Africa's beautiful blend of fruits span the globe; Ghana has her share and Samantha, with roots from Hohoe, is one of her own.
Samantha is a 20-year-old German-born whose mixed heritage you can't miss noticing. Her beautiful black curls against her glowing tan skin – she wears with pride.
But the daughter of Godsway Hehetror - from Hohoe-Ahado - is even more beautiful on the inside. At age 20, her understanding and embrace of the things she couldn’t comprehend as a child is impressive.
Growing up in a small German village with her German mother who had her at 19, Samantha barely understood her world.
School was difficult for Samantha because of the mean spirits of fellow students. In an all too familiar story, this half Black kid got bullied constantly because of her looks.
“I was the only brown girl in the whole school and I was bullied from the first class until I finished the school because of my skin color and my hair and the fact that I'm half African.” In fact, many, including teachers, asked Samantha if she was adopted by her White German mother.
Despite all that negative experience, Samantha has nothing but love for her roots – both Ghanaian and German. She calls herself a proud Ghanaian who equally loves being German.
What is even more inspiring about this young woman is how proudly she has owned the very things about her that others thought should make her feel worthless.
“I'm pro black and feminist and my hair is my crown,” she says with pride. “I love the {Ghanaian} food, the music, how we do our hair, just everything.”
Samantha works at H&M and loves it there. She describes her colleagues as young, positive and people who don’t treat her differently for her looks.
She’s voguish and hopes to do something with clothes, modelling and fashion in general.
Her strongest attachment is to music however; and this is where her biggest dream lies.
Samantha sings and simply can’t do without music. To her, “music is like air.”
Fast the years forward to a decade and Samantha hopes to see herself with a husband, three children, and a big house.” She’s all smiles about that. “Right now I'm just working hard and trying to save some money.”
A great deal of Samantha’s motivation comes from her experience.
For all the things that she wanted which made her cry as a child – the toys, vacation trips and so on – she aims at providing much more for her own children through hard work.
For now, this Monday-born - you can call her Adzoa - is all appreciations for her mother; a woman who sacrificed so much for her, she says. “I know that she loves me much more than anything.”
Samantha is looking forward to flying to Ghana soon and staying at her father’s house in Accra. But expect her to visit Hohoe, which according to the Ghanaian system, is her hometown.
Her little piece of wisdom: Do not care what other people think or say about you. It's more important what you think about yourself. Be yourself, and your life will be much more fulfilling.