Starting life at Rhodes after my long-but-short six-week holiday in Johannesburg was a little bit of a shock to the system. Staying busy during the break helped acclimatise me to the huge influx of work I faced upon my return, though.
The five pieces I wrote for Activate's Politics and Business sections needed to be sourced and edited within two days of my return, which meant that interviews needed to be sniffed out, requested and held, along with my usual lectures and tutorials.
This, though, was not even the beginning of the work I needed to get stuck into when I came back. Last week, I had to complete and hand in applications for executive editorial positions for Activate along with CVs and cover letters for the two positions I am interested in - Politics editor and Opinions editor. I also had to get right back to writing stories for the next edition of Activate, as well as shoot, edit and compile and compelling little piece of multimedia work for Activate's online Opinions section concerning Rhodes's activism weeks, such as the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersexual) week that has just passed.
Along with this, I have been notified of an amazing opportunity offered by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation in the form of a study bursary or fellowship - covering tuition, residence, book fees, and an allowance. I have a very small chance of getting this sought-after fellowship, but a small chance is a chance nonetheless.
This weekend, I also went to look at a 'digs' (a house filled with students and debauchery) with some friends and Ben for next year. The digs is beautiful, with a massive six-bedroom house, a luscious, spacious garden, a one-person flat and a two-person flat. If all goes as planned, Ben and I will be signing the lease for the two-person flat this week. I will post pictures of the digs on Facebook once I have a small opportunity to catch my breath and catch up on my social networking. My digsmates - Katja, Lizzy, Jenna, Ben (Katz), my Ben, and Dwayne - are very cool and seem like the perfect people with which I would like to live, fight, laugh with and get to know.
I have also been offered a small - but very satisfying - job writing articles for online women's magazine Women Inc. about life lessons, books, products, and inspirational women. I now have a small addition to make to my pocket money and savings, which makes me feel a lot more grown-up and ready to take on new challenges in life.
This is an update on my academic and professional life.
An update on my personal life and emotional well-being? No news there. I still don't know who I am or what I want to do or be or say or think... So I'll just be sitting here, doing, thinking, being and saying exactly what I feel like. That is kind of what life is about - it'll happen, whether you're prepared for it or not. So, I'm enjoying this right now, just venturing off into the deliciously unknown, taking every step for exactly what it is - another step, another experience, another source of wonder, amusement, amazement, and new-found understanding about what it is to be human.
I'm very scared of my interview for the position of Politics editor - I don't ever seem to know quite enough, although reading the news daily has made a valuable contribution to my political knowledge.
**And the Monterey birches were there,
raising their skinny arms to the stars in surrender...**
