Profile on a first year

Profile
By Persome Oliphant

Once upon a time there was a young lady called Nkateko Vera Khumalo. She came from the golden city Johannesburg, Gauteng. She has just matriculated and it is February 2008 and arrives at Rhodes University to start her adult life. Everything is exciting and new and she now has the freedom to express herself in any way she pleases. But as a naïve young girl she has no idea what’s coming her way.

It is still the first term and things are going smoothly for her. She has made new friends, she is adjusting to the lifestyle at Rhodes and most importantly she getting to know herself. After a couple of months reality hits her, that University is too much for her to cope with and admits she’s constantly faced with challenges including attending lectures everyday (or she might fall behind), trying to affiliate herself with the in crowd and other clicks because she is stereotyped a coconut. She accustomed to her new life of peacefulness and tranquillity in Grahamstown. Rhodes may seem like a undersized institution in a small city with no developments but many students get carried away and that’s how Nkateko felt, till she realised that there many distractions and negative influences she’s exposed to such as sex, drugs, alcohol, not attending lectures and tutorials. But she says that she has not rebelled and has actually calmed down but she also took things for granted especially her school work and her June exam results confirm that, this was one of her biggest lows for the year. Her other shortcoming or low is that she is constantly homesick, that to this day, the 2 October 2008, she still misses home terribly.

She never thought that she would make it through the year, till she met her boyfriend, Luthando. She was very uncertain about him because he was older than her and was finishing his degree. She decided to give it a chance at love and this could be one of her best choices she has made. When everything in her life seemed to be going down the drain he came, as a prince charming and rescued her. He advised her on coping with academics and the social life and this has influenced her in a positive way. She lays her left hand on her chest, close to her heart and says, “I’m so lucky to have him in my life, he’s a good guy and I’m grateful for the support, security and guidance he freely gives me”. She also confesses that having a boyfriend is not easy, but she relentlessly reminds herself why she is at University. With all the drama going on in her life she has managed to make the first girl’s basketball team at Rhodes and she is very pleased with herself. She is also putting effort into her school work, participating in class and tutorials and the results prove that.

Coming to Rhodes was a huge adjustment for her because she was a model in the big city of Johannesburg and saw bright lights flashing for her. Modelling if definitely still one of her passions and has decided to put that on hold for the next three years. This is one of the reasons she staying at the top and wants to become successful in everything she does. “I’m not really challenged with many private battles, she says, because I try to remain the young girl I was and adapt to the woman I want to be”. And now princess Nkateko lives happily ever after.