EDITOR’S LETTER
Change is everywhere...
Kinga Siejek
Change... It happens no matter if you’re paying attention
or not.
For instance:
• The changing of the seasons. It’s getting darker earlier, and takes a bit longer for the sun to come out.
And of course you probably have noticed that it is
colder.
• We went from classes everyday to exams, in what
feels like the blink of an eye. This means that semester is changing from the first to the second.
Closer to the end of the year everyday.
• We changed Vice Chancellors. From the great Dr
Theuns Eloff, to the awesome Prof Dan Kgwadi.
This could mean a change in how our lovely Campus and University play a role in education and the
country.
• A change in politics. We had our elections this year,
and while majority of the parties are the same, the
people and responsibilities have changed a bit.
I bet you could each come up with a few extras to add
to the change list. But the crux of the story is; change is
inevitable. It will happen one way or another, and we all
just need to (somehow) be ready for it.
Now I don’t want to sound too philosophical, I think that
might one of the last things you want to hear right now
with the stresses of having to study and pass your exams; but just know... Now is the time to maybe change
the way you do things in life as well?
Relook the way you takle notes, the way you summarise
your work; heck in the colour ink you use when studying! A small change can make a big difference. But if
something works for you, and works well, then do go
changing it just because I brought it up! hehe
Not everyone needs to change, and not everything
needs to change; but it happens around you. I personally love change. It gives me a chance to look at what is
happening and know that if in my power, I can change
the things around me. I mean just the other day I moved
the cupboard in my office. Yes only a few centimeters,
but I already have a little bit more space to do be creative in. If you have ever met me from a young age, you
will also notice that my hair has never stayed the same
for a long time. I enjoy changing the lenght or colour,
sometimes on a whim, because it is a part of me that I
can control.
And I think that is where the whole idea of change comes
in. We like change if we can control it, but hate it if it
is for someone else’s benefit. You can’t change everything, but small things will one day turn into big things.
So with change also comes patience and responsibility.
You could easily change every little thing about yourself
or the things around you, but you need to be wary of
2 - Student 24/7
the consequences as well. You know how some people
say that if we travelled into the past, and even just accidentaly stepped on an ant, we could be changing the
whole future. The same goes with the present. Knowing
what may or may not happen when wanting to change
something is hard, but needs to happen.
So I guess you are reading this and trying to figure out
what am I going on about in terms of change. Well, to
put it simply:
Be prepared for anything and everything. Know that
somethings in life will change, be it for the better or
worse. You can’t always control change, it happens and
we need to live with it. What we as people can do is
learn to develop other skills to work around the change,
or with it. Patience, understanding, responsibilities, control of one’s self, and many other philosophical words...
These same skills can be used in other parts of your life
as well. I suppose the big area of your life right now is
the thought of the next few weeks. Now our seniors are
somewhat used to them, I mean they are seniors after
all; but our dear first years are still somewhat new to
it. The change from highschool to University is a tough
one, but possible.
Change your mind set (to a positive one), change your
study habits if need be, heck change the way you dress
in the morning! There are so many ways to make yourself better for yourself, that there really is no excuse.
So accept and love change; as it is one of life’s unexplained adventures. Study hard, and read on!