Dear Yolisa
The sun never ceases to shine when thee is not around, how are you my love? I have been waiting patiently for your response to my letter which I had only received yesterday. It is so good to finally here from you. The nerves and anticipation must be pilling up from the mere thought of Rhodes. Don’t worry, baby steps at this point in time is what you need to slowly get over your fears.
Rhodes is beautiful, tranquil and unique. Its mere scenery may often fool a person’s preconceived idea about this institution. Lord knows I had plenty of those (preconceived ideas that is) but trust me with some minimal issues it usually takes from the first two weeks of term to sometimes the end of the third term for those ideas to be shattered. I know the feeling of having all these anticipations of coming to University and having ideas that you’re finally free from home and one can do whatever they please whenever they please without having anyone to tell them what to do. In many cases that notion is kind of true, but to an extent. One often forgets with the pleasures of life oozing in front of them the consequences that are laid not too far ahead.
There are so many temptations one faces here at Rhodes and the fact it is the biggest beer campus in South Africa does not help either! One can easily loose track of they studies here and get mixed up in situations that in the end seem so pointless. There was a time that I was really losing track of my life, heavy partying and making boys my world got me in a twisted web of hurt, confusion and failure. Don’t allow yourself to get side-tracked, focus and have a healthy balance. God Bless.
Sincerely
Your friend.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Open up That Postbox, youngin...
What’s up Khanyi
Girl, you’ve got a lot of growing to do! Remember how exciting the concept of matric used to be? How you’d wake up in the morning having had dreams of wearing the white jacket and getting respected? Well, I’ve been there, thought it was the alpha omega level of uberness... until Rhodes University showed me a thing or three about the hard life of a modern age diva.
Ok, apart from learning to smoke hub upside down or the art of deep conversation with randoms, one of the more important things I’ve learnt is staying true to me. There is nothing more important than looking out for numero uno and ensuring she’s not fooled by hot blooded men and dingy looking clubs (don’t quote me on the dingy part.... we all know there’s only one club). Khanyi, you’re a beautiful, intelligent and grounded woman who’s about to learn what it’s like to be the small fish in the lake; after having experienced the big fish- small pond life for a year. Stay beautiful; stay true, there’s so much out there for you and the life you will choose to live: a life of sisterhood, literature and love. I have tried my hardest to make it as painless and fruitful for you as possible and your job is to open your mind, (close your legs,) and love the amazing women you’ll soon call friends, who will make your first year remarkable (you’ll find them at Walker House... neatly packaged on the third floor, almost as if they were brought there for you).
Seriously though, I can’t stress it enough: I know how emotional you can get, it’s gonna be so rough for you in the first few weeks but, with a little prayer and a bounce in your step, it’ll be all good, ‘cause you know how we diva’s roll: beautifully! Shine on, ma. I love you.
Forever a part of you,
Nonkululeko.
Girl, you’ve got a lot of growing to do! Remember how exciting the concept of matric used to be? How you’d wake up in the morning having had dreams of wearing the white jacket and getting respected? Well, I’ve been there, thought it was the alpha omega level of uberness... until Rhodes University showed me a thing or three about the hard life of a modern age diva.
Ok, apart from learning to smoke hub upside down or the art of deep conversation with randoms, one of the more important things I’ve learnt is staying true to me. There is nothing more important than looking out for numero uno and ensuring she’s not fooled by hot blooded men and dingy looking clubs (don’t quote me on the dingy part.... we all know there’s only one club). Khanyi, you’re a beautiful, intelligent and grounded woman who’s about to learn what it’s like to be the small fish in the lake; after having experienced the big fish- small pond life for a year. Stay beautiful; stay true, there’s so much out there for you and the life you will choose to live: a life of sisterhood, literature and love. I have tried my hardest to make it as painless and fruitful for you as possible and your job is to open your mind, (close your legs,) and love the amazing women you’ll soon call friends, who will make your first year remarkable (you’ll find them at Walker House... neatly packaged on the third floor, almost as if they were brought there for you).
Seriously though, I can’t stress it enough: I know how emotional you can get, it’s gonna be so rough for you in the first few weeks but, with a little prayer and a bounce in your step, it’ll be all good, ‘cause you know how we diva’s roll: beautifully! Shine on, ma. I love you.
Forever a part of you,
Nonkululeko.
"Me and my crazy world"-Lost Boys...LOL ;-)
Dearest Thuli
I know high school was a really big shock to your system, finally making friends you can trust is really great and there’s just one thing you should do when you get to Rhodes: DON’T LOSE YOURSELF!
When I got to Rhodes I was not very excited my parents kind of coerced me to come here because they felt that it was such a good school. To them this is the best place that one can develop. Academically I would say that’s true but there are so many things that get in the way of your development as a person...Well at least developing into the person you want to be.
You need to be strong girl i.e. JBS (that means Just Be Strong!) that’s a philosophy I got from a friend of mine, believe me this saying comes in really handy. Life in varsity is rough! When you come here you need to know exactly what it is you want to study so that you can use the career centre to your full advantage (they basically help you build up your CV). When I got here I didn’t know what I wanted to study and I still don’t.
