~About The Crew~

We are a group of diligent couch potatoes, who are deeply devoted to hardwork in the commonroom.
The couch is our vice and is the place where we sit and
-chill
-study
-daydream
-doze off
-attempt to find solutions to the endless list of toils that university life brings.

Its all about balance and so are we. On top of all that, we are just too cool. We put the french in the fry, the ato in potato, the ash in mash and the cool in school.

Friday, September 26, 2008

A few things you need to know




Hello my little friend,


I thought I would write to you and give you some helpful pointers that I wish someone had given me. This is the time in your life were you will learn and grow my advice to you is to get involved in as much as possible you only experience first year once. You will notice that drinking is a major factor at Rhodes and it is hard to find a balance between partying and working. It will take you awhile to get into the swing of things but trust me it will happen and you will be fine. Do not let the work get on top of you it is very different to high school but you can do it. When it comes to partying enjoy it but do not make it the be-all and end-all of your life. You will meet people that do this and will try drag you into the lifestyle they lead, resist the temptation you will be better off for doing so.

Now when it comes to the male species, a warning, approach with caution. The thing about the majority of the first and second years is that they are only after one thing. Their priority is to build a formidable reputation and ‘spread their seed’. I know it sounds bad but there is hope not all of them have the same mentality.

The friends you meet at university become your sisters you rely on them and they rely on you. Your group of friends will be your family away from home so choose wisely. Do not be fooled by first impressions and trust your instincts.

There will be ups and downs but that’s life take them with a pinch of salt and a lemon. J I know you will do fabulously!

With lots of love,
Your crazy big sister.

3 comments:

Thirusha said...

Ahhh I completely agree with you. University gives you so much freedom that you almost end up drowning in it, so it’s extremely important to find the balance between work and play. Being true to yourself and standing up for yourself are two things that will save you from waking up the next day and realising you can't remember what happened the night before or even worse being woken up by the feeling of some guy wearing an eye patch drooling on your arm. First impressions burn a hole into your reputation so running down the road naked always seems like an ingenious plan after nine tequila shots, but the alcohol will subside leaving you with an amazing hangover and a set of rather graphic photos to show to your grandchildren. Don’t get me wrong ,I’m not suggesting that you spend all your weekends studying for exams , all I’m saying is that you should make sure that no one takes any pictures.

Daneel Knoetze said...

Hi.

I think you've pretty much exactly touched on those things that I found difficult whilst adapting to Rhodes as well. Most importantly I think that not having gotten more “involved” (with one of the hundred societies I signed up for) is a big regret for me, as I’m sure it is for many others. So often ambitions get put on hold to find some future expression, but before you know it we're done with the year (another one) and still postponing. Sounds like a ‘09 resolution in the works.

Also, I'm happy that you found good friends. I did as well and it's not always a given. Good luck and keep trucking with finding a nice boy, they don’t all just want to ‘spread their seed’ (Although I don't quite know if that really means what I think it does.. ?)

Best wishes

D

Andz said...

Fa's letter focuses on the 'drinking culture' at Rhodes, and pressures from friends. She also makes reference to the point of relationships, warning her younger self to be weary of males who are out to build a reputation by "spreading their seeds".

Fa's letter and my latter have many commonalities. Our approaches are similar in that we both give warning to our younger selves, in an amiable and advicing manner.
My letter spoke of making sure thatmy younger self finds a group of friends who she can be herself with, and Fa reitterates this point by advising her younger self to resist the temptation of being dragged into the partying lifestyle just because her new friends are doing so.

I think Fa could have made more mention of her younger self's character. However I do feel that the letter is well written and provides essential advice to prospective first years.