Category: 2018 Scholarship Competition

One word: Passion. That undying, unscathed desire to create; that’s why I am a writer.  The bliss to inspire, reach, touch and engrave a life through my experiences, neuroses, perceptions and feelings; that’s why I’m a writer. It’s said mindfulness, empathy, embodiment of a change and a purpose leads your direction at a scope and pace of speed for you to feel fulfilled. Writing liberates my mind and soul. That’s how I know writing was for me. I’m human. No latitude of research, Big Five personality test (OCEAN) score of high Openness (87) and First Class Degree in Marketing gives me as innovation, cumulative learning and intravenous actualization as Maslow (1959) terms it as writing.

I was born to write. God showed me my skill in poetry, short stories and commentaries. You know you love what you do and do what you love when you wake up every single day energetic, enthusiastic, empowered and joyful to create a piece of your heart full of thought and art. I’ll be a little less than subversive here but I do experience multiple ebbs and flows in my writing energies as anyone else does. I’ve been in customer service since I genuinely find purity, harmony and natural balance of my skills in time management, branding and public relations to add my creativity there but something did not effectively synergise for me.

Writing was a pivotal change for me. I experienced a catalytic catharsis from negativity by dissolving my emotional lows. Thus, even though I’m at entry level working experience; being a writer bequeathed personal strengths of emotional and self-awareness and transparency to communicate both the good and bad truthfully. We live in times of change and I manage change well. I command English language well. It was only natural I was born to write. So many people work to pay the bills, to send the kids to school, to “get by” but they feel frustrated, anxious and redundancy. I became a writer and nothing is lethargic; that’s how I know it’s for me.

I know I’m only twenty three (23) but I feel happier, soulful and joy than a millionaire. I am a millionaire in my own right because I am love. My work is love. I will be published someday. I have attached a piece for perusal on page 3.

I’m grateful and thankful for your time and energies in scoring my piece.

Beautiful

Falling abruptly upon a sullied, distant reminder;

Simply, singly, etching subconsciously to nostalgia.

The most beautiful, thrusting memories seem to soothe a lingered soul-

To penance upon self-inflicted emptiness.

 

Eloquence subsides in past failures of the heart-

To immaculately feel more than heaven and earth whilst enduring hell.

It was a good run; a pure one filled with more love than you or I could foster.

Loving more than those older than us or smarter than us.

 

Alas, the imperfection in stupidity is belief time periodically grants favours-

Her love indeed was my sole, purest and truest luxury;

The months were a doctrine attested to a resilient affirmation of confidence.

Half trust what you see; distrust what you hear.

 

She wrote me notes, letters, poems, books about our forever she proclaimed,

About places to go, people to see, memories to make, marriage and the like;

Reflections in the heart grant the bittersweet realism that she’s beauty.

A beauty whose time elapsed and I loved with a love more than love itself.

By: Venessa Ramsaroop

Stress, fear, the thought of not fitting in this world, my future is dim. These thoughts rushed into my mind during my final months of Senior Year of high school. I would see my fellow students boast on what college they are going to and what their career goals were. When they asked what am I doing and where am I going after high school, I would shrug my shoulders and ask the same thing. WHAT AM I DOING? I feel like I’m not alone when it comes to this question, especially during the final days during Senior Year. Jumping ahead in time, sitting here in a college dorm writing this exact essay, I laugh at my foolishness. Reader, if you’re sitting here wondering the same questions, have no fear about your future. Allow me to explain.

Everyone wonders about their future at a point in time. To determining which college or classes to attend, to even as small as what to order for lunch. Although I can’t help in determining your meal, I can however help you find out which career path best suites you. The answer is as simple as this, “Go for whatever makes you happy.” This was my moto all through high school and even today. Everyone strives for happiness no matter what substance it comes from; money, sex, food. Going for what made me happy in life was the biggest factor in my decision making Senior Year.

I continuously asked myself, “What makes me happy? What do I enjoy doing in this life?” The answer could come from your hobbies (for instance: mine was gardening). The answer could come from the sports you play, the clubs you attend. Choosing a career focused on what you like, would not only help you avoid dreading to go to work, but also transform you into professional faster. If you enjoy what you’re doing, you will invest more time in it. If you invest more time in your field, you will become a master at it. Finally, when you master your field, yes, the money will follow.

For example, I shared with you that my favorite hobby to do was gardening. I LOVE working with plants. I enjoy growing them, tending to them, you get the point. During my Senior Year of high school, I knew this. I figured out that my calling is to work with plants, but to do what? I figured out the happiness part yet the determining still needed some work. I always wanted to help change the world and make an impact, that was another thing that made me happy. I decided that my best interest was to go into Plant Genetics, not only would I help improve our world, I would be able to work with plants! From there, it was just about finding a school that taught my field. However, I was never alone. Help will always come when asked.

