Nice to Meet You Linda Tembe • Dare to DREAM Series

My biggest dream is to have a career that allows me to travel the world. 

Travelling has always been a part of my life, I'm always looking 

for ways to grow, learn and see and  experience for myself how others live. 

My dream in life is what we call "life". And good food :)

- Linda Tembe, South Africa
Photo, courtesy of Botswele

• T H E   I N T E R V I E W • 

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If there was a movie produced about your life, who would play you and why?

Taraji P. Henson. Why? Because she is simply an amazing actress; in every role she undertakes, she wins hearts . For me I truly believe she would do a great job playing me; her features are God's way of embracing a woman.

What do you love about yourself?

I love the woman I am. I love the way I'm so comfortable in my own skin. I love my hair, eyes, nose, my big ears, my breasts, every part that makes me, me. I love how my imperfection doesn't define me but makes me unique. I love that I can be myself in any situation but still adapt in my environment. I love the fact that even after all I've been through - and still going through - I can still keep a positive spirit. I love that my dreams are bigger than my failures. I love that I always go for the things I want because I believe in myself. Well mostly I love me because after God the only person I have to push is me. And I can only do my best when I am myself.

Name two people who influenced your journey thus far 

Firstly my late mother is the biggest influence in my life even though I never got the opportunity to meet her. She is in my heart and by my side all the time. A part of me feels like a knew her my whole life. I have always imagined and dreamt about the relationship we would have had. Just traveling the world and experiencing things together. In all I do she is my motivation to do my best because I always wanted to make her proud,  I am my mother's daughter. It's the smile I alway get when she touches my heart.

Secondly Karabo my partner. Even though she's quiet and keeps to herself which is totally the opposite of my personality but that's what makes her so special.  She gets me, she has taken the time to know me better and that's how she has showed me that there is more to life than having a big crowd that doesn't serve your best interest. She pushes me to go after my dreams and do what makes me happy. She is always there to lift me up when I am falling apart. My source of joy.  She always tells me to look at the bigger picture and to run after it no matter how long it takes or how hard it is.

What have you been reading lately?

Hillary Rohde's "The Other Side", and more of life-changing books and stories that make you to think and question.

What are the three destinations of your dreams?

• Kenya 
• Amsterdam
• Brazil

How would you describe your fashion style?

Well I don't follow any known trend. My fashion style is what I wake up as every morning, it's the mood of the day, my feelings and my emotions.  I don't work hard to look different but I don't seem to fit in with anyone.  I love simple but noticable.  Chilled but beautiful. I love colors that calm me down, therefore I choose colors that don't scream out or that look depressing.  I believe that every approach is influenced by your appearance so I starve to look approachable but in a respectful way.  I wear my confidence in everything, I don't like being confined by society I wake up in my skin and hair every day.  I am my fashion style. 

Tell us two things that make you smile.

I have a very beautiful and unique smile... It's a smile that is warm and welcoming. It's a smile that is contentious. When you're young and different, you are made to feel like what you have is wrong or you don't belong.  I  have a wide smile and for a long time, I felt like it was the wrong way to smile. But I soon learned that your smile should come from the heart. And the things that make me smile are the things my girlfriend do for me like telling me how beautiful I am and what I mean to her she is a woman of little words but when she does share, it makes me smile.

The other thing is when I look at a photo of myself that I took or taken by my photographer and it tells a story I never knew about me, when it shows me parts of me I never thought were there. When it tells me my life story and reminds me where I'm from and where I'm going. I'm always smiling but those are the things that make me smile from my heart.

What are your two favorite quotes of the moment?

Be the energy you want to attract from the book called "Secret".

God's timing is always perfect, from the Bible.

Tell us one pleasant thing people would be surprised to know about you. 

I cry every year on my birthday, tears of joy, humbled by God's grace,  giving me yet another year to breathe, to live, to learn,  to share.

For you, Art is...

Art is the eye, mind and heart as one. Art is the only thing that all three things can agree on.  Art is when your eyes capture an image and send it to the brain where it is explained logically then the heart explains it emotionally. Art is my imagination, it is what I want it to be when I want it to be.  I am art.  Art in so many ways and forms. My heart is art.

According to you, what is the purpose of life?

Wow what a deep question.       

For me life is simply a gift from God. 

I believe that it is given to us for a reason beyond our control, hearing my heart beat scares me at times more then it makes me happy,  knowing that it's the only thing keeping me alive is heart warming. Purpose of life is to live.  Be present in your own soul, spirit, mind, body... be present in your life and be who you believe you want to be and do that to the fullest.

Connect with Linda Tembe here: @miss_lee_leila
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The Nice to Meet You Interview is Aile Rėve's signature. It is our way to soulfully connect with the artist and visionary. The NTMY allows us to take off for a voyage into the furthest reaches of their mind, with love, humility, and poetry.

Anaëlle Naná Moon Oyå
Mermaid-in-Chief @AileReve