Who moved my cheese?

Before I came to Rhodes, I was warned about this scary thing called ‘change’. Apparently, people go off to the land of lectures and degrees, and return completely different. They come home, and their beliefs have changed, their attitude towards life has changed and they’re covered in piercings and smoking weed while discussing their decision to become an atheist. This can be quite a daunting idea to behold when you’re an insignificant matric whose life was regulated by school bells and uniforms. You start worrying about the big bad university that is going to turn you into some creature your friends and family don’t recognise.

When I was in my last year of high school, I was asked one question about 10 times a day: “What are you doing next year?” As soon as I mentioned Rhodes University, teachers, family friends and even relative strangers raised an eyebrow and gave me a knowing look. They knew Rhodes’ reputation. Yes, the university was one of the best in the country, but the students were notorious drinkers: strange artistic creatures with green hair who went to lectures barefoot. They’re the crazy kids described in Relient K’s 'College Kids'. Changing from a ‘normal’ teenager into one of these students was a bad thing, and this change should be resisted at all costs.

Having survived my first year at Rhodes, I can say that this scary ‘change’ which everyone speaks about is not nearly as frightening or dark and twisted as it seems. Yes, you do change. But it is good! Your ideas about the world change dramatically. You stop seeing it in the black-and-white terms that you categorised people and events into during high school. You’re exposed to different ways of thinking, different religions, no religions at all, and people generally enjoy fighting with you about why you believe what you believe. But living through it makes you a much stronger person.

Being faced with different perspectives on a situation broadens your mind. You start thinking critically about different issues, and don’t just passively accept the opinions of others. You become open to other beliefs and understandings of the world, and become more tolerant of them, instead of being judgemental or condescending. University does change you. But it changes you for the better. You become more independent, and learn more about your character and opinions than you would have in one year at varsity than you would have if you spent 10 years at high school. The change isn’t some grotesque transformation that you are simply subjected to. You can stay yourself. If you still want to believe in the religion and morals you grew up with, then you can. You have a say in what you choose to believe and no one can force you to go along with their radical world views.

The thing to remember is that university isn’t real life. The majority of people in the world wear shoes and don’t walk around campaigning for some strange new cause. You can incorporate the new ideas and views which you are confronted with at varsity into your life, or you can choose to ignore them. You don’t have to be one of those crazy students whose best friend doesn’t recognise them after 8 months apart. As Relient K say at the end of ‘College Kids’: “do what will make you happy, do what you feel is right. Only one thing matters: learn how to live your life”. Embrace the change, but only so far as you are comfortable. You’ll be a better person because of it.


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