If you’re stuck with questions on what to do and where to go, the people around you can (and will) help you in the right direction. High school teachers are notorious for this! They WANT to see you succeed. Your parents are one of them, they were most likely in a similar situation. Even if you are in college, your professors and advisors will help you. All you need to do is ask.

Reader, where ever you are, I hope you take home this, “Follow your heart and not your mind.” Going for what makes you happy will ultimately be your BIGGEST determiner for your decisions in life. Whatever you do, where ever you go, I wish you the best of luck.

When choosing a major to study I will always choose a topic that I find interesting. I’m very particular with subjects such as this if I don’t like the topic or it just doesn’t interest me as much as something else I will simply choose not to continue studying that topic longer then I need to. I never want to need committed to I don’t enjoy or find intriguing, so if i’m not into what i’m supposed to be learning I will end up dreading having to go to that class and participate. When I begin to hate that part of my day and try to think of how to get out of it it feels like a chore and I don’t wish to live my life with constant dread and annoyance with these chores, besides where’s the fun in that. When I am truly invested in anything, school related or extracurricular, I begin to look forward to that one thing. It becomes a highlight of my day and I am look forward to whatever may happen with it that day. I’m become motivated to learn more and work more  it’s the type of person I am, when interested I give it my full attention no matter what and strive to always be prepared and ready. In general I like school because I enjoy the opportunity to learn something new everyday especially is specific topics, and the opportunity to pick a specialized topic of study that interests me to further learning about it is a great opportunity that i believed should not be missed. However, an opportunity as such can only be beneficial if it is something of interest to oneself.

When it is time for me to decide on a career I will look at that choice the same way I looked at what major I wished to study. My biggest criteria for choosing a career would be will I enjoy what I am doing everyday in some aspect as well as will I respect the position I am in so I can in return respect myself and know that I am doing something positive. Even if my everyday tasks seem small I need to be able to see the good in whatever I am doing and if it has benefited anyone. I won’t choose to focus on ow much it pays or if I like the people I would be working with because I dont view those aspects as very important when choosing a career. That’s what separates a career from a job. What I view as important when choosing a career is that you love what you do, you do it well, and that perhaps in one way shape or form your helping others in the process.

Whenever I need to make important decisions I think through them thoroughly, taking in account how it will work out, what my other options are, how it will affect others besides me, and is it truly the right choice. I will spend a whole day thinking through the options because I wish to feel like I have made the right decision because some choices can affect your life years down the road not just in the moment. Through my eyes no major life decision should be taken likely, they are called major life decisions for a reason, such things need to be thought through and examined closely so that every option, angle, and outcome can be considered. To most it sounds like a lot to think so deeply about choices and it can even be considered as over thinking but in doing so I ensure that when the choice is made I am as close to 100% as I can be that I did what was right. I want to be alde to live my life without constantly asking myself what if I did that instead of this because how can you be happy and look to the future if you’re always thinking back to the past.

What are your values? What are your interest, hobbies, and skills? Who are you as a person? Who is your role model and what career do they have? What do you hope to accomplish in the future? What difference do you want to make? These are all questions to ask yourself when you are on the path to choosing a career or major. When I was choosing my major and career, the first thing I did was research. While researching I found the website www.whatcareerisrightforme.com. This website provided me with a quiz that tested my values, work style, skills, and interests. It also provided, at the end, some jobs that are most suitable for me based on my answers to questions in the quiz.

Some of the jobs listed in my results were: sociologist, art therapist, counseling psychologist, etc. I did further research on exactly what the careers listed entailed, but none of them sparked an interest in me. I decided to use the quiz questions to my advantage. I down the questions and also added in some of my own questions like the ones mentioned above. Questioning yourself is basically digging a little deeper and finding out what you truly want for yourself. It can reveal some parts of you that you never thought existed.

I kept asking myself these questions for a week and at the end of 7 days I gathered all my answers and formed one big information sheet on myself. It turns out I love and want to do everything which is really hard to believe. I discovered that I would be comfortable and happy in both business and science areas and that I am passionate towards all arts. For me to be really clear on a specific field/area I had to narrow down my answers.

How do I do this? I asked myself. The answer was clear, but I didn’t realize it because I let myself become flustered and overwhelmed by the thought of not being able to choose a career “in time.” I learned that this was a big don’t when it comes to making such decision, it slows down the decision process and makes you think negatively and then all the ‘what if’ scenarios start playing in your head. This kept me back 5 days.

