Don’t give up, the university of life and survival will spur you on
THOSE who go hungry should be the ones who are more hungry for success. Since not all of us will see the light or get higher education qualifications to help us get out of abject poverty, we might have to look beyond obtaining diplomas and degrees to make something significant out of our lives.
I believe that beyond the confines of formal higher education learning places such as universities, colleges and FETs, there is the university of life. Such a university has little space for recognition because it does not issue certificates, diplomas and degrees. However, it has produced many graduates who shape and change our lives every day.
Last Saturday, when seasoned broadcaster Sesi Masechaba Ndlovu spoke about survival mode at the Pankop Youth Seminar in Mpumalanga, she elaborated on her background.
The fact that her family could not afford to send her to varsity did not take away her dreams of being seen on television. Looking at her circumstances, everyone around her told her she was being unrealistic, but she never gave up. She switched to survival mode.
She worked in restaurants as a waitress, she worked at an airtime company as a packager and many other “undesirable” menial jobs you can think of to survive at the age of 21. Today, she has seen more than her dreams come true.
Sesi Masechaba is a cum laude graduate of the school of life. Circumstances pushed her to not give up, but thrive instead. To paraphrase JK Rowling, climbing out of poverty by your own efforts is something one should be very proud of, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools. Sesi Masechaba did it all by herself. If you do not know her, Google her now. Her life speaks for itself.
Education (formal) is not the key to success, but one of the keys to success.
Our impoverished backgrounds should not drive us to wallow in self-pity and avoid taking risks.
Even if we all had money to go to varsity, there isn’t enough capacity in higher education institutions to accommodate us all. Most black families cannot afford to take their children to university or college, so on completing matric, we fall into the trap of giving up. The reality of our poverty at home reminds us that this is the end for us. We cannot go further.
In contrast, there are families with the means to send their children to higher education institutions like actor Nkosinathi Maphalala’s family. However, Maphalala, known to his fans as NayMaps, had his sight set somewhere – music and acting, not a lecture room at Tuks (University of Pretoria).
After almost three years of a miserable life at varsity, an emotional breakdown, self-doubt and self-pity, he couldn’t take it anymore. But he gathered the strength and guts to say to his parents, “Mom, Dad, I am not cut out for this. I want to be an actor and musician. I am quitting varsity.”
Yes, I can already hear you say: “How ungrateful of him. Many children would die for this opportunity.”
Hold it right there. We are different. We are not cut from the same cloth. Our successes cannot all come from being university or college graduates.
We teach the importance of education but not of survival. We talk about anything as a way to success but the focus of children’s passions, gifts and talents.
Do what needs to be done to achieve your dreams. To everyone else who, like Sesi Masechaba, did not let poverty and lack of money stop them from achieving their dreams, you inspire me and many others. Also, to people like Nay Maps.
There is more to life than following the traditional trajectories to success. We can all follow suit. We can turn to survival mode and make something of our lives.
As JK Rowling said: “There is an expiry date on blaming our parents… the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.”