FASHION designer and novelist, Sonia Noel, promoted the concept of self-love when she met with primary school pupils in Linden.
“You have to love you. When you love you and you’re sure of yourself, there is nothing that (anyone) can tell you that you cannot do,” Noel said.
Noel, who is currently on her ‘Living With Intention’ motivational book tour, visited the Amelia’s Ward Primary School and the St. Aidan’s Primary School in Linden on Monday to share her words of inspiration and motivation to the Grade 6 students.
“Don’t try to be a follower, try to be a leader. I want to tell you today that you don’t have to be accepted in any group. You can lead, you don’t have to be doing the things that you don’t want to do just to be somebody’s friend,” Noel advised.
During her motivational talk, Noel shared that she used to sell plantain chips and sugar cake in primary school, and cake and pastries in secondary school. She even recalled throwing ‘box hand’ in primary school in order to help her single-parent mother’s financial struggles.
“When I was your age, living in Bartica which was a village then, my mom and dad separated and finances were a bit scarce because dad decided he didn’t want to look at us. So I thought about what I can do to help my mom to make our lives better. One day I made plantain chips, one day I made sugar cakes,” she recalled.
She added, “Every pastry that I sold and every slice of cake added to what my mom was doing. And people look at me today … that shows you, you could be anybody you want to be. You see that little girl from Bartica that sold cakes and pastries she now has four books on Amazon that sell. I’ve got a lot of awards in the Caribbean, internationally and it’s like when I get flashes. I get flashes going back to the age you are at right now. I get flashes of my life as it is right now and knowing that everything is possible. You just have to put your mind to it and there are some changes that you have to make.”
Noel noted that even though she was selling in school, she still focused on education because making something good of herself was her goal.
The students who are anxiously awaiting their National Grade Six Assessment results were advised, “Don’t be daunted if your friend gets a top school and you don’t because there is room for improvement. You have to set that agenda that I may not have done well here and I get a secondary school that I really didn’t want but you could work your way up to get where you want to be.”
Noel is encouraging children to read more since it is necessary, saying, “It broadens your horizons and it takes you places you probably would never go.”
‘Living With Intention’ offers readers a glimpse into the world that makes everyday a masterpiece even with life’s challenges.