When I pulled myself out of this flustering mess I decided to look through some old notes from school that I knew would help me in narrowing down my answers. It was from a technology education class. The first thing it read was “Technology education is a problem-solving approach towards real-life situations. This was helpful because I had a problem at hand, which was not being able to choose a career and being unclear about what major I should choose to facilitate that career option. I continued reading and then I saw a diagram I drew and below it had some information that described the diagram. The diagram showed clear steps on how to solve a problem.

This problem-solving method is a loop. This means once you resolve one problem and get the answer to one question, other questions or problems may come about and the method goes around and around that keeps solving problems as they come. The method is called the IDEATE model. This means: I- identify the problem, D- develop a design brief, E- evaluate possible solutions, A- assess the possible solutions, T- test and try out possible solutions, E- evaluate the best solution. At the end of reading, I started using the method immediately.

I realized in order for me to narrow down my answers I had to answer my questions with one word that means the most to me. To answer these questions with one word, I had to change the question. This was another problem that derived from the previous problem I solved before. I went through the steps again with the new problem at hand and solved it. The questions changed from what are your values? To what is your most important value? I changed all the questions from plural form to singular so that there can only be one answer to the question. I took my time while doing this and I dug really deep into myself to find out my core likings and preferences. At the end of this, my answers and career options were crystal clear. I choose sciences. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology and math and my future career, an aerospace engineer.

But then there is the bigger question which compiles all the other questions into one. Why choose science and this specific career? In my opinion, science explains the world in which we live. Science is the base of engineering and creations of the future. I want to be a person who can develop the world and be able to put my thoughts into a futuristic design of a spacecraft in specific since space hasn’t really been fully discovered. Additionally, this career allows me to help make a difference because I want to be able to create a model of a spacecraft that can clean the space environment.

In 2013 I found out about all the garbage us humans left in space for example metals, satellite parts that fell off and spacecraft parts that were ejected in space. This junk being in space can be fractured into zillions of pieces when it collides with other junk. These fragments will now be moving at high speed, orbiting the earth and can destroy our current working satellites.

Getting into aerospace engineering combines my love for spacecraft, aircrafts, satellites, and missiles with my strong desires to help our planet and the space around us. I believe I can make a difference and my career was chosen off of that as I see it as a major factor to consider amongst others when choosing a career.

Selection of a career or profession is one of the most important things of life. But it is equally difficult. The lack of guiding services, proper counseling and ever increasing unemployment has further complicated the matter.

There is cut-throat competition. Therefore, most of the young men and women in search of suitable jobs are a confused, indecisive and frustrated lot. It has generated a deep sense of frustration and indiscipline among the young people.

A right choice of a career is fundamental importance. On it does depend one’s success or failure in life. A correct choice may lead to happy, prosperous and satisfying career and life. On the other hand, a wrong selection may result in failure, disappointment and sadness in life. The result of prolonged indecision rimy still proves worse.

Therefore, the problem should be faced and resolved as early as possible. It is better if one decides at the school stage itself what career one is going to adopt in future. But the school-going students are quite young, inexperienced and raw to take a right decision. They cannot be the best judge in the matter. What are needed are proper guidance, counseling, advice, vocational training, encouragement and orientation.

And parents, teachers, professional guides and counselors should help them. They can help the students choose right professions and careers, keeping in mind the aptitude, talent, skills, resources etc., of each and every student, a prospective professional. This will also go a long way in solving the problem of unemployment and proper development of our human resources.

Life has become all the more complex and competitive. There is a keen struggle and competition in the world of careers and professions. And only the fittest will survive. After finishing their school and college education or training, the young students are baffled as to which profession to choose. They find themselves groping in the dark. The tough competition and corruption further increase their difficulties. A young man or woman may possess sufficient training, education, orientation and aptitude for a particular job or position and yet he or she may not get it because of various problems.

Gone are the days when life was easy, simple, smooth and harmonious, and in the majority of the cases the son followed his ancestral profession or trade, and was trained in the same at home. With the rapid change in attitudes, situations and progress in science and technology, things have radically changed. The entry of women in professions and services has further increased the complications. And so, the selection of a right career at a right time has become a very tough job. It needs proper, full and comprehensive consideration.

There are professions, careers, trades and jobs in plenty. There are a number of professional and training institutions like It’s., polytechnics, engineering colleges etc., which give training in various trades, skills, professions and jobs, such as medicine, engineering, teaching, business, commerce, banking, computer science, advertising, journalism, government services, positions in armed forces, and scores others. Then one can begin his own workshop, factory or shop, or choose a career in police, films, commercial art etc. The whole world of careers is yours, but each and every profession requires a special aptitude, training, guidance, education and preparation.

