Varsity Dos and Don'ts
By: Mogotladi Makgato
It's exciting to be a first year student. You have some freedom. New people to meet and a lot to explore. Well here are things for you to bear in mind, in order to end the year with the very same excitement. You are going to meet lot of people with different personalities. To be safe. Stay in your lane. Hang with people who are in your league. Don't let your monthly allowance give you a head rush. Use it wisely. No need to show it off. Start with essential things. Pay your fees, rent then buy groceries. Turn a blind eye on take-aways. Buy real food not snacks. You don't want to starve in the middle of the month. You're an adult, now be responsible.
If you think it will be too much for you, give your parents school account and all necessary details for them to pay fees straight to the school account. Don't look at what your roommates buy. It will only depress you. If your parents can't afford to buy you fancy clothes, send you crazy amount of money, don't be dismayed it happens to almost half of the students. Be grateful for the little they give you.
Use that as a motivation. Study smart and hard so that one day you can lavish out of your own sweat.
If your family can afford, bear in mind that all that you have belong to them. Now make something of yourself. Do away with that attitude and tendency of looking down on people. Life is a spinning wheel. Humble yourself or life will humble you by force. Believe me you don't want to learn the hard way. Never miss classes. Attend tutoring sessions. Annoy lecturers with unending questions. Don't sit down pretending to understand while there is only a swamp of bees buzzing in your heard. Ask second years for their old study materials: books manuals and online websites, which will help you during your year of study.
You can also download books and manuals online. No need to have them all as hard copies; this will save you money. For Turn-it-in: submit your assignment two days before due date. Print your assignments a day before submission. You don't want to think your neighbors from home have used strong muti against you.
Assignments go missing. Laptops, USBs get viruses; you will feel a whole lot of satanic presence if you wait until the last day. But you can beat this.
Save your assignment on Google drive, cloud or email it to yourself for back up. Do that two or three days before due date.
Your institution will give you more details about Turn-it-In. Like former Secretary general of United Nations, Kofi Annan said: “Education is power.
Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Now go ahead and make your dream come true.
