A letter to my younger self

My dear other half
It has been a really rough couple of years hey! You’ve had to deal with your parents’ mistrust and their over protectiveness. Oh, and you know you can’t forget the time that your innocence got snatched away from you…
Now that you are in Matric, I need to warn you about certain university encounters. You won’t find this kind of information in the university information booklets. You have just started partying and drinking, but I can tell you now that parting in Grahamstown really sucks!
There is one major aspect that I know you would really want me to advise you on: Overwhelming Change.
Obviously you know that you need to grow as an individual and that change needs to happen but, it’s extremely overwhelming at Rhodes! Ok fine, it’s like Louis Trichardt but damn girl… it’s only one campus and the people here are just so… weird. The workload is hectic and then they give you tut work on top of all the assignments. Oh and the best part is that they make tut work essential for your DP purposes, which allows you to write exams, how ridiculous! The Grahamstown environment can be perfect if you will really focus on studying but knowing you, you’ll want to explore instead.
So now you’re wondering what to do huh?
Well… Firstly you need to breathe! Secondly, you need to prepare yourself for hard work. It’s really hard to get grounded and to find yourself at Rhodes but you know what sweetie, you are a strong, beautiful young woman with an amazing personality and I know that you’ll overcome all the challenges. Oh and by the way, you don’t need a guy in Grahamstown because you are happy with Mulalo!
Best of luck with your Matric exams, I know you’ll pull through!

From your loving and caring other half