One may wish to become a doctor or an engineer, but mere wish is not enough. Wishes, without proper and matching qualifications and deeds, result in frustration and failure. There are many factors that go in making a successful and happy career. Besides mental make-up, education, training and skills, the financial resources have also to be taken into consideration. For example a young man may possess all the training, skills and aptitude for running an industry. But he cannot venture to be an entrepreneur unless he has sufficient financial backing and muscle. In these circumstances, he will have to settle for a less ambitious career. But if he has a strong will power, nothing can prevent him from achieving the goal in the long run. One may start from scratch and end up as a business tycoon.

A career should be chosen at the earliest possible stage but with proper and full deliberation. The help and guidance of teachers, parents, experienced people and professionals should be sought in the matter. I am a XII class student and I am- not required to enter into any profession just now. And yet I have decided about my career and profession. I have thought long and well over the matter with the help and guidance of my parents, teachers, physical training instructor and others well qualified to advise me. I have decided to become a engineer.

 

Fresh out of high school with so many dreams and aspirations for the future, the daunting choice of choosing a major only added confusion, anxiety and worry. Every other person I knew had a suggestion and a certain amount of advice to give (free gyan…) which only left me more confused than before.

The first thing I did was to take a couple of career aptitude test and check if my potential in certain career paths and my interest levels had any match. While it is important to be passionate and interested in a certain career path, one must also take the effort to reflect and consider certain aspects such as having a skill set that matches the interest. For example, even if you are very passionate about a certain career or major it will be quite difficult to standout and be successful in that field, if the relevant skill-sets are absent. Having an interest in a certain field along with relevant skills or the aptitude is a powerful combination and can take you a long way.

During this quest, I was exposed to quite a few majors that I hadn’t considered or thought about while applying and it gave me a broader perspective and range of options to choose from. Reading nonfiction books and articles on a variety of subjects also helped me to figure out what topics and areas of study excited me academically. An understanding was formed on what topics were engaging for me, and what topics bored me to sleep. To be doubly sure of my choice, I undertook a few online courses during the summer to check if I it was really engaging and if enjoyed learning and working on these subjects that were of interest to me.

Once I finished deciding on my choice of subjects, the next task was the search for the right college. There were quite a few factors that I kept in mind while making a choice of the college. Firstly, I searched for a reputed college which offered classes for my course with a good rank and reputation in the field. The next factor was whether they have on campus events, reputed lecturers and open events with speeches or lectures in relation to the subject. Another thing that was at the back of mind was the co curricular activities that the college had to offer, along with additional courses that would help me enhance my skills, increase my career prospects in the workplace. It had to help me grow as an individual and keep my passion for my career choice alive. Apart from this I also looked into the job potential and aspects of career growth in my field of interest. At the end of the day, along with satisfaction and pride in the work, it also needs to put a roof over our heads, clothes to cover ourselves, and food to keep us content – a financial stability for the future.

In spite of all the efforts and planning, the interests still varied and I wasn’t entirely sure about one particular field, hence I ended up pursuing a triple major in Psychology, Sociology and Economics. It’s important to remember that not being sure and being a little confused about your career choice is normal and completely acceptable. One should just work hard, put the required efforts into the studies, continue to work on improving the skill set and focus on personal growth. Let your heart and passion be the vehicles that take you to your destination of dreams and hopes, but most importantly let logic be the steering wheel.

 

My five feet tall mother carried me across the South African border removing me from the depths of poverty into the nourished lands of South Africa. Uneducated her options were limited but we always made due. She worked as a cleaner, a domestic worker and baby sitter. At the age of seven she whisked me off into the farms. She had gained employment as a domestic worker for a minister. The farm was an isolating place only truly home to the animals that roamed the land, grazing in the grass. Too fearful of the wrath of the ostrich that had chased me up and down the slope to many times for me to trust that it was no threat, ready to poke me if not strike me at any given moment. I hid in the solitary confinement of mine and my mother’s room. The silence bothersome and frightening led me to speaking out loud in order to drown it in my own voice. For what seemed like a very long time, that was my life.

