She survived, can you?

She walked up to the table with a smile and sat down with what seemed like a sigh of relief. Her blue stretch jeans sat comfortably on her frame and were held in place by a belt that was just visible under her loose T-shirt. Her hair was tied back roughly and a little windblown but considering the weather and the way she described that day and “hectic like a rollercoaster made of loss”, it was just fitting. She seemed like the epitome of causality but something in her manner said there was more to her than what met the eye.
As she began to talk about herself, interesting things about her feelings toward first year came to the fore. She said that “the first three weeks including O-week were the worst. I cried constantly and all I wanted to do was go home. I felt constantly awkward and was on the phone to my mother almost every ten minutes. It got so bad that she had one of my old high-school friends who she knew come to my res to check on me.” According to her, the next few weeks were even worse even though the homesickness subsided when the term began. “I had almost no friends except the ones from high-school and hanging out with them seemed unfair. They were making new friends but I wasn’t and it was horrible being the third wheel all the time.” This however changed for her when societies became active though. “I had always been an involved person with hobbies to practice and people to see. Societies turned out to be my saving grace although my enthusiasm for some of them has died out a little since first term.” She signed up for six societies including PhotoSoc, LMS, Archery and GRASS that she could remember on the spot “there could be more I don’t remember” and these were where she met “some of the most awesome people in the world.”
It was interesting to discover that she was so affected by homesickness considering that now “I almost don’t want to go home to Joburg anymore. I love the new friends I’ve made down here; they are awesome and made of win. The feeling I had about leaving home at the beginning of first term happened again recently but this time in reverse as I climbed on the Kimberly bus. It was weird to feel homesick about G-town.” Friends and societies made all the difference in her opinion because “they give you somewhere to belong and a group to hang out with. You get closer to your friends in G-town because you spend more time together than you would in Joburg and that is what makes all the difference.”
First year can be horrible if you don’t have friends. “You feel left out of things and alone but the moment you find your niche, you find where you belong and the age old saying becomes true; you are defined by the people you surround yourself with.” According to her, many first years leave university because they can’t take being away from home for so long or trying so many new things. “Don’t just go to the club the first time you feel lonely, it just ends badly eventually. Get involved with something and you will feel like you belong in no time.” This woman, because she truly can live up to that title, seems like a post-grad who has seen it all on first meeting also had difficulty fitting into Rhodes at first; so if you ever feel the same, like she says “open up a little and you will find a whole new experience in G-town that you won’t find anywhere else.”

Note: Interviewee wished to remain anonymous.

Chloe