On Friday night I said goodbye to a friend. She is off to study at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Harvard. And it's a great match. Because you see, this friend is pretty prestigious herself. She is so very smart and funny and feminine and loyal. Most of all she is real and true. I know this for myself. But I also know it because everyone who knows her — better than I — says so too. I'm not always right. But collectively I can absolutely know it to be true.
The reason why this is notable, over everyone else, is that she is also a politician. And a democrat. My pretty standard belief about these things is that they are all lying to a greater or lesser extent. But not my friend. She plays the game, but only enough to effect change and make a difference for people. This is about the most admirable quality about her.

But for myself, I love her laugh. I love her fresh, sweet, girlish approach. And most of all I love her wit. And her hugs. She gives great hugs. And I am going to miss her love of fashion. We have had some chats, she and I. And while our styles differ considerably — she loves a tulle skirt, I love a sleek YSL suit — we meet around our mutual love of fashion and the amazing, strong women who exemplify style for us both.

I don't know much about what her plans are for her return to SA and our political landscape. I'm not sure she does either. But I know this. We shall be poorer for the loss of her voice. We shall be duller without her feminine sparkle. And we shall be quieter without her laugh.

So I wish her well on her academic and social adventurers. I so hope I will see her if I visit Boston next year. I can't wait to see it through her eyes. And I look forward to the preppy, Ivy League outfits that must surely follow from her sojourn abroad.
Lindiwe, I didn't make you a video, because that's not what I do. I write. And this is my wish for you.
Bon voyage. Godspeed.