I get
emotional when I think about this part of my life, as it became a defining
moment for me, the chance to make a decision that will affect the rest of my
life; it might seem little to you, but trust me, I’m eternally grateful for it.
The year
was 2009 and the month was May when my sister came into my room and gave me R250.00 to go and write my learners, as I had been home for almost a year now,
in the hopes that it will better my chances of getting a job (once I got my
license too). I was a baby Christian and yet to understand God’s love for me,
but that moment was just God Himself telling me that He loves me and He’s got
my back. I was in between what I would
like to call “growing up is tough and is this the highest form of dream-selling”
phase. I mean, I worked so hard in High-school, not the brightest of sparks but
I managed to get a university entrance (you see, I too can be modest) and good
marks to go back to my teacher and pull a “you must not know about me” look…
Going
back to that evening of the prayer, R250 and priceless love. My sister already
had gotten me a learners’ book to study with and had given me a slight idea of
how she will pay for the license. I had already gathered that it might take
longer than my excitement could comprehend, but I was overjoyed about the
gesture and how I will finally know how to drive. The 19-year-old thing to do
is think of how I will get a car and suddenly become the coolest thing to
happen to humanity. Can you believe it, one moment I’m depressed that I can’t
find a job; the next I’m thinking of getting a car…I did say it was the 19-year-old
thing to do. Ambition! Anyway, reality
interrupted my imagination and knocked the silliness out of me faster than I
could think which car model I want to drive. I thought about my sister’s offer
and how I will fit in her plan, and I came to a conclusion that, No, I do not
want a license because I don’t want a job because I want to go to varsity and just
make ads.
That’s
what got me to school at 7am and brought me back home at 8pm. That’s what drove
me to practice harder at Math and accept being changed classes because “I lack
focus and I know I can pass”. Going to varsity is what made me ask for
application forms from all the universities I could think of, fill them up and
post them without an application fee (I did say I was a baby Christian, so
imagine the stupid faith levels and naivety). So I decided to ask for a UJ
application form and instead use the money to apply there for something that is
in line with advertising. Without my
sister’s knowledge, on the 1st June 2009 I submitted my application
at Uj for a BA in Marketing Communications. That day, I remember Thoriso, (my
part-time lover) who was doing her honours there, walked me to the humanities
department and showed me all the places I needed to go that day. Thinking that
her exam is later that day only to find out that while she was being generous
with her time her fellow, focused students were writing. Dear Homie, if you
never get into ish for me again, I will forever remember this day. If you’re
wondering, things turned out fine for her, nothing an affidavit couldn’t fix.
On the
15th of the same month, I got a letter back from Uj telling me that
I have been accepted for a BA in marketing communication. YAY!!! I’m a varsity
student who’s about to wake up to a shatter that there’s still is no money to
go varsity (I had been previously accepted for a Degree in Civil Engineering in
2007, but didn’t pursue it for lack of funds). Now I have to tell my sister
who’s waiting for me to tell her that I’m ready to go write my learners, that I
decided to apply for varsity with the money she gave me. I finally told her and
surprisingly enough, she was happy for me and asked me pertinent questions
about how I will go to school. At that time, God was my answer and Faith was my
only currency. Fast-forward, God came through and I went to varsity, did my 3
years in Marketing Communications, and right now I’m well on my way to making
Ads.
It all
started with a prayers, R250.00 and sacrificial love. Out of the goodness of
her heart, my sister contributed to what I have become today, we may not have
had the same picture of how I can better my chances of getting a job, but we
both had the same end in mind, to see me do justice to a pool of potential and
resilience that I have. She planted a seed, which not only opened a door to my
desire to go to varsity, but it also made me see love in action, an outpouring
of God’s gift that is family and her will to see me succeed. All it took was a
prayer, R250.00 and sacrificial love.
