Down to Earth and to the Point

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Mar 31, 2023

ONE of my lecturers told us we shouldn’t rely on hope to get us through difficult times because it creates a false sense of security. I got it but I just can’t accept the idea that life without hope is better. So many stories in this edition show why

You South Africa

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Letters

Aug 23, 2024

A CHILDHOOD friend visited me recently. While paging through the latest YOU, she paused and asked, “What would young Shanaaz think about you being the editor of YOU magazine today? Growing up, there was always a YOU in your house!” That moment made m

You South Africa

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Letters

Oct 18, 2024

WHEN my mother died my siblings and I went to sort out her home. Under a window that let in light and birdsong was a yellowwood chest she’d had for years that housed all her special things – albums from our childhood, pictures of her adventures as a

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Dec 30, 2022

AND so, one year ends and another begins, bringing with it opportunities for something better and brighter. What does the future hold? Where will 2023 take us? Will this be the year where dreams come true? I’m going to try to live in the moment this

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Nov 17, 2023

YOU know that feeling when you’re excited about something but a bit sad about it at the same time? It’s that feeling that gives you butterflies in your belly but also a bit of a squeeze in the chest. Bittersweet doesn’t quite describe it but I’m sure

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Oct 28, 2022

I’M NOT a fussy eater but I’m not a fan of a raisin. Or a sultana. Or a currant. Basically anything that’s a dried grape will not pass these lips of mine. I don’t know when or where it started but I’ve had a resistance to raisins for as long as I can

You South Africa

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Letters

Jul 19, 2024

WINTER has descended on Cape Town with a vengeance so I’ve been spending a lot of time indoors, cosy on the couch and engrossed in sports – which has come as something of a shock to my friends who know that sport isn’t usually my thing. But it turns

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

May 17, 2024

I spent many years riddled with anger because of how a friend started treating me. I thought we were close friends when all of a sudden he stopped returning my calls and generally made no effort in maintaining the friendship. I felt hurt, disappointe

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jun 16, 2023

I THINK I’m hitting that mid-year winter slump. It’s cold, dark and beyond irritating to navigate the complications brought on by Eskom (a washing machine full of not-quite-done laundry because I miscalculated the loadshedding schedule doesn’t exactl

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Dec 23, 2022

AS I look back at the year that was, I’m astounded by just how tough it’s been. We were all trying to adjust to a world after pandemic restrictions and masks, battling to find a new normal in a world that was anything but. And it’s not as if we start

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jun 28, 2024

WHEN I was growing up we had a VH1 Divas Live CD at home. The track list included hits by the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Céline Dion and we often played it in the car during drives and blared it through the speakers at family gatherin

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Sep 29, 2023

EVERY week we have a news meeting where we discuss what stories we’re going to pursue for the upcoming editions. There’s laughter, debate, shock and sadness – we often go through a gamut of emotions by the time we’ve heard everyone’s suggestions. Som

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Feb 23, 2024

EACH week our team comes together to discuss and plan the magazine – from choosing which stories will go into the issue to sourcing images for each page and seeing everything through to the layout process. And week after week, story after story, the

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jul 28, 2023

MIND-BLOWING, horrible, shocking, sad, devastating, hectic . . . These are just some of the words used to describe the murder trial involving a South African doctor who killed her three little girls in New Zealand. It is indeed all of those things an

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jun 23, 2023

I MUST admit when I first read that women now have to get mammograms at the age of 40 I thought, “Really?!” But then I remembered how many times I’ve heard of women younger than that who’d had them and were able to detect the breast cancer early enou

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Oct 13, 2023

HANDS up if you’ve ever used the kids pages in our Young YOU section to do your own homework or help your children or grandkids with theirs. I’m raising my hand over here – those pages were a lifesaver when I had to do school projects back in the day

You South Africa

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Letters

Jul 5, 2024

I LOVE going on solo dates. Spending a day or even just a few hours unplugging from the rest of the world and prioritising me-time is something I cherish. I try to plan these dates at least once a month, ensuring they’re more than just time spent alo

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

May 31, 2024

Lynette Strydom, I’m writing to partly answer your question about what happens to kids in orphanages (YOU Say, 16 May). Back in the ’60s I was one of those children here in Gauteng. Our place of safety had a mixture of children in need and juvenile d

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

May 3, 2024

Who says that young folk nowadays are only concerned about themselves and having a good time? Not I! Today, just after noon, as I trudged wearily home from the shops, I saw ahead of me a very frail old lady struggling slowly along on her walker towar

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jan 13, 2023

THIS past holiday was a time for catching up on my favourite reads. I wasn’t able to read for fun that much last year – it was mostly academic papers on my list so it felt like a real indulgence to catch up on the many books that have been waiting fo

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Sep 16, 2022

She lit up the starry skies with her angelic smile and words of wisdom. A lady of class, valour and stature, a quietly religious, dignified woman, who always held her head up high and seldom shed a tear. She cared about others and not herself, my dea

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Aug 19, 2022

Life on the streets is very hard. Not everyone who is displaced is a drug addict or disobedient. Some of us are faced with difficult situations back in our villages, like unemployment, forcing us to come to the city for a better life. I found myself

The Australian Women's Weekly

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Letters to Mum

Mar 24, 2021

Dear Mum, There are still times when I go to call you. It seems inexplicable to me that you actually died. I used to wonder how it would feel, and after 16 years, I’m still not sure. The main thing I want to tell you is that I get it now. I understan

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Nov 10, 2023

A FRIEND sent me a reminder that Christmas movies have started showing so it’s almost time for the holidays. Spring has also finally shown itself in Cape Town, bringing with it that feeling of sun, fun and winding down. But, of course, there’s still

You South Africa

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Winning Letter

Jun 21, 2024

IT HAD been weeks since we’d last seen the Princess of Wales – and the last time we did was hardly an occasion to celebrate. Kate, sitting alone on a bench in Windsor, calmly told the world she had cancer and asked for privacy as she battled the dise

Chat It's Fate

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Turn To The angles

Mar 16, 2021

What are you looking forward to most, once lockdown lifts and life begins to return to normal? Travelling again, live music, eating out – going to the footie? I’m looking forward to all of those things, and I sincerely hope we’ll be able to do them s