year is back to school. The majority of my life was spent in school, so there's a comforting thought to the years I wore school uniforms, had my days scheduled with varied subjects, teachers and fellow student friends.

At a young age I was very enthusiastic to start school. In 1992 my parents enrolled me in St. Ursula's Convent, almost an hour away from where we lived in rural Pretoria, South Africa. Our bus driver was a sister and I remember her fondly. She prayed once we all got on the bus for our safety and protection, and being the 90's seatbelts were not strictly enforced. I remember sitting on my suitcase and talking to her upfront the bus about my day.

During the countries political unrest (the apartheid), our 22 acre farm was attacked so my parents moved into my granny's rental in Rivonia. I attended Rivonia Primary until my mother, sister and I moved to England when I was eight, where it was a lot safer. My dad didn't want to leave his company, which by 1994 had acquired an airline and eventually expanded to Australia and the United States. My parents were legally separated, and remained so until my dad passed away.

My passion for design started as young as eight, when I'd make houses out of the building materials left on our land. After attending Woodles Primary, I went to Kenilworth High at age eleven where I made many friends and sat on student council as well as the Warwick Council's town planning board. I was selected from just a few pupils in our county. I enjoyed town planning, and design so much I'd spend my time creatively drawing floor plans.

My first job was at age fourteen. I had a small newspaper route in Stoneleigh, and my mom would help so I could catch the bus in time for school. Also, I worked as a companion to Mrs. Spires, who was an elderly lady in the village. I'd visit her every Saturday and we'd share tea. She had no children, or grandchildren, so she enjoyed having my mom, sister and I visiting.

At sixteen, I took an art trip to Paris where we studied the likes of Rodin, Picasso and toured The Pompadour, Musee De Orsay, Monet's Gardens, Van Gough's resting place as well as other popular attractions. Then after graduting high school, I attended Warwickshire College and worked in both a bank and at a small local chocolate shop where I learned to master the art of giftwrapping.

Just before I turned nineteen my dad, offered to pay for my college in the States, so that's how the two suitcases and sixty dollar story arose. I started my associates in Interior Design at Spokane Falls Community College that year and from then on, instead of summer travels, I worked each summer at my dad's business, so I could purchase a ticket to spend the Holiday's in Germany and England to visit with family and yes, I arrived to the States with only two suitcases and sixty dollars.

Dad, me, and my homestay mom Sharon.

After graduating, I decided to get my bachelors of fine arts in Interior Design, and so I moved to Oregon state to attend Marylhurst University. A small Catholic liberal arts university. I graduated with two degrees, in two states, after having moved to another country all by the age of twenty-four.