From Salt River to Cape Town: A Defining Moment and Life Change

This essay recounts a pivotal life event: the author's family's relocation from the quiet suburb of Salt River to the bustling city of Cape Town due to financial difficulties. Initially hopeful, the move brought unforeseen challenges as the family faced hardship and relied on relatives who eventually treated them poorly. The author details the struggles of their parents finding work and the family's sacrifices, highlighting the valuable lessons learned about resilience, the true nature of relationships, and the stark contrast between suburban and city life. Despite the pain, the experience shaped the author's perspective and strengthened their resolve, marking it as a deeply memorable and transformative period. The essay concludes with a reflection on the enduring impact of this event and the occasional nostalgic visits to their old home in Salt River.

Running head: AN IMPORTANT EVENT OF MY LIFE
An Important Event of My Life
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1AN IMPORTANT EVENT OF MY LIFE
Living in Salt River, a suburban area was quite interesting for me as because of the fact
that it was very quiet and peaceful but shifting to Cape Town, the centre of the city was also
hopeful for me as I thought I would be getting many chances for interacting and meeting with
new people in a completely new environment. As because of the fact that my father has been
engaged in many debts in Salt River, we had to sell our house and move to the city where all my
relatives were staying. We were called by them ensuring that they would help in getting my dad
job here and we would be living a good life again. There were some money left with my father
after selling our house but all were spent after my brother’s and mine school admission Cape
Town. Initially we were living at my grandmother’s place for few months and we tried our best
to adjust with each and everyone in the place but gradually all our relatives started making us
feel as if we were burden on them. My aunt and uncle used to treat us badly and me and my
brother used to ask dad for leaving the place but we were unable to do so as we did not had
enough money to buy a house or to live as tenants. Attending my new school was the only thing
of relief for me. However, I saw my dad struggling really hard to find a job and my mom to serve
my uncle and aunt as a servant of theirs. I also saw my brother being treated bad by my cousins
and I used to feel very bad for everyone. I used to think when I would be able to complete my
studies and get a job so that I could bring happiness once again to my family. After four months,
dad finally managed to get a job and we left that place in the fifth month. We took a house for
rent in the same town which was much close to our school but was far away from my dad’s
office and it was really difficult to him to move in Cape Town and come back home again every
day so that to prepare himself for the next day office. He had to move 16 to 17 miles daily to
reach his office. My mother too started working for a small scale firm in order to become a
helping hand for my father. My brother and I too used to sacrifice all our needs and desire seeing

2AN IMPORTANT EVENT OF MY LIFE
our parents struggling so hard for us. There was none beside us at those times and all of us
fought with the situation in our own ways. It was really a very memorable event for me.
Although I was teenage then but still remember each and every details of the entire event and I
would never ever forget those days of ours and it was painful but was the best lesson of my life
from where I have learnt many things. I learnt that I need to stay strong to be strong in tough
times. We got to know the real face of our near and dear ones. We learnt that everyone wants to
share good times but only few of them stays through our tough times. I found that there is a huge
difference in the life of Cape Town and that of Salt River. The entire city of Cape Town was
filled with vehicles, shops, malls and people and this makes the environment of the city different
from Salt river. I was not used to with an environment like this as the place where I spend
majority of my early days was quite and comfortable with absolutely no complexities. However,
as many days had passed by and now I have been here for quite a long time, I find the suburban
life boring and dull. This change within me is because of this very event and hence, I considered
it be an important event of my life. Today, we have overcome those situation of ours to a great
extent but we none of us would ever forget. We moved from Salt River to Cape Town and it was
indeed a massive change for all of us, particularly for my father who has spent his entire life in
that place and has so much of memories there. We used to feel very sad to leave the place. It was
really a very heart twisting event for each one of us. We even visit Salt River whenever we could
make time to do so and seeing our old house makes us heartbroken.