First Year is seriously not taken seriously...

Experiencing First Year has been somewhat of a large obstacle to overcome. I say this because it is at this very point in one’s life where there is an escapade of change that he or she needs to deal with. It is filled with trials of all sorts and makes every action result in some sort of outcome whether it is good or bad. This piece will cite reasons as to why people look at First Year University as being so casual. The truth however, is that one has to go through an ordeal that is not exactly simple to overcome to get through to their next year of study. It in fact, takes a toll on them physically, emotionally and mentally. Furthermore, it is this year that determines what one will be aiming to achieve for as long as their course will take them. The above points will be elaborated below.

There are many reasons as to why people take First Year as such a light- hearted and fun- filled experience. Firstly, the impact senior students have on our thought patterns in terms of courses tell us that First Year is the most “chilled” year an there is nothing to worry about. These very thoughts embed themselves in the very flesh of our skins and we practically swear by these very utterances. We as gullible, timid First Years fall prey to such claims and take it easy along the road to our degrees. We party more, socialize more and detract from our work as though we do not have any of it at all. This mindset is one of the main psychological boosters that push us into places like “The Rat…” and completely out of places like lecture theatres. First Years become so laid back and placed into comfort zones that they do not exactly own; this is because First year is far from a comfort zone but rather a time to prove to oneself that they are able to cope with this new transition in their lives as well as to set the foundation for stronger and more fruitful years to come.

With regard to not taking First Year as seriously as we ought to, we expend our energy on other aspects of lives as students, namely, socialising! We tend to stay up late, feel awfully tired and sluggish for the next day’s lectures. Dragging our feet along and dragging our work along, we tie ourselves down to last minute working and just making deadlines! We allow ourselves to become mentally drained and develop unhealthy and obscure eating patterns pumping our systems with junk food and energy drinks. To some this might seem irrelevant. But it is a serious issue and does develop nasty habits in us all. This is especially to the fact that we lack that sense of supervision from our parents, particularly here at Rhodes.

With the above lack of our parents’ watchful eye, we do not feel that added pressure to sit with our books. We tend to take our lives and work too lightly believing that we can manage our time more productively. Though, the truth is we as young adults fail to realize that we do not possess that much will- power especially that we are here alone, able to make our own decisions and use our freedom to the best of our advantage, feeling no restraints by the consequences that will follow.

To conclude, First Year is, in my opinion, not taken seriously at all but rather taken as just a preparatory year for learning about how to live as free as a bird! Our mindsets need to be changed and geared towards work and living life in a more balanced and content way.