Opinion: What we can learn from the sad case of Fantasia Barrino

by Nomalanga

The lesson that we can draw from this is that no matter how bleak your circumstances look, you can always pick yourself back up and keep going and doing what you know to do to get your life back on track.

Fantasia Barrino has had the headlines buzzing in the last few months. First it was reported that she was  dumped by Antwaun Cook,  her second “baby daddy”, then it was reported that she had an emotional break down while performing at a concert in Trinidad.

A lot can be learned from Fantasia’s negative circumstances which range from dropping out of school, having a baby as a teenager,  dating a married man, trying to commit suicide because of the backlash from the relationship and then finally having a baby with him. In addition to all the drama from her romantic life, Fantasia was also previously reported to have been in a financial crisis and also had medical problems which threatened to take away her singing voice.

Although it would take both hands and probably both feet to count all of Fantasia’s errors in judgement, it would be a low blow to just focus on only what she did wrong.  Fantasia’s story is actually a story of victory. She teaches us that in spite of making mistakes, it is always possible to pick yourself back up and keeping moving.

Fantasia burst into the scenes as a desperate welfare mother hoping for a spot on American Idol and not only did she get the spot but she went on to win the competition in 2004. What we can learn from that is that when you have a gift and talent for something and attach it to a dream, great things can happen in your life.

Just when several headlines reported that Fantasia was having a financial crisis, things got worse for her as the media reported that she was in a scandalous relationship with another woman’s husband. Sadly, this drove  Fantasia to  try to commit suicide. The victory in this part of the story is that almost as soon as she came out of the hospital, after recovering from her suicide attempt, she got right back to work. The lesson that we can draw from this is that no matter how bleak your circumstances look, you can always pick yourself back up and keep going and doing what you know to do to get your life back on track.

In her latest break down, although it had her fans stunned, I am extremely aware of the fact that she may have been crying and looking “a hot mess”, but she was actually sharing a story of faith, perseverance and even yet another victory.

Although it seems that Fantasia’s life is one train wreck after another, I think that what we all see as a sad story is actually more of an inspiring story.

What we can all learn from her life is that you are not your mistakes. The key is to hold on to your faith and no matter how many times you trip and fall, get back up and sing your heart out. In the end, we are all only human and so is Fantasia.

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Nomalanga helps Black Women thrive in their lives and careers. She is a Social Commentator, an Editor at Your Black World , Assistant Professor of Professional Studies and the reigning Mrs Botswana.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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