Student D
Considering the fact that I was brought up in an environment lacking resources and the means to groom my potential(due to insufficient money), the biggest obstacle which I have had to face during these previous four years would be the fact that I had to find a way in which I would adapt to a very financially advanced environment (my high school). Thanks to The Student Sponsorship Program, my financial aspect of worries was sorted, but the main challenge in my mind was, “how was I going to establish a sense of belonging for myself without giving into peer pressure and just by being true to myself and where I come from?
The first choice that I had to make was to evaluate the real reason why I was given the opportunity to go to such an opulent school as McAuley House School, which was very well recognized for its high academic achievement. That was easy. I was sent to the school to build my intellect and fundamentally receive an all embracing form of education. So it was from that day that I decided that I had to give it my all at my schoolwork and make sure that I took part in all the school activities which I would never had been able to do had I not gone to such a resourceful school.
I started taking part in the schools junior public speaking team by sacrificing my Monday afternoons. Although it was a good way to enhance my literacy skills and a great way to address my thoughts and views to the rest of my peers and elders it started becoming an inconvenience to parents financially, as they had to pay out extra money for public transport and to myself physically, as I usually came home late and tired. It was this situation which alerted me that I had to manage my time well, and so I did. Not only did my endurance land me in the first team but I was also elected as chairperson of the public speaking team.
Through my acquired public speaking skills, I realized I had so much to tell people, so many ideas to put across. So I started putting these views into poetry and began reading it to my schoolmates at assemblies or when we had guest speakers. The epitome of it all came when I had written a poem about women and actually gave it a tune so I could sing it instead. I presented it to the school and my principal suggested we make it a musical. It was all in my hands, the choreography, the composition and the overall preparations. I didn’t think it would be possible but the help of the team of girls that I had delegated tasks to, it was a great success. All the students enjoyed themselves and I earned the respect of my fellow pupils and the staff of McAuley House!
With that in mind I realized that I was a very productive team player and this urged me to take part in sports. I joined the school choir I joined the squash team and I was voted captain of the first team, I joined the netball team and landed in the first team as well, and I was accepted by the cross country team in 2003 where I came third place in the Gauteng Orienteering Race. It was through all my experiences in these various fields that I found that sense of belonging because in a team we all had a common purpose and goal, ultimately we became one person! I also grew into a responsible, independent, and confident young woman, besides being fit!
And what did all this really earn me in the end apart from the envy of my peers?
In her novel Maru, Bessie Head states “Environment everything, hereditary nothing”, which simply means that ones potential of success cannot be influenced by their genetics but by the environment in which they are groomed.
