FROM HERO TO ZERO – AND BACK AGAIN

FROM HERO TO ZERO – AND BACK AGAIN

In research done by Marietjie Vosloo and Sonja Blignaut for the Sasol Inzalo Foundation,10 they found that many students experience an identity crisis during the first term. These were star students at school but at university they suddenly could not cope. They were overwhelmed by the workload, and many failed the first test and/or examination. Their self-confidence was utterly destroyed. One of them wrote the response.

“I still can’t believe it. At school maths was great. I had always attained the highest marks in the grade and even participated in external maths competitions. Now I couldn’t even pass … School maths had in no way prepared me for university maths.”

To make it even worse, many of the students felt terribly alone because they did not want to talk to their families about what was happening or, when they did, they did not get the emotional support they needed.

This is from a different student:

… my family is really proud of me, and they just don’t believe me when I tell them about how I’m not coping because to them I’m their little daughter who is so smart, who never brought a bad result and always finds a way to be a top student.

Sound familiar? There is no easy way through this very difficult terrain. Those of you who have crossed it will know that. You have to find the strength in yourself to change the way you look at the world and the way you respond to it. Consider these extracts:

I began to wonder how did I come so far off (from) the path I thought I was on? The next few days I was more than ok because I suddenly remembered what I came to university to do – to excel and transform the nobody mentality to somebody. My eyes were open finally to see opportunities and seize them.

 If anyone could have asked my friends during the first semester about Mr. Complaints, they would have simply pointed at me; all I mean is that I used to complain about everything but since the beginning of this semester all that has changed.

 But I told myself that the only thing that is blocking me from getting my degree is first year, so I decided that I’ll do whatever it takes for me to pass my first year. You know why? Because I have faith in myself, and I believe that I will do it no matter what comes in my way … I may not know it but many people are dying out there and they depend on me.

Look at these extracts from students’ writing carefully. What lessons do they have for you

   -  Stop complaining.

• - Change the way you talk to yourself and about yourself – think about writing down your thoughts and your goals to motivate yourself.

• - Start making friends. 

• - Look outward. Participate in student committees and other activities.

It is possible to find your feet and achieve success. Here’s some more feedback from a student who has walked this road before you:

I saw many of my close friends and classmates deregister or decide to drop everything because they said they couldn’t cope, and they said that they’d come back next year and repeat the same course.

I mean what’s the use of you repeating the whole thing all over again! Things won’t change, they’ll still be the same; rather suck it up, pull your socks up and find a solution because when that thing strikes again in your later life you can’t give yourself a year to solve it or to come to terms with it. Do it now or forever hold your peace.

Perhaps the most important realization is that things are not going to change. This is the reality, and if you want to reach that goal that you set in the beginning, you are going to have to find a way of coping. No one is going to do it for you.

One consolation:  others have done it before. It is possible.

… now that I know what to expect I know I’ll do better next semester. I now know we are all capable of doing what we want in life; I know I am a second-year student now! It’s your decision to just DO IT! Do it! Do it! STOP TRYING AND THINKING ABOUT IT; YOU’VE DONE THAT SO MANY TIMES BEFORE!!

Some practical advice: 

•  - Have your eyes and your hearing tested. Many students struggle because they cannot see or hear properly, even though they have never realized it.
• - Consider your computer skills. Is your typing so slow that it slows everything else down? Attend a course on campus and learn to type properly.

• -  Take a hard look at where you are staying. In the Sasol Inzalo study, students living in communes or private houses performed significantly worse than those who lived in university residences, with relatives, or alone.