Young One,
You walked into Rhodes thinking that all you needed was your faith, your will and nothing else. You don’t get any “wronger” than that. It will get rough. You will be faced with three assignments, two tests and only 48 hours to complete and prepare for them all. There will be days when you get tired of sleeping and the books aren’t friendly enough to make friends. Swallow your pride, young one: Make friends, call home when you need to talk, GO TO CHURCH, talk to tutors and lecturers when you need clarification (that’s what they’re paid for), and make yourself familiar with the sub wardens and wardens. Believe me when I say you will need somebody. There is nothing as underrated as a support structure, and I’m writing here to advise you to get as much of it as possible. You really will need it.
I remember how I walked into the dining hall for the first time all alone, and was introduced by Dani (whom I am so grateful for), to a group of then, strange people. I thought Dani would remain my only friend. Little did I know that only a month later I would find myself in someone’s room, tears clouding my vision, with not one, but five of those then strangers, now very good friends, at one am in the morning, pouring our souls out to each other. Choose wisely: you will get people who do not agree with the values that have instilled in you. Don’t be afraid to befriend types of people you wouldn’t normally befriend. They’re the one’s you will learn the most from.
Remember to keep smiling; the world is still in love with your smile,
Nthabi
You walked into Rhodes thinking that all you needed was your faith, your will and nothing else. You don’t get any “wronger” than that. It will get rough. You will be faced with three assignments, two tests and only 48 hours to complete and prepare for them all. There will be days when you get tired of sleeping and the books aren’t friendly enough to make friends. Swallow your pride, young one: Make friends, call home when you need to talk, GO TO CHURCH, talk to tutors and lecturers when you need clarification (that’s what they’re paid for), and make yourself familiar with the sub wardens and wardens. Believe me when I say you will need somebody. There is nothing as underrated as a support structure, and I’m writing here to advise you to get as much of it as possible. You really will need it.
I remember how I walked into the dining hall for the first time all alone, and was introduced by Dani (whom I am so grateful for), to a group of then, strange people. I thought Dani would remain my only friend. Little did I know that only a month later I would find myself in someone’s room, tears clouding my vision, with not one, but five of those then strangers, now very good friends, at one am in the morning, pouring our souls out to each other. Choose wisely: you will get people who do not agree with the values that have instilled in you. Don’t be afraid to befriend types of people you wouldn’t normally befriend. They’re the one’s you will learn the most from.
Remember to keep smiling; the world is still in love with your smile,
Nthabi
1 comment:
This student’s letter to their younger self is drastically different to mine, for several reasons. Firstly, this student focussed largely on her need for a strong support structure (of friends, church and subwardens) whereas I focussed more on academic factors. Also, a huge difference between this student’s letter and my own was her description of her struggle at Rhodes, whereas I have found it incredibly easy to live in Grahamstown and my letter lacked this angle. At the end of this student’s letter it said “Remember to keep smiling” and it also described how this student had had huge amounts of work to complete in “only 48 hours” which is not something I explored in my letter as it has not been a problem at all!
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