Friday, September 26, 2008

Letter to younger self

Dearest Ashleigh,

I remember you being so excited to go to Rhodes. The thoughts of no parents, plenty of parties, the making of new friends from all over the country and a course you want to be doing not have to be doing overwhelmed you.

But what you will find is that time is short, despite the potential of having a lot more free time than what you’re used to. With a more lenient timetable you’d think you’d have freedom to do as you like, but you are inundated with lectures, tutorials, essays and assignments and still have to maintain a social life, mixing with the near boys’ residences, joining and attending society socials or participating in a sport. The balance between your academic and social life is important to maintain especially when there are no parents or teachers to motivate and supervise.

It is up to you to meet deadlines and learn time management, especially since you are wanting to do Journalism and Media Studies where you will be constantly writing and handing things in. It is important to realise that the foundation is laid down in your first year so you’ll learn the basics, take note of these and try work a few days in advance so there is time to go over what you’ve written, as attention to detail is an important aspect of writing.

University is meant to be fun and enjoyed and for you to learn along the way. You will make mistakes and will probably learn the hard way, but at least you learn. It is important to just do your best and expect nothing less from yourself. Remember you have an incredible support system behind you.

All the best,

Ashleigh

1 comment:

Lisa said...

Stress and maintaining a balance in the life of a first year is a common topic among first years at Rhodes. In her blog, Ashleigh talks about lectures, tutorials, essays assignments and trying to balance her social life at the same time. This can be very stressful and overwhelming but Ashleigh reminds herself of her “support system” at Rhodes which I feel is very important for a first year. She encourages herself to do her best despite the stressful situations she is bound to experience in the future. She gives helpful advice on how to cope with assignments and speaks from experience. She mentions to herself “you will make mistakes and will probably learn the hard way, but at least you learn” which I feel is an important part of accepting that certain situations will occur but that they will be overcome.

By Lisa Bluett http://gspotinformer.blogspot.com/