The bottom line is that whatever it is that you end up studying you need to work very hard at it... You are your main competitor when it comes to academics but you also need to show everybody that you can always do better than your previous mark, so working hard is the main priority.
Once you have that in control then only can you start worrying about your social life its very difficult to juggle these two but it’s something that you have to do...Joining societies is also another thing that you must do as this will be a way for you to actually make friends as the people who you bump into at lectures are there to listen to the lecture and usually have another one to rush off to, which will be the same for you. So...You should also live in res so that one day when you are stuck on that equation or essay topic then you have someone who you can go to for some help. Having friends will naturally also come in handy when it is time to go out, as it is not that great going out on your own because people are always on their own mission. But mainly have fun with everything that you do these are your last years of freedom until you go into “the real world”. Take care of yourself “T”!
Lots Love
Me ;-)
xoxoxo
I know high school was a really big shock to your system, finally making friends you can trust is really great and there’s just one thing you should do when you get to Rhodes: DON’T LOSE YOURSELF!
When I got to Rhodes I was not very excited my parents kind of coerced me to come here because they felt that it was such a good school. To them this is the best place that one can develop. Academically I would say that’s true but there are so many things that get in the way of your development as a person...Well at least developing into the person you want to be.
You need to be strong girl i.e. JBS (that means Just Be Strong!) that’s a philosophy I got from a friend of mine, believe me this saying comes in really handy. Life in varsity is rough! When you come here you need to know exactly what it is you want to study so that you can use the career centre to your full advantage (they basically help you build up your CV). When I got here I didn’t know what I wanted to study and I still don’t.
The bottom line is that whatever it is that you end up studying you need to work very hard at it... You are your main competitor when it comes to academics but you also need to show everybody that you can always do better than your previous mark, so working hard is the main priority.
Once you have that in control then only can you start worrying about your social life its very difficult to juggle these two but it’s something that you have to do...Joining societies is also another thing that you must do as this will be a way for you to actually make friends as the people who you bump into at lectures are there to listen to the lecture and usually have another one to rush off to, which will be the same for you. So...You should also live in res so that one day when you are stuck on that equation or essay topic then you have someone who you can go to for some help. Having friends will naturally also come in handy when it is time to go out, as it is not that great going out on your own because people are always on their own mission. But mainly have fun with everything that you do these are your last years of freedom until you go into “the real world”. Take care of yourself “T”!
Lots Love
Me ;-)
xoxoxo
Thursday, September 25, 2008
An Oddly Familiar Tune...
Dear Jas,
This year is a lot like buying a new album by an artist you love.
There'll be lots of songs you'll fall in love with instantly, some that will capture a particular sentiment perfectly, and some songs you'd honestly rather just skip. But, like all the albums you've listened to, you're gonna have to let it play from beginning to end before you can say you loved it, hated it, or wished you'd bought another one instead. This is the choice you made, and the first nine tracks of this year have been a really big journey.
From the party anthem of “O-week” to the dramatic instrumental of June exams, interspersed with songs about love and hate, happiness and pain, each one with its own musicality, all the songs strike a different key, and they all make the album whole. Take the jarring yet beautiful notes of falling in love (yes Love that's what I said, don't run off screaming, hear me out) and the crashing guitar riffs of realising that it will never work, add the soulful lyrics of lazy afternoons spent in the sun with friends, with a bitter element of home-sickness (and real sickness as your immune system seems to fail utterly this year); remember soft Sunday jazz as you prepare for Monday's tutorial and top off with a crazy, get-up and dance tune for all the partying and you have the perfect song, the song that has been your life for the nine months of this year. Before you know it, the album will be done, so please take the time to listen carefully to each note, each word, each bar of the song, because you will never get a second chance to listen to a song for the first time.
And on that note I leave you,
Neo
This year is a lot like buying a new album by an artist you love.
There'll be lots of songs you'll fall in love with instantly, some that will capture a particular sentiment perfectly, and some songs you'd honestly rather just skip. But, like all the albums you've listened to, you're gonna have to let it play from beginning to end before you can say you loved it, hated it, or wished you'd bought another one instead. This is the choice you made, and the first nine tracks of this year have been a really big journey. 
From the party anthem of “O-week” to the dramatic instrumental of June exams, interspersed with songs about love and hate, happiness and pain, each one with its own musicality, all the songs strike a different key, and they all make the album whole. Take the jarring yet beautiful notes of falling in love (yes Love that's what I said, don't run off screaming, hear me out) and the crashing guitar riffs of realising that it will never work, add the soulful lyrics of lazy afternoons spent in the sun with friends, with a bitter element of home-sickness (and real sickness as your immune system seems to fail utterly this year); remember soft Sunday jazz as you prepare for Monday's tutorial and top off with a crazy, get-up and dance tune for all the partying and you have the perfect song, the song that has been your life for the nine months of this year. Before you know it, the album will be done, so please take the time to listen carefully to each note, each word, each bar of the song, because you will never get a second chance to listen to a song for the first time.
And on that note I leave you,
Neo
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