Life as a student and mother
God has entrusted me with a lot of responsibilities and being a mother is one that I do not take for granted. As a student and a mother my life is quite unique from most other undergraduate students around me.
God has entrusted me with a lot of responsibilities and being a mother is one that I do not take for granted. As a student and a mother my life is quite unique from most other undergraduate students around me.
It has definitely not been an easy ride so far. Studying and working at the same time is exhausting. Grinding to the bone. I just completed my first semester exams for a three-year course, and what a relief it is to be able to breathe again.
I went back to school this year in order to strengthen my skills and abilities in my field of expertise, and for the next three years, I will have to endure the exhaustion and stand strong against the challenges I have been facing for the past few months.
It is around that time of the year when student life begins to be so annoying and traumatic. Oh yeah its winter, darn! And on top of that I need to study to earn good grades. That automatically means that I need to face the cold nights wrapped in a blanket and perhaps some gloves, but will I be able to page through all the loads of books with them on?
I was giddy like a kid in a candy store whose parents have to tell her ‘NO!’ otherwise, if she has it her way, she will leave with the entire thing, vending machines and all.
To understand my excitement, you have to know the context, so here’s the short of it: I am a NUST alumni and I moved to Cape Town to pursue my Honours in Film and Television studies. That should be enough to make you realise the craze I was going through.
“You cannot connect dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Steve Jobs.
Doing an internship has to be one of the most exciting yet the scariest thing a student has to do. I am studying Transport Management and as part of my work placement I was given the opportunity to do my internship at A Van Der Walt Transport in Swakopmund. I started out on a contract of 4 months and this was later extended to a temporary employee contract earlier this year.
I am a postgraduate student and I honestly believed at postgraduate level, working in groups would be as easy as pie because everyone is now a mature student and they understand the importance of obtaining this qualification, right? Well, I was wrong! It still comes with a lot of headaches. Accommodating people's bloated egos and your own too, LOL, is not a walk in the park. Be that as it may, I have learnt to appreciate the beauty that comes with it. It is an opportunity to network and build new professional relationships.
I have never been the type of student who got distinctions, not even an A candidate in high school, but because of determination I pressed on and made it to University and I am now doing my 3rd year. I failed and rose again. I never let the thought of giving up or drop out pass my mind.
It is important that students have passion in their school work in order to excel. I believe passion devotes students to their schoolwork, bringing out all the energy that helps them to stay focused and keeps them away from distractions.
Having passion is as good as a journey navigated on the GPS, because the journey inevitably reaches its destination.
Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if there was no social media? Can you remember the good old days when you were too young to care about how many virtual friends/followers you got because you cared more about making real friends?