Matric Challenges…

The other day I was thinking that if I knew in my Matric year what I know now, I would have ACED my matric, am talking flying colours. The simple lesson from such that is simple, “Time lost is never returned”.

Once time has elapsed, there is a certain line that when you have crossed, there is no going back, unless you have the balls like a few South Africans that sit for matric at the age of 35, or even the current Matric 2015 results as an example, there was a lady aged at 66 years old and has just passed her matric, according to the South Africa Latest News website “she achieve 79% Mathematics and Science and an average of 69 in other subjects” [*link*] , now if you were to ask me, that’s serious balls, balls of steel, if a lot of people could have that courage and ambition, oh what a wonderful world this world be.

Gogo was like:

Anyway back to me, if I could rewind time, I would ACE my grade 12. How I wish I could transfer the wisdom I have now to the current and upcoming Matric students, and I know I am not on my own with this, my fellow university students have the same wishes in their hearts, they want to reach out to the young guys and tell them “Hey, listen, life is not what you think, if you fuck up, it will screw you, it will molest you without a Vaseline”. That message sound rough or harsh in some way, but it has a HUGE hidden message, a message one unfortunately learns through experience, we do tell them but they don’t listen, they think they have life figured out.

This morning I forced my mind to try and think why are matric students misusing the opportunity handed to them, one must realise that when you are at matric the world is at your feet, they tell you “you can be anything you want to be”, that’s the stage of your life when you have 100% of everyone’s support, even if you were to say to your parents “mummy, I need a day at a spa to pass my matric” you would get it…

So this morning mind told me that it’s our fault that the matric students are so less focused, am sure my mind didn’t explore all the angles but these are the few I came up with:

1. We tell them the Good part of Varsity when we go home for vacation:

• I studied in Port Elizabeth, so the stories I had were P.E related. When me and my fellow peers went home, we told the younger ones about Parliament Street, how awesome it is there, how you jump from club and end up at Loxion to dance till the morning comes.

• When we went home for vacation we told the students about how we chill at the beach when its hot, get a couple of cold ones from Prestons Liquor, chill at the sand for a few hours, the when the buzz is on fleek, we hit the waves.

• When we go home for vacation we tell them kids we don’t eat umngqusho nez’gwampa, we tell them that there we eat lasagne, cottage pie, Russian and chips, hake and all other fancy residence menus, Yes there are those one who stay off campus and eat tinned food everyday coming and going, but their mistake they don’t share these stories of suffering when they go home for vacation.

• When we go home for vacation, we tell them kids about how you go to class when you want to, or that no one will ask you anything when you are late, how no one forces to take note, we tell them how you go to class without uniform, you choose your own wardrobe and no will say anything about it, apart from those who are interested in you, they will probably tell you “Damn, you’re beautiful/hot/sexy”, but either than that, everyone else minds their own  business…

2. We don’t tell those kids the bad part of varsity:

• The most important bad thing we do not tell kids about varsity is that it I fucken expensive to get that education. Matric students can’t imagine expensive university education is, apart from varsity fees being expensive being expensive, most matric students don’t realise that their parent cannot afforest that education. The current #FeesMustFall protest should give them an idea how bad it is there.

• We don’t tell them kids that at varsity you don’t just go right your exams like you used to do in throughout your life. They are not aware about how many students don’t qualify to write exams and that’s why they come home earlier than their peer.

• We don’t tell them kids that due to the non-affordance of parents, some students sleep with empty stomachs. As a result of this, some of their sisters stand on street corners at night just to provide for themselves. Some of their sister have to open their legs to old man just to feed themselves and a lil fun at parliament at the process.

The above discussed are just the tip of the ice burg, my point is our fault, well not entirely, these kids watch too much ‘American Pie’… But my requested is, if you ever have the opportunity to talk to a matric student, please tell them the truth, nothing but the full truth. Prepare them for the future, tell them that their so called pressure about appearing in The Daily Dispatch with a D is nothing compared to what they have to face. Obviously, the struggles of are not for everyone, some kids are fortunate in many different ways and that we can’t argue, but the majority have a similar story to tell.

A quote from a wise man:

"Damn, How I wish I was a kid again…"

-Mzukhona Hlazo