When you follow your passion and pursue the career you love, it feels so natural.

Our girl Lesego Jacobs talks about playing the troubled, headstrong single mom, Lorcia in DiCHiPi by JiK’iZiNTO only on SABC 1 - you’re in for a treat in this week’s Jik’iJournal. Want to share your own story with us? Email your JiK’iJournal to jikizinto@girleffect.org

I’m a BA in Geography, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Information Science (GIS) girly—so acting is completely opposite to what I thought I’d be doing with my life, right? But here I am, and that’s exactly what I’m doing! And this journey of becoming Lorcia has been incredible. This is my first adult acting gig, and I swear it feels serendipitous (a fancy word for "written in the stars"!). I never imagined I’d become an actor.

My mom used to take me to castings and shoots when I was a kid—a throwback to when I did an advert for Sales House at six years old. So, in a way, being back in the acting game feels like coming home. It’s funny how life works because when you follow your passion, even if it’s something you never planned for, it feels so natural, almost inevitable.

Lorcia’s character, in so many ways, mirrors parts of me. She’s fierce and driven—qualities I didn’t have to dig deep to find. But, while we share some energy, our lives are completely different. One big aspect of Lorcia’s life is that she’s a young mom. I don’t have kids, but the reality of young motherhood is so prevalent in South Africa and I’ve drawn a lot from the strength of women around me. I have friends who became mothers at a young age, and I’ve seen how torn they were between being young and having this massive responsibility.

I remember so many times when we’d be planning a night out, and just when my friends were ready to join, they'd have to cancel because their baby needed them. Their moms would step in with, "No ways, girl—you’re staying home tonight." That push-and-pull of being young but having huge responsibility (and blessing) really helped me bring Lorcia to life. I tapped into the emotional weight that comes with it.

But yoh, the emotional themes we tackle in DiCHiPi? It’s heavy. We touch on everything from sexual health to teen pregnancy, mental well-being, and the hard realities of just not having enough money to get by. These are all things that so many South Africans face, I look around me and see real life shown on the show. Lorcia’s story, especially her relationship with her parents, really hits home with older siblings.

Now, I’m an only child in real life, but playing the older sister to Grace (played by the gorgeous Lauren Smit) made me reflect on what it must be like to have that sibling connection. Because of Lorcia’s “mistakes” as a teenager, her parents are super strict with Grace, and Lorcia carries a lot of guilt, feeling like her actions have turned Grace’s home life into a prison. It reminded me of how we sometimes have to put our “big girl panties” on and face the consequences of our choices.

I remember the first time I left home for university, eager to prove I could handle life on my own. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t always great at it! But you know what? Failure is a step in the right direction. I had to stumble a few times to really learn how to fly. Now that I’m stepping into adulthood for real, getting my own place, and carving out my path, it’s like that moment all over again—except this time, I’m even more confident in myself.

My dad? He didn’t get it at first. It’s like our parents always see us as kids, right? But I had to show him (and myself) that I’m capable of doing all these things. There’s a strange comfort in living with your parents, but there’s also an incredible freedom in showing them you’ve got this.

And that’s the lesson I learned: follow your dreams, even if they seem unexpected. When the fire is there, the flame will ignite. I’m older, but acting found me, and it’s been one of the best surprises of my life.

I have to remind myself every day to not let my mistakes define me or dictate my next move. I only want to have honest conversations with myself, trust my gut, and give myself the grace to grow. I’ve got this.

Want to share your own story with us? Email your JiK’iJournal to jikizinto@girleffect.org