Let me show you a glimpse beyond my veil.

It's as if I woke up in a world where I didn't belong, like I had missed a crucial part of life. I missed the moment when humanity was wounded. The moment when bitterness took root, and people began blaming others who never hurt them. The moment when greed and power seized control. I missed all of that. I've watched the documentaries and the movies telling us why we should hate one another—through world wars, slavery, to modern-day capitalism. But none of it resonates with me. I simply cannot comprehend that level of hate because it doesn’t register in my being. It brings me to tears.

At first, I thought something was wrong with me. That I was defective, an oddity for believing in the goodness of humanity. Family, friends, and colleagues called me delusional and manipulative because I always chose peace, chose myself, and held onto positivity for my own sake. I was the only one who believed in my world, in my art. But I needed to protect that—my creativity, my sanity, my belief in humanity. I was guarding my innocence.

Walking away from those who couldn’t see my world led me to a deep isolation. I questioned if I was the problem, why life felt so lonely, why I gave so much and received so little in return. Why did people either love me intensely or despise me with equal intensity when I was simply expressing myself?

But the truth is, there was never anything wrong with me. I was born with art inside me. And from what I now understand, not everyone is born with an imagination that births art—a force from which life imitates. That’s something rare. That’s something special.

By understanding and fully appreciating myself, I now understand others. I empathise with their pain, their struggles, and the fears they cannot escape. It fills me with sadness. Yet, I am determined to share stories of hope and triumph, in the hopes that I can show humanity that life is indeed a beautiful thing, full of love and wonder. We can all choose a path where we forgive, where we thrive together.

Coming soon...

Yvonne Niwahereza