University of Life

Writer: Nonzuzo Dlamini

I read somewhere that we keep making the same mistakes until we learn our lessons and so I thought: how many lessons do we learn in one day and I’m not talking about the lectures where we go and pretend to be listening to the lecturer when all we actually want to do is put our signature on the register and leave (that’s if you couldn’t get someone to sign for you). Each and every day offers a chance to learn and often we are too busy trying to figure things out, we never really learn lessons and that’s why we never stop making the same mistakes. I recently spent half of my day stuck at E.G Malherbe library typing up an assignment which I was to submit the following day (It’s relevant to add that we were given this assignment right at the beginning of the semester). People arrived and left and I was still sitting in the same spot typing away. There was that thrill that comes with that adrenalin rush which comes with rushing to meet a deadline but the reality was I was in fact another one of those people who complain about never having time but never really spend their time doing productive things – the procrastinator. The deadline was met (with the aid of Coffee and some copying and pasting) but the cycle continued to another assignment and it was at that point that I finally learnt the essence of the saying, “Procrastination is the thief of time”. How many of us have that thing that you’ve been meaning to do but never quite find the time to do it? Perhaps it’s starting to save some of your extra cash, maybe it’s quitting bad habits like biting your nails, smoking or overcoming that addiction you have with shoes or beer or maybe you’ve been meaning to start something new, maybe start going to the gym or like students always say when a new year starts, devote more time to your studies? Perhaps it’s telling that special someone just how much they mean to you or that over-demanding, underpaying boss just what you think of them? (I don’t advise that unless you have something to fall back on. It’s tough economic times). Truth is we all have those things we either need or want to do but we never really do them, sometimes it’s fear and sometimes it’s just pure laziness. If its fear, I ask you, what would you do if you weren’t afraid? When you have the answer to that, go out and like Nike says: Just do it! (On condition that it puts you in no trouble with either your value system or the law).Go out live and take note of the lessons life has to teach you. Tertiary education gets us qualifications, jobs and all the things money can buy (well, most of them) but it’s the University of life that grooms us to be people and take all the things life throws at us when we aren’t making busy making money…