“I have fallen but my head just never hit the ground and that has made me who I am today. Finding God saved me, it made me a better person and doesn’t matter how many tears ran down my cheeks, I am so proud of all the pain and joy I’ve experienced to date because today I can look at myself in the mirror with so much admiration.”
Gwendoline Diana Goagoses (23) is a career driven Spa Therapist. Second born of five siblings, Goagoses attended primary school at M.H.Greef after which she joined Orban to finish her primary school journey matriculating eventually at the Delta Secondary School. After high school, Goagoses followed hospitality and culinary arts course at the Namibia Institute of Culinary Education (NICE). At the same time she worked at the NICE restaurant and bar as well as Wolwedans Lodge as part of her on- the -job training.
After a year, she started her dream career as a part time Spa Therapist. A career that stole her heart while attending a grooming course that was being offered at Camelot Institution of Health and Skincare then based in Klein Windhoek. She continued courses studies at the same institution based in Cape Town, South Africa. After training to become a Health and Skincare Therapist, she worked in different Spas in South Africa and Namibia. Goagoses describes her teenage life as ‘interesting filled with fun’. “I lived for the party but one thing I am proud to say is that I partied hard and studied hard. I made sure that I gave my parents something more than just a pile of disappointments. Luckily after Grade 12 all that ended-I completely just switched, started transitioning into a very responsible young Lady. Lost a lot of friendships and became more a party of one rather than a group.”
One of her greatest challenges was being in a work environment in Dubai where she was the only African and English-speaking person, apart from her employer. “I completely went from being such an achieving young lady to simply being dormant in my life and career. It got better with time though because I learned a few Thai words and Tagalog to communicate and they started making effort to speak the little English they knew with me but for months I remember being so out of place, missing home.”
After the experience in Dubai she got a job in the Emirates Palace Hotel,Abu Dhabi, which is the world’s first 7 star hotel. “This job was so exciting, career -boosting but it also meant the end of just doing the minimum at work. We catered to only VVIP guests from all over the world, from artists, kings and queens, billionaires, United States senators, presidents and many more. If ever I failed to value the people that ‘work on call’, working for Emirates Palace made me admire them. So in short my love for this career erupted in Abu Dhabi and I was more convinced that I never chose to be a Spa Therapist, weird as it sounds the career chose me. If I chose it-I would have given up already.”
Goagoses learnt that words can certainly build or completely break a person. “Being a confident dreamer, I always had an active mind full of desires but I struggled to see a thing through because along the line what people opined was my biggest focus but I guess as the years progressed, I learned that I have all that I needed to be all I wanted to be. It required a complete mindset change and choosing specific people to speak to into my life, and meditating on the word of God to fully believe in myself,” she says.
Her desire to succeed has been a fire that just wouldn’t die out and it’s been her greatest motivation to keep pushing. “No matter how many nos I got, I keep believing in the Yes that is about to come. Nothing comes easy, being someone takes a lot of self believe, hard work, risk and leaving your comfort, just to expose yourself,” she says.
She encourage the youth to keep focus and go for what they want. “When it all doesn’t work you need to still be able to stand up and try again. So just be patient, do not take short cuts and no one should ever tell you that you cannot do it because your background doesn’t matter, you can be whatever you want to be-if you just keep believing and building yourself.” Goagoses currently own a mobile Spa business called Allure Health and Wellness. She also does treatments at lodges or guest houses depending on bookings.