“My name is Precious – excuse the pun”, are the first words she utters to people when she first meets them. More often than not, the infectiously cheery smile that accompanies the words is enough to eradicate the idea of having ever not known her. Strangers she knows none and everyone’s her friend. Now isn’t that simply precious?
Precious Lungile Fatyela is a young diva in the making, whose 21 years of life have already been crammed with a lifetime of lessons. Since 23 March 1987 when she sang her first note to the world, she has been making music and spreading smiles with her voice; sometimes even leaving behind a trail of tears where her melodies have passed. “Music is the one thing that makes sense to me,” she reflects with subtle confidence, “the only thing nobody could take away from me”.
Once upon a time, her childhood was almost taken from her. Precious remembers with tear-studded eyelashes how a decade ago, she was “a broken person, angry at God, and even suicidal”. Precious is the daughter of a preacher, and her family was compelled to adapt to a nomadic lifestyle that saw her foundational years populated with sporadic and unpredictable periods of constant relocation. “I named it ‘The Calling’,” she begins, recalling the memories reluctantly, “and whenever it summoned, we picked up everything and uprooted”.
Parting was sweet sorrow, but became a hauntingly bitter reality when the young starlet’s family’s travels resulted in her moving from an Afrikaans to an English school. Although she had been an excelling learner in her previous schools, Precious’s struggles with English and Maths saw her repeating three grades consecutively. Having completed four years of primary school with Afrikaans as a first language, Precious found herself lost in a world of a language she knew almost nothing about. “I went from being the bubbly, intelligent girl everyone adored to the object of everyone’s bullying…because I was seen by my peers as stupid”. Raising her gaze upwards as if in search of divine consolation, she sighs and tries to fight the tears. “I cry, not because I haven’t been delivered from the pain, but because I’m humbled by how far I’ve come.”
A masterpiece as perfect in its simplicity as Precious, with its dampened marshmallow cheeks and soft, teddy bear eyes, could only have been made by The Perfect Artist. “I define myself as a young lady who’s found herself in God”. The sincerity in her voice tells a tale of boundless spiritual and emotional growth. “The seed that God sowed in me,” she explains, emphasising the words with a gentle beating of her fist on her thigh, “is the root of the desire that keeps me going – a reflection of his vision for me.” She admits that there were times when she was so tired and so paralysed by the fear of failure that she wanted to quit, but found in herself a fighting spirit that held the pieces together in a relentlessly determined way.
In grade ten, the process of metamorphosis turned a fear-stricken caterpillar into a growing, glowing and soaring butterfly, liberated from a fear she couldn’t suppress. “I got sick of the world oppressing me, so I groomed myself out of my feelings of inferiority”, she starts with a smile, suddenly reminded of her success. “So I learnt to see and love myself the way my parents did, and took time to learn about the reflection of God’s image in my own being.” A self-confessed “Daddy’s girl”, Precious reveals that a significant portion of strength to endure came from the support and strength of her parents.
She is carefully refined in language, dress and manners, as the formal definition of ‘precious’ states. A young songstress who’s effortless humility and impassioned voice have the ability to raise hair from flesh and bring chills to those blessed by her singing, Precious is a true diamond, who hasn’t been spared the heat of the refining process. Her appreciation for every part of her life is perhaps her greatest attribute. “Every obstacle and triumph given to me act as a cloth – tools to polish myself with so that I can truly shine”. Her name is Precious, excuse the pun.
Precious Lungile Fatyela is a young diva in the making, whose 21 years of life have already been crammed with a lifetime of lessons. Since 23 March 1987 when she sang her first note to the world, she has been making music and spreading smiles with her voice; sometimes even leaving behind a trail of tears where her melodies have passed. “Music is the one thing that makes sense to me,” she reflects with subtle confidence, “the only thing nobody could take away from me”.
Once upon a time, her childhood was almost taken from her. Precious remembers with tear-studded eyelashes how a decade ago, she was “a broken person, angry at God, and even suicidal”. Precious is the daughter of a preacher, and her family was compelled to adapt to a nomadic lifestyle that saw her foundational years populated with sporadic and unpredictable periods of constant relocation. “I named it ‘The Calling’,” she begins, recalling the memories reluctantly, “and whenever it summoned, we picked up everything and uprooted”.
Parting was sweet sorrow, but became a hauntingly bitter reality when the young starlet’s family’s travels resulted in her moving from an Afrikaans to an English school. Although she had been an excelling learner in her previous schools, Precious’s struggles with English and Maths saw her repeating three grades consecutively. Having completed four years of primary school with Afrikaans as a first language, Precious found herself lost in a world of a language she knew almost nothing about. “I went from being the bubbly, intelligent girl everyone adored to the object of everyone’s bullying…because I was seen by my peers as stupid”. Raising her gaze upwards as if in search of divine consolation, she sighs and tries to fight the tears. “I cry, not because I haven’t been delivered from the pain, but because I’m humbled by how far I’ve come.”
A masterpiece as perfect in its simplicity as Precious, with its dampened marshmallow cheeks and soft, teddy bear eyes, could only have been made by The Perfect Artist. “I define myself as a young lady who’s found herself in God”. The sincerity in her voice tells a tale of boundless spiritual and emotional growth. “The seed that God sowed in me,” she explains, emphasising the words with a gentle beating of her fist on her thigh, “is the root of the desire that keeps me going – a reflection of his vision for me.” She admits that there were times when she was so tired and so paralysed by the fear of failure that she wanted to quit, but found in herself a fighting spirit that held the pieces together in a relentlessly determined way.
In grade ten, the process of metamorphosis turned a fear-stricken caterpillar into a growing, glowing and soaring butterfly, liberated from a fear she couldn’t suppress. “I got sick of the world oppressing me, so I groomed myself out of my feelings of inferiority”, she starts with a smile, suddenly reminded of her success. “So I learnt to see and love myself the way my parents did, and took time to learn about the reflection of God’s image in my own being.” A self-confessed “Daddy’s girl”, Precious reveals that a significant portion of strength to endure came from the support and strength of her parents.
She is carefully refined in language, dress and manners, as the formal definition of ‘precious’ states. A young songstress who’s effortless humility and impassioned voice have the ability to raise hair from flesh and bring chills to those blessed by her singing, Precious is a true diamond, who hasn’t been spared the heat of the refining process. Her appreciation for every part of her life is perhaps her greatest attribute. “Every obstacle and triumph given to me act as a cloth – tools to polish myself with so that I can truly shine”. Her name is Precious, excuse the pun.
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