Mirror Miglactic

To Asanda

Greetings! I hope your plans for finishing your matric are coming together and that you have been studying hard for your trial exams at my former school, Indwe Secondary School in Mossel Bay.

For people like you and me, the gap between a high school and a tertiary institution environment is huge. It is a changing and growing process. It’s where you mature and make new friends, but I advise you never to forget your old friends, keep in touch with them, that will help you keep loneliness at bay. Like growing up, making friends has many challenges and responsibilities. They say you don’t have to be a superstar to be considered fun, but you need to be positive and friendly so that people can feel good when they are around you and make sure any time you talk to someone you have a chance at making a lasting friend (Don’t be picky).

You might ask yourself how you would know if the people you meet are true friends. In your first year of study in tertiary institution, you put yourself out there because friends don’t just come knocking at your door. You always walk alone because you don’t know anybody. In the meantime you meet this guy, he introduces himself and he asks to be your friend. Two weeks later the two of you become close friends; he is easy to get along with. You do the same subjects, walk to lectures and eat together. But you never talk about each other’s “love life”. 8 months later he tells you that he has developed feelings for you. You considered him as a brother but now you are confused and you don’t know what he expects you to do. Both of you ease your way out of the friendship as gracefully as possible.

I thought maybe you should take into account these issues whenever you are coming to Rhodes University and you want to make a new lasting friend. I will leave you to it. We’ll see each other in my second year, that’s if I make it through.
Regards

Asanda “Mshefi” Maki