The atmosphere in my room was happy and relaxed, with soft music playing in the background. Bianca or Bee as many like to call her sat elegantly in my room dressed all in black. With one leg crossed over the other and hands over her knees, we engaged in friendly conversation.
Bianca Perry is a 19 year old girl (born 20th May 1989), who is originally from Johannesburg where she lives with her mom. She is studying journalism at Rhodes in hopes to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist one day. When she was a young baby of only two years old she was diagnosed with cancer on her right kidney. She underwent chemo therapy for a year during which her right kidney was removed and the cancer was cured.
When asked about first year she said that she is enjoying it. “I was surprised at how well I’ve adapted because I thought I was going to miss home, but Rhodes has become like my second home,” she stated. She also went onto say that she has met many new people and made a lot of really great friends, who have contributed to the amazing experience of her first year at Rhodes. Bianca admits that when you come from a very strict and safeguarded home, such as her own, one tends to want to exploit the benefits of being without any parental boundaries. She admitted that her first semester consisted largely of going out with friends, drinking and trying to balance all of this with work. However her semester two took a somewhat dramatic turn and change of lifestyle yet again.
After experiencing sharp pain in her stomach during the June vacation, Bianca had to be rushed into hospital. Because she only has one kidney, a kidney stone had formed which was blocking her kidney and almost caused renal failure. After being in hospital for two weeks and undergoing two small operations, (one of which dealed with her kidney infection and the other removed the kidney stone) she had to return to Rhodes and face semester two. This meant that her lifestyle had to change again.
She has to watch the food she eats as she is not allowed to eat salt, wheat, chocolate and a few other things. The dramatic diet change which she has undergone has not been made easy especially since she has to be specially catered for by the dinning hall. She also has stopped drinking alcohol as that also affects her kidney badly. This however doesn’t dampen her spirit but rather urges her to concentrate more on her work and work harder than semester one. “After I received my exam results I realised I had to make a change,” she acknowledged. “So this change although unpleasant at times, does have a positive side to it,” she said.
Bianca Perry is a strong willed, hard working girl with many ambitions and motivations. She has adapted to her life at Rhodes well and has managed to grasp all her problems at the core and deal with them. Although an unpleasant change occurred in her lifestyle at Rhodes, she has managed to maneuver it and make it work to her benefit, showing that she is not only a positive and optimistic person but also a hard worker. As she left my room, she left behind a smile on my face and an optimistic and joyful feeling, which lingered in my room long after her departure
Bianca Perry is a 19 year old girl (born 20th May 1989), who is originally from Johannesburg where she lives with her mom. She is studying journalism at Rhodes in hopes to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist one day. When she was a young baby of only two years old she was diagnosed with cancer on her right kidney. She underwent chemo therapy for a year during which her right kidney was removed and the cancer was cured.
When asked about first year she said that she is enjoying it. “I was surprised at how well I’ve adapted because I thought I was going to miss home, but Rhodes has become like my second home,” she stated. She also went onto say that she has met many new people and made a lot of really great friends, who have contributed to the amazing experience of her first year at Rhodes. Bianca admits that when you come from a very strict and safeguarded home, such as her own, one tends to want to exploit the benefits of being without any parental boundaries. She admitted that her first semester consisted largely of going out with friends, drinking and trying to balance all of this with work. However her semester two took a somewhat dramatic turn and change of lifestyle yet again.
After experiencing sharp pain in her stomach during the June vacation, Bianca had to be rushed into hospital. Because she only has one kidney, a kidney stone had formed which was blocking her kidney and almost caused renal failure. After being in hospital for two weeks and undergoing two small operations, (one of which dealed with her kidney infection and the other removed the kidney stone) she had to return to Rhodes and face semester two. This meant that her lifestyle had to change again.
She has to watch the food she eats as she is not allowed to eat salt, wheat, chocolate and a few other things. The dramatic diet change which she has undergone has not been made easy especially since she has to be specially catered for by the dinning hall. She also has stopped drinking alcohol as that also affects her kidney badly. This however doesn’t dampen her spirit but rather urges her to concentrate more on her work and work harder than semester one. “After I received my exam results I realised I had to make a change,” she acknowledged. “So this change although unpleasant at times, does have a positive side to it,” she said.
Bianca Perry is a strong willed, hard working girl with many ambitions and motivations. She has adapted to her life at Rhodes well and has managed to grasp all her problems at the core and deal with them. Although an unpleasant change occurred in her lifestyle at Rhodes, she has managed to maneuver it and make it work to her benefit, showing that she is not only a positive and optimistic person but also a hard worker. As she left my room, she left behind a smile on my face and an optimistic and joyful feeling, which lingered in my room long after her departure
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2 comments:
Bianca’s obstacles have occurred to her so early in life and have been incredibly hard. Battling cancer at such a young age requires a tremendous amount of courage. This was captured by the interviewer as well as Bianca’s humble and relaxed nature toward life and her difficulties. Bianca is a heroine because she faces daily obstacles with her kidney such as not being able to eat chocolate or wheat which is very hard for anyone to wrap their head around especially when we take things like that for granted. The profile made me realise how lucky we are to have our health. But at the same time, Bianca’s profile shows us that we do not have to lose our sense of self or fall apart when our lives become limited. She has been able to lead a life that she is comfortable with, taken responsibility of her life and is enjoying Rhodes immensely. It was a well-written and personal account of Bianca’s overcoming a health problem and not allowing it to her dictate her life.
That is an amazing story. It is awesome to know how positive people can be about such serious issues and this allows us to look back at ourselves and consider ourselves fortunate. I also agree with the direction that Bianca is now taking; focusing more on the academic side of varsity instead of the overwhelming social side. By using Propp’s theory relating to the hero and villain in narratives, I feel you have rightfully portrayed Bianca as the hero of your profile where she encounters the villain of Cancer and other kidney related ailments. All in all, a wonderful, light hearted story that is well told in the form of your writing.
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