I was faced with the uncompromising realisation that I needed to turn my life around completely…

From Danelle B., Malvies, Aude, France My interest in Homeopathic Medicine started at an early age, thankfully due to a mother with a firm belief in a more holistic and natural approach to healing. Growing up the first defence against cold or flu would be a heavy dosage of vitamin C and Echinacea, conventional antibiotics were always a last resort. This is not to say that conventional medicine did not have a place in the home, my father is a dentist and my godmother a paediatrician and I, myself am an asthmatic who is lucky to lead a fully normal life including sport with the assistance of my GSK Inhaler. What I was aware of from a very early age was balance and the fact that throwing unnecessary chemical medication at the body at the first sign of ailment could have more negative long term consequences than short term good, as the homeopathic literature states, finding the cause instead of simply addressing the symptoms. There is a very good saying in Afrikaans (my mother tongue) which means to “find the swing behind the axe”. The axe and the chopping are the symptoms and do need to be relieved for the comfort of the patient, but somewhere there is an arm that is swinging the axe and it is this which much be ultimately addressed. Growing up I was surrounded by various medical professions and always had a great interest in healing. Even as a child when someone so much as bumped their toe I was there with the Band-Aid and anti-septic faster than anyone else, yet I never thought of pursuing it as a career. I finished High School with good grades and exemption to attend university, though I had no real idea of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life (who really does at 18?) due to my “fun” personality and great love of travel, studies in Tourism Development were suggested and I happily went along with this. My interest in healing and especially Homeopathy remained and even at this early stage I found myself “joking” that if I were not doing this I would probably have done Homeopathy instead. I graduated from the University of Johannesburg with my degree in Tourism Development and went to work aboard a cruise liner based out of Florida, I only completed one contract though as I found it to be a very artificial manner of living. Returning to South Africa I found employment as a travel agent, it paid the bills but I was not emotionally or intellectually satisfied. I started looking into further studies. As part of my initial degree at the University of Johannesburg I took French language as a subject throughout and remained a member of Alliance Française in Johannesburg. Browsing through their library I came upon a leaflet for an organisation called “Campus France” which assists international students with a proven interest in French language and culture to study post graduate in France. During my time at Carnival Cruise Lines and after returning home I had developed quite a love of an interest in wine. One of the possible courses for study with Campus France was a Masters in Wine Business, it seemed like a natural and interesting choice to make and in September of 2012 I started my post graduate studies at the Burgundy School of Business. My time in France was wonderful and life changing in many ways, both good and bad. After almost 2 years in France I had to return to South Africa and accepted employment at an up and coming winery, where I worked until October of 2016, when my husband and I started the process of moving back to France. After arriving back in Dec of 2016 the plan was for me to start work in the wine industry again this side, but I found myself putting it off which is uncharacteristic for me. It took a while for me to be honest enough with myself to realise the reason for this was that somewhere along the line I had become aware the passion I once had for my glass of wine had run out of control and was no longer a positive aspect in my life. For a more in-depth view on this you are welcome to read the last post in the wine related blog I kept, where I openly spoke about my problem for the first time (www.apinotageinfrance.com) I was faced with the uncompromising realisation that I needed to turn my life around completely and for a while I felt simply adrift. Though, as the initial shock of my major decision wore off many of my previous passions that had been forced to take the back seat for much too long were starting to come back, including and very prominently my interest in healing of a natural and holistic approach. The realisation set in much deeper than ever before that we really only get one life here, and by grace we sometimes receive second chances and I am willing to grab mine with open arms. It is for this reason that I wish to study Homeopathy, I truly feel that it is what I was always meat to do and I can see myself wanting to pursue this not merely as a career but a great personal passion for what is hopefully a long and healthy life ahead.