Until the day everything changed. My mother had discovered a treasure map held in the key which was to open an unknown door. The door which was brown and made of oak tree turned out to the one to the left of our room. When we opened it, the door cricked and she swore me into silence. All we were going to do was look. There were rays of light in the room because the window was curtain-less. The was a spider web from the couch to the window. As we gazed into the room, petrified into silence we realised that this was a storage room cluttered in furniture and household items. Turning to our right my eyes met what was to become the most important item and aspect of my life. It was box shaped, its sides looked like they were made out of wood, the front of it was a glass screen. It had buttons at the bottom. I had seen it before but this time it felt like it could see me. A television set.

A television set is no ordinary thing to me. It saved my life. It made what am and continues to shape my identity every day. So, then years later at the very end of my adolescence I sat next to a lovely grey-haired man who asked me what my major was going to be. I said journalism because I wanted to return the favour. For the younger children that were now at home, without friends, without an education or simply seeking to be entertained. I wanted to create a platform that would embrace them as they are, while also creating a safe space for them. So, when I considered journalism and chose it as my major I did because I am passionate about television and journalism promised to provide me with all the skills needed in order for me to able to achieve my dreams.

I always think that my mother provided a lifeline for me when she jumped the border with me. She saved me from abject poverty and poor education. Although our life wasn’t easy, as we’ve lived without a home and my mother has never found a proper paying job. I know that travelling so far from home triggered wonder-lust in me. There is nothing more that I want do than to see all corners of the world. To meet the people in their common areas, appreciate our differences and similarities. Smile at the wonder that is life. But also investigate the truth and tell it to the world when it needs to be known. It is because I love travelling that wanted to be a documentarian to create documentaries that speak boundless truths to a thousand souls.

But when I began to do journalism I found myself waiting to learn how to be a documentarian until my first year was over, then my second, and then my third. Now finally in my fourth year I get to do what I have always wanted to make a documentary. Yet I am left feeling unsatisfied feeling like a greedy vampire that sucks a human dry of their blood, I want more! More time to learn, more time to experience television production, more time to explore my creativity. So, although my time at Rhodes University has come to end as I am in my final year, I realise that my time in the education sector as a higher education scholar has not. It was learning that I did not love journalism which made me realise that my true love stems from the more creative side of production. Film and Television to be exact. So, watch out for the films you watch in the next couple of years because it might have my name on the credits.

Finding my career major did not easily come to me. It was by trial and error. But there are whose mistakes to make in life if only they all lead you to truly finding yourself and where you belong in the world. And now all I can do, is wait for when the time right for me to share my stories with the little children who like I used to, are staring at the television set but for all the right reasons.

Career is a life time partner I ever thinking about in my whole life, because factors considered for the carrier are factors that are reflecting myself. If I fail to ask right and valid questions relating to my future carrier then, I may off track which result in facing consequences in future, it is like picking a wrong partner would be like eating hot chilli in the end which I would be regretting it all, therefore question ask must be related to the type of carrier expected. So some information are needed in developing when thinking of picking a right carrier is asking questions about myself. There a thousand of questions flowing through my mind in searching for a right carrier,  however in acquiring a job there a few important behaviour are needed to ask, and these questions are fold in 4 aspects, they are personal information questions, interpersonal information skill questions, sufficient knowledge information and education information.

Personal information questions are inquiries about my personal information and asking personal information is important to an organisation. In organisation people are working together for a particular purpose, so my personal information is important towards securing a right carrier. An example of personal question information is ‘What is my strength and weaknesses?’ in asking these personal questions it help me to know all about the positive and the negative about me. So, picking a right carrier is based on my personal information.

Interpersonal Skill information are questions inquiries about my abilities and abilities are capacities of capabilities of what I can perform for example, do I have the skill in performing the carrier? Is my skill right for the particular carrier? In asking these questions and answering these, they guided me to pick a right carrier based on my skill information.

Knowledge information questions are questions inquiries about my knowledge and understanding about a carrier. In gaining general knowledge about a particular subject I may ask myself is, ‘Do I have enough knowledge or relevant knowledge relates to the carrier? In asking these questions and answer, it helps me to pick a right carrier based on my knowledge and understanding information about the carrier.

Education back ground information is another important aspect about picking a right carrier. The information is about my education level. What qualification in education do I attained. Does my qualification qualify me enough to take up the carrier? In asking and answering these questions it help me to choose a right carrier based on my qualifications.

In making right decisions to what carrier is best for me I ask right questions relating to behaviour of each aspect as well as answering all questions appropriately accordingly to my understanding and my choice.

Finally the essay concludes that in deciding what carrier is right for me, I must ask myself some important questions that are relates to my future carrier and the first question of information I ask is based on my personal information, followed is my interpersonal skills information questions, then asking myself question relates to my knowledge skill information and finally with my educational information qualification questions.

All the best!