He loves reading books. He finished one book every week. Muvhango actor Tebatso Mashishi plays Kgosi in the show says embracing his nerdiness and love for books freed him from feeling bad about himself.
Tebatso grew up being known as a bookworm and enjoying school work. His love for reading started at a very young age. He would take a stack of books with him to keep him occupied whenever he went. This earned him the reputation of being a nerd.
“As a child, I was just nerdy, awkward, and lonely so I spent most of the time reading,” he says.
“This turned into an addiction and favourite pastime.”
Wherever he went, he travelled with his books.
“I was constantly buried in a book, so people started calling me a nerd. At first, this reputation used to embarrass me but as time went by, I learned to embrace it. This freed me.”
He also reveals that while still at school he used his nerdiness as a ticket to hang with the cool kids as he struggled to make friends.
“Because I knew a lot of things and I was informed through reading, my schoolmates enjoyed around me,” he says.
The 27-year-old, who holds a B-Tech in Film and Drama from the Tshwane University of Technology. These days he uses reading to cope with anxiety and stress and to take his mind off work, and to get a different perspective.
Tebatso reads at least one new book a week and wants to spread his love for books among his celebrity peers and to encourage those who are lonely to take refuge in books.
“I want to start a celebrity book club where people can meet and distress with a book. Reading is one of the most therapeutic and important things that one can do in life. It does not only reveal stress, it feeds and exercises your mind,” Tebatso says.