A letter to my former self

I never realised how much I'd changed this year until I wrote this letter. Wow. If I could go back, this is what I'd tell myself:

Dear naïve girl

This first year is soooo not what you thought it was going to be. Your comfortable cotton-candy cocoon will break very quickly. Reality will be extraordinarily different from your idealised view of university. You’ll meet different kinds of people, with very different ideas and opinions, and the people you do know will change. The people at Rhodes will impact and influence you more than any lecture or course. Looking back, I think this is the most important lesson I have learnt, and so I think I should share it with you.

You need to realise that the world isn’t simply a monochromatic charcoal drawing: you can’t view everything in ‘black’ and ‘white’, or in terms of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. The world is sketched in shades of grey. No matter how much you, personally, don’t believe something is right, it is not your place to judge others or look down upon their activities. I’m not saying that you have to join in – please, don’t – just remember who you are and try to be tolerant of others.

That said, don’t let the others get to you, or fold under the pressure they exert on you. Don’t get caught up in their craziness when your conscience is screaming at you to dash for the door. You’ll be glad that you didn’t participate in their liver-wrecking activities when they are on their knees regurgitating their supper into an unfortunate flower bed and you’re not. Being the sober babysitter is okay (and important for their safety) sometimes.

Don’t worry, chicken. You’ll get through just fine.

*Mwa*
Meat_is_murder

P.S. Buy your TriVarsity overalls early, and don’t tumble dry them after their Gentian Violet bath – you’ll stain the tumble dryer purple.