In-terms-of-friends

Finding friends at Rhodes has probably been one of the easiest things I've done so far. The people here are so chilled and finding a group of friends is like finding a lie in a politicians speech-its dead obvious!

The one thing that did strike me more than anything else is the quality in friendship that you find. There have been many cases in the past where I have settled for average mates just to fit in (No Josh and Steve, I don't mean you guys). But here at Rhodes the difficulty is finding mediocre friends. The heart of friendships at Rhodes lies within the res', but with friends in other res' that you went to school with you soon find yourself with a pool of great companionship linked all over the varsity.

This networking of friends gives rise to crazy partying and a system that means you will never be abandoned at the bottom of the hill in a pile of vomit outside Pirates pizza. Someone will always be there to pick you up and carry you home knowing that the very next night you could be doing the same for them.

The problem with having so many amazing friends though, is that when you go home you are caught in a situation of wanting to go back and party yet still enjoying the time spent with your friends at home. This is known as a catch-22, or in layman's terms 'Ah Fuck!' The trick now is to drink with your friends at home as often as possible as training is needed for the start of a Rhodes term.

So in-terms-of-friendship at Rhodes you will never be lacking, never be thirsty and you'll never get enough. But, most importantly, you'll always be happy.

From bigger to big sexy

Dear Big Sexy

You thought you would die looking up at the monstrous hill you had to conquer at least three times a day! But alas all wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

Before you came to Rhodes you hardly did any exercise. You were the fat kid at school but no one really picked on you because you were the aggressive one too. You would pant at just the sight of a slight inclination and every so often you would release two drops of sweat before even embarking on your 200m journey. And even though you had confidence back then, the girls didn’t seem to quite agree with your physique (But that was ok because girls were yucky back then anyway!).

You took drama as a subject and was looking to own the Rhodes stage. Little did you know that this would mean that your trek up and down the hill would increase from three to five times a day! Meals were rushed and during the actual rehearsals your directors would make you work as hard as a two hour session in the gym. You thought at this point that it was all too much and where was it leading to? But I can say that you have done well for yourself.

The first year spread was an issue all have heard of being a result of heavy drinking and little exercise…and heavier drinking! But you have avoided this with a swift 18kg loss in weight leaving the rest biting at your heels asking you for the secret. There is no secret, just three terms of bloody hill aerobics!!

But the reason I’m writing this to you is not too narcissistically comment on your weight turn around and the fact that you are a hit with the ladies (no bait!), but rather to encourage you not to take a seemingly irritating task at face value. There are times when you think something is pointless and a burden to do, but in the end it is all to your benefit and nothing less.
So keep an open mind to all that comes your way, and, no matter how steep it may seem, take that path and let it lead you to greater things.

Together till we die, peace and love

Big Sexy

A Letter to my Younger Self

What’s up Dude!

So we made it to varsity! We made it to Rhodes and we are exactly where we want to be. We still want the same things, you know make a couple movies after varsity and get involved in the film industry, but I think that we are a little different now. I have changed, not in a major way but I have changed. Especially my taste in movies, art and of course music!

We don’t even listen to the same music anymore. I’m still into the stuff that we used to listen to but I’ve been experimenting with different genres and there is some awesome stuff out there that we never even considered listening to! The 80’s tunes will live on forever, they are classics, but some of this new music that I’ve been listening to is amazing. We always took our musical influence from our parents because they have some wicked taste in music but come on, we are our own person. We should decide what music we like by listening to a whole bunch of different genres and not just following the crowd.

Here’s a perfect example; did we ever listen to any other Reggae apart from Bob Marley? No we didn’t. Ok, Bob is the “King of Reggae” but there are some other awesome musicians out there. There are bands that you have never heard of like “7th Son”, “Slightly Stoopid” and so on. If I told you now to listen to a band called “Slightly Stoopid” you would laugh at me, but they are one of my favourite bands at the moment. We have never liked house, it is the one genre that we never connected with but I’m really enjoying deep, chilled house at the moment.
So dude, things change, your opinions and tastes change but we are still the same person. I envy you because you have the opportunity of living my epic musical journey all over again.

Peace and love brother,

Masta Jay

A letter to my younger self

Dear Steve
I am writing this letter to you to provide you with some advice about the course and subjects you intend to take, with the hope that you can take my advice and be well prepared for what you are about to face.


My first and most serious piece of advice to you is this: Play your strengths. The level of work that is expected from you at University is much higher than what was expected from you at high school. Your skills in the academic field are more focused on the writing, speaking and language side of academics, so don't go and try do something like economics or accounting because you will probably end up failing dismally. My second piece of advice to you is to not concentrate all your efforts on certain subjects and completely ignore the rest of them. Do you remember when you were in high school? You got awesome marks in Drama, English and History, and you used those good marks to make up for your abysmal Biology and Maths marks. You cannot use certain subjects to alleviate you from the responsibility that you have for other subjects so do not do it, because the University system works on credits, and you have to get a credit for each subject instead of trying to make up for bad marks with good ones, therefore you have to pick subjects that you will be able to do well in or else you probably will fail and waste a ton of money.


So, drawing all of this in mind, the subjects that I suggest that you take are these; Law (because you have always loved arguing and you are not afraid of public speaking), Journalism (because you love writing and have always had aspirations to be a Journalist), History (because you got good marks in it in high school and you need to play your strengths), and Linguistics (for similar reasons to history). Bear in mind that the Law/Journalism combination is pretty hectic so you will have to work hard.

I hope you take my advice and make the best decisions.

Regards

Stephen

A letter to my younger self

Dear Vicky
My first year at University was a somewhat interesting and unexpected experience. I came to Rhodes University thinking that I am here for one specific purpose: to study and receive a degree. However as the year progressed it became clear that there is a lot more that comes with being a first year in Varsity. There were so many new things which I had to adjust to and learn to deal with like choosing my courses, partying and passing, lectures, societies, boys, making new friends and of course avoiding the infamous first year spread.
All those things were relatively easy to master as we received many hints and outlines, not to mention tons of pamphlets. Even making friends was relatively easy, in fact making friends was extremely easy seeing as you live with the people and they soon become part of your daily routine. You become so used to having them around that holidays without them seem weird and you feel like the only way you can achieve normality in your life again, is to get back to your university and your friends there. I even remember how I met every single one of my friends, just like I remember the day you and me became friends. I even began to realise and understand what people meant when they said that the friends you make in university are going to remain friends for life. However this attachment and closeness you share with your friends has one major downfall: saying goodbye.
You never assume that when you begin your first year you will have to let some of your closest friends go either in the middle of the year or at the end of it. There is no lecture or course that warns you about it, and when it happens not only is it a shock but also an eye opener and heartbreak. Saying goodbye to a friend is terrible as I’m sure you recall how difficult it was for us to part when I began my University journey. It is an unexpected shock to your system and your happy life which included them in it. All of a sudden they are not at the dinning hall, or at Friars, you even miss them at special parties and functions. You think of how much you miss them and how much they would have loved to be there with you. But worst of all you feel like a part of you is missing. It isn’t easy saying goodbye which is why I am glad that the next time I see you I will be saying hello.
Lots of Love Viktoria