Confidence starts from within, not from physical a...

Confidence starts from within, not from physical appearance

Audrey Galawu

“Bullying is not just about physical violence, it’s also about psychological violence - the kind of violence that leaves scars on the soul,” says one Julia Gillard.

Marcia Andre was bullied in her childhood and even now as a grown woman, she still finds herself being called all sorts of names in the streets because of her weight.

Despite all the negativity, Marcia grew up to be a confident woman whose self-confidence is even contagious.

“Be true to who you are and not how other people see you, how other people choose to treat you and see you is on them but how you react to it is totally on you. Don’t ever give the next person power to discredit you and make you feel less of yourself, you only live once, choose choose happiness,” says Marcia Andre.

Marica says her childhood was quite difficult for her as she grew up as a chubby child and it made her more aware of how different she was and made her more sensible of her body.

She was often bullied at school because of her weight, which made her lose confidence in herself and losing both her parents and her only two sisters only made things worse.

“Well, being quite a chubby baby, I got picked on a lot in school because of my weight and it affected my self-esteem and confidence because the bullying made me feel like I wasn’t beautiful enough.

“My parents had me after nine years of trying and you can imagine how loved I was because I was their only child. I received a lot of love from my parents.

“Despite the love that I received from home, school was different as other kids called me names.

“I was called names, bullied and laughed at, which made me more aware of how different I was from others,” she says.

Her mother was always frustrated when her daughter came home crying or when she heard other kids in the streets calling her ‘Dhunda’.

“Can’t you defend yourself; you need to learn to stand up for yourself and not allow them to bully you,” her mother would always say.

As she grew up, Marcia found herself finding confidence in making others beautiful through make-up.

She realised that as she was growing up, the bullying was not stopping, even as a grown-up woman, she admits she is still being called “Dhunda or dhafu” and she has embraced it.

Marica has become one of the best make-up artists and for her, it is not just a profession but rather she does it to make other women find confidence within themselves.

So, what started as a hobby became a profession and it is not just about making money but more of making other women become confident in themselves beyond physical appearance.

“My mum was a beautician back in the day, so it grew on me since I was child that I wanted to make women look pretty, after she died, I worked on my craft so that I could survive and make a legacy out of it.

“I made the decision to work with women so that I could polish their confidence because I know how it feels like being unsure and not confident in yourself.

“During the period that I started working on my craft, I got better at it and I got more compliments and I started seeing myself differently, I felt good.

“I was discovered by Jacque Mgido, founder of Jacque Mgido Cosmetics and she groomed me and shaped my career. I resigned from her company in 2018.

“I went on to pursue film make-up, which landed me an international gig on the Mugabe movie where I was an assistant make-up artist and there I was trained by Sfix makeup guru, Julene Paton.

“As a make-up artist now, what I understand is that confidence doesn’t come from the physical appearance but it starts from within,” Marcia says with a chuckle.

Marcia has become one of the best make-up artists and she owns her craft.