Katleho Mahapa – Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Communication, University of Johannesburg
I have often struggled to find answers for many of my concerns and like many teenagers I made a lot of decisions I was skeptical of. However, I have always been certain of my creativity and by grade 9, that creative confidence developed my firm passion for advertising and I was sure from then on that I was destined career choice for me. I knew exactly what school I wanted to go to, I immediately adopted a mentor in the field and chose the suited course for me, the only challenge it seemed, was to finish high school already.
The dream gained momentum when I was accepted into a leading advertising school in the country and all was falling into place. My eagerness was quickly tamed when my parents unexpectedly refused to let me attend the school. I had always been aware that schools like that were private institutions and consequently very expense. I felt instant rage which led to resentment towards my parents and the unlucky position I was born into.
My initial attitude was that I was going to force my way into the schools system, and I began to use my resources such as the Student Sponsorship Programme in the hopes of getting some financial aid, driven by naïve ambition. I was offered a risky chance of possibly getting scholarship from the school some time during the year, provided that I registered and started classes but the disappointment thickened when my parents made it clear that they would not be able to take on the financial strain.
My model plan was crushed and I had not seen it coming. Through the tears and disenchantment, I called everyone I trusted for advice, which guided me to literally go to various universities in the hopes of finding a course that possibly resembled the qualifications I need to make it into the career I was longing for.
It was becoming obvious to me that I had to accept the new path I was struggling to avoid. The decision, which for I a long time I believed would have me fall into a group of average student who did not have the same passion and vision that had driven me for so long, was made and had to be carried through. I could not continue to hurt my parents by making them feel like inadequate providers, so I chose to get excited about the choices that were available. Settling for an alternative route towards my dream did not mean I was giving up.
Expecting everything to fall into perfect place was naïve of me and it was wrong of me to make me parents feel unappreciated and useless just because I felt entitled to an elite education I had grown accustomed to. The challenge of dealing with disappointment forced me to grow up and taught me that it is up to me to make any situation work, in order to get what I want if I really want it.
Today I am studying a BA Marketing Communication degree at the university and the vision I have for my success remains alive. It is all ultimately up to me.
