Simon Balmuth
“I’m feeling rough; I’m feeling raw in the prime of my life”.
-A time to pretend, MGMT.
The end of the year approaches like some dark shadow cast by the setting sun, bringing with it the ominous presence of exams. As I sit above this vast chasm, I feel an underlying urge to reflect. To look back on a year, which has played host to a constant battering of the senses, through various avenues. Bottle after bottle, night after night, too comfortably numb to appreciate the enormity of it all.
I feel the year has only just begun, but here I stand in the twilight of my initial university expedition. As time has lurched on at it’s relentless pace, waiting for no man, I have lost myself in the depths of independence. Not without direction but treading a precarious road without the utmost certainty. The existence of the unknown is refreshing in the sense that it provides an alternative to the constraints of structure, which have governed life from the outset. University provides an outlet, a response to the years of the conformity of schooling.
A thrill ride, a theme park, this year has been about moving from one high to another. Chasing pleasure, the inexplicable dilation of the pupils, brief in it’s enjoyment but the motive behind hours of action. The year has been constructed out of moments not days, brief fleeting moments over in the blink of an eye. On a journey? Where do I get off? where do you get off? more importantly do we ever get off at all?. If these days are the first of the rest of your life, is this a sign of the madness to come? The train rumbles on while people stop and stare, some get off, few stay while my finger hovers precariously above the self destruct button.
Amongst this backdrop of intoxicating madness, one strives to better oneself through the pursuit of knowledge. The sum total of my academic endeavors, reams of paper countless pages of words each as convincing as the last. Late nights spent endlessly battering the keyboard seeking to construct something of depth, of purpose, something to stand up and be accounted for. As I rush from one task to the next, climbing an obstacle without sign of relief. This is what is to be a student, to truly study, a process which many go through but few question. It is accepted as a norm of society in order to better ourselves we study, to fill our heads with information ordained by a higher set of intellectuals. We accept this as a way of life a sacrifice to enter a higher set, the so called upper reaches of mankind. It was the path taken by generations before us, a well trodden one with a variety of destinations.
So where has the year gone? The time has been filtered into a variation of fields. From enlightenment to travesty, at times so disgustingly self righteous waiting for a slap in the face that never comes. 2008 has been a year for words. These are my words and this is my year.
Showing posts with label Student. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student. Show all posts
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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
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
Friday, September 26, 2008
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
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
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