Friday, September 26, 2008

Dear Precious One,
I can just see you counting the days until you begin your journey with Rhodes. You are going to be so excited when you receive the acceptance letter from Rhodes University. You don’t know it now, but your exact words are going to be: “God, my Creator, is surely on my side”. I am proud of you little one. Oops, I should stop calling you that as you aren’t so little anymore. You are a young woman now, ready to be taught how to breathe life into the seed centred in your heart.
If you thought matric was hard, you are going to dread the first few weeks of university. Remember that day; you went into the bathroom to cry because the Maths paper was a TKO? (Technical Knock Out) Well, my beautiful young self, you will be experiencing many more of such days when you enter the world of long walks, tuts, essays and lectures aka Rhodes University. For most, salvation is presented in the form of a beer or tequila at the end of the day at Union aka Stevie’s but for you my dear non-drinking self; relief will have to be found in your singing as a member of Voices of Glory. A family of believers like yourself who find strength and serenity through praising God Almighty.
Rhodes, Rhodes, Rhodes...It’s beautiful. It will welcome you with open arms and make you its own. It will even give you an identity card indicating that you belong to a select few who fall under its wing. It will provide you with an endless flight of stairs, a stage to showcase your talent give you guidance on how to make it to the next step. However, little one, just as gold has to undergo fire to shine; so you will be put under an extreme amount of heat before you emerge the shining star that you are. The fire will not be easy to go through; there will be endless nights where you cry yourself to sleep and nights where you feel sleep is inconsequential as it will not assist you in your goal of surviving the flames of varsity. The result of this is that you will feel rejected and stupid but don’t as this is only part of the process we all under go as we become refined intellectuals.
Precious, regardless of the tough circumstances you are going to have to face, never doubt the success God has destined for you. When you begin to question your role amongst both your peers and the world, recall what uMama used to say to you: “ Laku khona wena, kubonakhala ngombala (wherever you’ve passed, you always leave a trace that shows you were once there).” Although, at the time uMama did not mean it in a positive sense; it is true that you are fated to leave a mark in this world as long as you reject the strong pressure to conform and become one of the many goalless, material orientated masses. Shine, little one shine. You have come this far and have made me proud. Allow Rhodes to be the cloth you will use to polish yourself and emerge the shining star you are.
Yours in wisdom,
Precious Lungile Fatyela

Posted by opinionplease at 4:50 AM