Her Pink Wind Chime

by Amy Esterhuizen

For Ayushi Chhabra (www.fourhensandacock.blogspot.com), a first year journalism and drama major, the hardest part of first year has not been surviving academic life but rather surviving the social life that comes with being a first year at Rhodes. Her outgoing and enthusiastic nature makes it seem like she would have no trouble at all fitting in and coping with the social life at Rhodes. But as she explains, the difficult part of social life has been being judged and stereotyped by other people. “You want to have fun, experience many things, make mistakes and learn from them but in that process people create these false perceptions of you and it’s hard to change the way they think,” she says.

Being only 17 years old, Ayushi is much younger than many other first years. This makes her feel vulnerable and affects her on every level of her Rhodes experience. She looks down at her pink duvet and says, “People’s comments made it hard for me to be who I am”, but then with clear confidence she looks at me and continues, “But I’ve moved on and have learnt not to take other people’s shit to heart.” Ayushi explains that at Rhodes she felt a pressure to prove herself to other people and break free from the stereotypes that are so common here. Her fast paced and loud speech makes it clear that she has had many experiences of being stereotyped before. “I find it difficult balancing my two worlds” she says. Auyshi is Hindu and has lived in India for most of her life and says that this has often led to her being stereotyped because she comes from an Indian background but has a “western” social network. “Just because you belong to a certain ethnic group it’s like you have to submit yourself to their ‘ways’ instead of just being Indian inside of you”. Feeling excluded from the Hindu society at times has been hurtful for Ayushi who often hears that she is ‘too western’ for their liking.

She moved on to tell me about her experiences in Residence and how it hasn’t been an easy change due to some of the girls’ judgements. Ayushi tugs restlessly on her white scarf as she says, “the people in my res have a false image of me” and explains that she has often been called “fake, Barbie or a bitch”. The only time doubt and unhappiness is expressed through her voice is when she speaks about some of the issues that have occurred in her res. “I ran for entertainment Rep and the girls in my res ripped my posters off and tore them up,” she said seriously. It is because of incidents like this that Ayushi is changing residence next year, but this is not going to ruin her experience of first year.

Auyshi came to Rhodes because she needed a change from the lifestyle and ‘high school mentality’ she had in Johannesburg. She smiles and says that she has changed for the better, becoming a strong independent girl who is not going to let other people bring her down. “I’m very proud to be who I am, I consider myself a survivor”, she exclaims. Ayushi’s strong opinions and wisdom are a breath of fresh air. Her pink wind chime blows melodically in the wind as she says “the most important lesson I’ve learnt is to be true to yourself, be who you want to be and everything will be alright”. She leans back and says that she won’t let these problems get her down because these problems are what “make life, life”. Ayushi is looking forward to each new day here at Rhodes, having fun and doing things on the spur of the moment. She grins and says, “In ten years time I want to look back on my time at Rhodes and say, ‘Whoa, those were the days!’”.

The Route Less Traveled

The Route Less Traveled
By Simon Balmuth

As we bask in the aftermath of an epic Tuesday night, the sun starts to rise bringing calm to the madness signaling the start of a new day. It is at this unlikely hour that I sit down with Adam Green a first year humanities student.

Adam has a sense of quiet calmness about him; even in the most challenging situations he appears to have all the time in the world. But what or who can he thank for this attribute?, it is a possession born out of maturity., but then again this is his second year out of school, and as he will admit it was the gap between school and university that enabled him to gain that maturity. It is this inherent maturity that has enabled him to take University in his stride. “The year I took out from studying allowed me to grow immensely as a person; I would encourage everyone if it was possible to take a gap year”.

Perching nonchalantly on my windowsill Adam pulls out a box of cigarettes, and lights up. He offers me a smoke; I decline as the smoke begins to rise merging with the golden haze of dawn. He drags deeply with a guilty smile etched on his face, taking comfort from the private indulgence that the nicotine supplies.

As the sun climbs higher in the sky our conversation picks up pace and purpose. Adam has met the challenges of varsity life with apparent ease, unruffled and unphased. But is there any element of distress that lurks behind this untouchable veneer. “University took a while to get used to; the lifestyle that comes with being a Rhodes student is extremely different to living at home”. As with most students Adam took a while to adjust to the alien environment, but as the year begins to grind to a halt, he seems so settled both in himself and here at Rhodes. He is a brilliant advert for a controversial product, the gap year.

Where does Adam see himself in ten years from now? where in his mind does the journey end?. “I have always wanted to be involved in the analysis of our environment, One day I hope to become an environmentalist”. It is no surprise that Adam’s heart strays away from the choking formalities of the corporate sphere; the daily formalities would crush the passion that drives him, the yearning to make a difference in this world. His path is not a well trodden one it is a diversion from the main stream, a slowly winding dirt track to some far off location. But it is with purpose that he treads this rough track and I have no doubt that his journey will be successful.

The sun is now high in the sky and the room is shrouded in a warm amber glow. Adam maintains his perch on the windowsill looking out at the world below. A world which bears limitless opportunities to the driven and hidden pitfalls for the lost. As we say goodbye a new day has begun, a day like no other, just another step in Adam’s journey

Letter to My Younger Self

Hey Stranger

Wow, I can’t believe that a whole year has passed since we last spoke, but scarily it has. One thing is for sure; your first year at varsity is going to be the fastest year of your life . The time literally flies, like someone up there has constantly got his finger on the fast forward button. But in this never ending blur of friends, alcohol, girls and memory loss take the time to step backwards and appreciate the experience; these truly are the best years of your life.

You will learn to love the independence that comes with living away from home, embrace it, seize it and assume control. Remember that is you and you alone who is responsible for the path you take.

Balance will prove to be an important word for you; in the upcoming year you will claim it, lose it, fight for it and eventually realize that without it you will go nowhere. Learn to balance, balance your relationships and friends, and balance your studies and partying. If I could give a single piece of advice to you, one word is all that I need- Balance.

You have a heck of a journey in front of you; you will discover things not only about the world around you but also about the person inside you. Above all remember to enjoy the good times as they will pull you through the bad. Hang on to your dreams as they fuel your actions.

In this new environment your eyes will be opened as you realize that there is so much more to life, than what you left behind on that overcast February morning. Although you will not think so at the time, in leaving your world behind you will gain so much more.

Keep it Real ……
S.Balmuth