Tale of a Survivor
By Mnikelo Ndlovu
Break ups, to family trouble, right down to life away from home. You name it, she has gone through it. “This year has been a rollercoaster ride” in her own words...” As with any 18-year old coming to varsity, and in most cases moving away from home for the first time, there is a sense of naivety and innocence. This then is also part of the beauty of the whole varsity experience, much like a duck going for its first swim. In thus piece, I shall chronicle her path through her year, and how she managed to navigate it as well as face and overcome all the obstacles she has so far this year.
Alluding to that naivety of post high school life, Vivi G (as I affectionately call her) was your typical straight-A student oozing ambition and confidence after matric. This translated to her having a pre-conceived is idea of what to expect from university. She found things were going her way in the beginning, meaning socially and academically the adjustment was great for her. Unfortunately for her, nothing could prepare her for what second term 2008 had in store for her. In this one of her low times in the year, the usual feelings of homesickness came to the fore with her. “There was a stage whereby I was constantly going home” she said, and it was easy for her, with home being in King William’s Town. “...not because I just missed home, but because I wanted to get away from here...” she added. All of this was accompanied by a bout of depression, “kwaku late ngam jo” which translates to it was too late for me. She used this slang phrase to refer to how this time was for her. The situation was so bad; she was even seeing a counsellor for a fair amount of time. No one knew about this. Her strong will and bubbly character have helped her hide this quite well. She never let it affect her academically either, which is testament to her survivor instincts.
As if that was not enough for one to handle in their first semester of varsity, she then went home for the vac, to face more trouble. What happened to her was that she broke up with her steady boyfriend of over a year three days after she got home. A time that is supposed to be spent relaxing and reflecting on how varsity has been to this point, was marred by this. “I was devastated I won’t lie...” she said. She tried to get over it, in doing this, the healing was not pretty. Third term came, and it is infamously know as O-Term for a reason, Vivi was going to find out in a big way. She partied hard, and that was not a pretty sight, even by her own admission. “I saw this as part of a healing process for me after my break-up” she said. “At this point I did not care about myself or anything at all” she added. This was by far the lowest point in her year. She also at this stage came to the realisation that she shall no longer pursue a career in Journalism, but rather continue with Law. What a shame and loss to the media world. Family life was also a major factor in her year as well, with her seeing the events of this past year at home as helping her grow in a major way, like learning to be a better big sister to her two siblings. Another major thing was how friends affected her, and how she affected them. She is very grateful to them for helping in her growth as a person in the past year.
She often says that:”one highlight for me this year has been the lessons I’ve learned and not any particular event.” This is also part of what made her story so appealing to me, especially so because I too am her friend, and can see the growth she has gone through. “This year has been a learning curve for me, and I believe I have become a better, wiser, stronger person. Due to the obstacles I managed to overcome.” These are true characteristics of a survivor, and she acknowledges the Lord’s presence to her strength for this year as well. All I can say in closing about her is wow, so much in such a short time, strength in abundance.
By Mnikelo Ndlovu
Break ups, to family trouble, right down to life away from home. You name it, she has gone through it. “This year has been a rollercoaster ride” in her own words...” As with any 18-year old coming to varsity, and in most cases moving away from home for the first time, there is a sense of naivety and innocence. This then is also part of the beauty of the whole varsity experience, much like a duck going for its first swim. In thus piece, I shall chronicle her path through her year, and how she managed to navigate it as well as face and overcome all the obstacles she has so far this year.
Alluding to that naivety of post high school life, Vivi G (as I affectionately call her) was your typical straight-A student oozing ambition and confidence after matric. This translated to her having a pre-conceived is idea of what to expect from university. She found things were going her way in the beginning, meaning socially and academically the adjustment was great for her. Unfortunately for her, nothing could prepare her for what second term 2008 had in store for her. In this one of her low times in the year, the usual feelings of homesickness came to the fore with her. “There was a stage whereby I was constantly going home” she said, and it was easy for her, with home being in King William’s Town. “...not because I just missed home, but because I wanted to get away from here...” she added. All of this was accompanied by a bout of depression, “kwaku late ngam jo” which translates to it was too late for me. She used this slang phrase to refer to how this time was for her. The situation was so bad; she was even seeing a counsellor for a fair amount of time. No one knew about this. Her strong will and bubbly character have helped her hide this quite well. She never let it affect her academically either, which is testament to her survivor instincts.
As if that was not enough for one to handle in their first semester of varsity, she then went home for the vac, to face more trouble. What happened to her was that she broke up with her steady boyfriend of over a year three days after she got home. A time that is supposed to be spent relaxing and reflecting on how varsity has been to this point, was marred by this. “I was devastated I won’t lie...” she said. She tried to get over it, in doing this, the healing was not pretty. Third term came, and it is infamously know as O-Term for a reason, Vivi was going to find out in a big way. She partied hard, and that was not a pretty sight, even by her own admission. “I saw this as part of a healing process for me after my break-up” she said. “At this point I did not care about myself or anything at all” she added. This was by far the lowest point in her year. She also at this stage came to the realisation that she shall no longer pursue a career in Journalism, but rather continue with Law. What a shame and loss to the media world. Family life was also a major factor in her year as well, with her seeing the events of this past year at home as helping her grow in a major way, like learning to be a better big sister to her two siblings. Another major thing was how friends affected her, and how she affected them. She is very grateful to them for helping in her growth as a person in the past year.
She often says that:”one highlight for me this year has been the lessons I’ve learned and not any particular event.” This is also part of what made her story so appealing to me, especially so because I too am her friend, and can see the growth she has gone through. “This year has been a learning curve for me, and I believe I have become a better, wiser, stronger person. Due to the obstacles I managed to overcome.” These are true characteristics of a survivor, and she acknowledges the Lord’s presence to her strength for this year as well. All I can say in closing about her is wow, so much in such a short time, strength in abundance.
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