My dear other half
It has been a really rough couple of years hey! You’ve had to deal with your parents’ mistrust and their over protectiveness. Oh, and you know you can’t forget the time that your innocence got snatched away from you…
Now that you are in Matric, I need to warn you about certain university encounters. You won’t find this kind of information in the university information booklets. You have just started partying and drinking, but I can tell you now that parting in Grahamstown really sucks!
There is one major aspect that I know you would really want me to advise you on: Overwhelming Change.
Obviously you know that you need to grow as an individual and that change needs to happen but, it’s extremely overwhelming at Rhodes! Ok fine, it’s like Louis Trichardt but damn girl… it’s only one campus and the people here are just so… weird. The workload is hectic and then they give you tut work on top of all the assignments. Oh and the best part is that they make tut work essential for your DP purposes, which allows you to write exams, how ridiculous! The Grahamstown environment can be perfect if you will really focus on studying but knowing you, you’ll want to explore instead.
So now you’re wondering what to do huh?
Well… Firstly you need to breathe! Secondly, you need to prepare yourself for hard work. It’s really hard to get grounded and to find yourself at Rhodes but you know what sweetie, you are a strong, beautiful young woman with an amazing personality and I know that you’ll overcome all the challenges. Oh and by the way, you don’t need a guy in Grahamstown because you are happy with Mulalo!
Best of luck with your Matric exams, I know you’ll pull through!
From your loving and caring other half
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3 comments:
Looking through the various blogs, I was surprised to find that there were very few letters that had similarities to mine. However, Nun-Amen’s “a letter to my younger self” on Bunions and Cornflakes seemed to share the most. Like my letter, we speak of the importance of finding the balance between social life and academics. We both highlight the early confusion of tutorials and how you don’t know how to behave, what to do, how much to contribute and other things. We both speak of the “overwhelming change” as Nun-Amen puts it between school life and university life and the social and academic implications of this change. As first years we all have very similar issues. While Nun-Amen’s letter and other’s letters are broader, mine focuses more one aspect and its surrounding issues.
Michal
http://h-chickens.blogspot.com
I was happily surprised to discover that this letter seems to mirror my own life and first year experiences. I believe it is a good piece of writing because it has a lucid introduction, body and conclusion but still encompasses humour and a casual tone. You mention two keywords in the letter – “overwhelming change” – which set the general message of the letter. I think this is particularly relevant to any first year because no matter where or what you are studying, you will always experience a change in lifestyle. The letter offers ways of coping with such changes and I’d like to believe that my own letter aims to do the same. You mention the “hectic workload” at university and I mention this in my letter as well. We both place emphasis on focus and relaxation, and not caving in to the pressures of academics. Therefore, I believe that your letter is a fantastic letter of motivation and a piece of writing that I can truly relate to.
Nikita
http://newstreet6140.blogspot.com/
This blog really speaks to me as this has been my exact experience in my first year at Rhodes. Everything I thought was going to be the case was not. I now feel more lost than when I was in matric, but I know that I will soon know what I am supposed to do with my life and my degree. I just really hope that the first years of 2009 heed our advice because it is not easy moving away from home and starting a new life in a different town, especially the little hole we call Gtown. In my letter I chose to speak about a single, specific topic because it was something that I felt I needed to bring to the new first years' attention. I think that your letter is very honest and, in some ways, brutally honest, but that is good because I always believe that honesty is the best policy.
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