To the students leaving university

When the pen ???drops, and the student has finally ventured through their answers several times, checking and rechecking, she is content finally… she is content that there isn’t any aha moment?? that would dare make its turn where she would find herself miraculously remembering the answer to that grim question.

She has done her best and continues with her strides to hand in her paper, her last paper she is indeed content… That’s how I felt when I wrote my last paper for my honours degree in 2018 at the North West University, I had spent five years of my life trying to figure myself out, it was in this environment where I was bred, raised and groomed to the kind of woman today that I am most proud of.??

I look back throughout the years where my academic journey began at January of 2014, a timid 19 year old dragging her hefty luggage with it came the baggage that she had carried all the from home trudging through those university gates in the hopes of finding a school in a province she has never visited, a town she had never heard of and a language she didn’t understand.

I just wanted to be educated… I wanted to become a professional at something it didn’t matter what at that time , I didn’t have the privilege of choice so when I took a complete 180 degrees turn changing my degree after my graduation into the hope of venturing into the field of industrial psychology, I am forever grateful that I had executed my greatest career move thus far I was a queen in my chess game I had free will and autonomy in my life.

It all came into a full circle ??moment as I find myself going back to the same school to further my education I am always evolving and I am always becoming.

There is so much beauty in having clarity my friends, when you are clear of what path?? you want to follow the universe?? unbolts its treasures to back you up in your journey.

I had seen it happen to me numerous times throughout last year as a student, and this year as a young professional it was when I was willing to be courageous, when I dared to dream?? and started planning my career writing down all the skills that I sucked at and creating clear thought out plan on how I was going to develop and improve myself to start living into the person I needed to be to.

??It was when I was ready to become a steward of life ready to start investing in my own career and mental health ??that’s where I had learnt my greatest lessons thus far.

The beauty of writing your dreams down and architecturally constructing those visions that continuously invade your head space, I am talking about those day dreams where I see myself living in a luxury golf estate somewhere. ??

Dreaming is beautiful my friends, when I dream it’s not just a picture of me, it’s my life story that I have carefully crafted for myself and in my story features my Porsche SUV and my husband’s sport car parked in front of our modern house. Its the kind of dream where every square inch of my house seems too familiar in my head from the Italian stone tiles on my kitchen floor to the marble in my master bathroom.

I live in my head, I am an intuitive thinker, no one can take that picturesque image out of my head it is my daily dose of fuel that keeps me going. It’s my mental vision board so when I dropped my last pen on my last exam in 2018, I was already at a mental space where everything that I wanted for myself at that moment had already been manifested. The security of knowing I had a job next year is a graduate’s greatest relief and the fact I had already played some of my most vital chess moves laying down the foundation in crafting my career reassured me that I was on the right track and I am doing something right.

??"So, what happens now?"

??"What happens after you last exam, you may ask, where do I begin the cleanse…"

??"Do I perhaps start with my contact list?"

??"Do I start by deleting those annoying academic Whats App groups?"

??"How should I decide whom is allowed on my next chapter in my life?"

??"Olwethu which networks should I secure?"

Do you start with the people you haven’t spoken to over 6 months and for some of you this may include your now ex roommate it is ok my friend we don’t need that negative energy floating in our contact list?

Perhaps the classmates or people you only say hi to because my friends if you had never extended the depth of conversation between these people it won’t happen anytime soon- but don’t be quick to close that door life has a funny way of evolving keep that door open on platforms such as LinkedIn that can be a great foundation for building a professional network within your field.

After my de-cluttering I was left with less than 10 people on my contact list and yes a lot of introspection took place because I was able to differentiate between surfaced relationships those are the associates that will only remain on my social media and my people, my tribe the people who deserved a spot on my contact list.

Or you can do what my little sister did at the end of this month she bought a new sim card and carefully handpicked the people that she likes and wanted to continue building a relationship with, the rest of the people she left behind in her old sim card in they will not be with her in 2020 - well in her own words- “Girl bye”??????

You begin to re-evaluate the depth of your relationships and the people who continue to bring meaning in your life whether as mentors or people who are inspirational to have around as they are the definition of what it means to be a beacon of success, we want those flourishing individuals on our contact list, within our inner circles they deserve a seat on our new journey.

As you continue writing your new chapter in your life story remember this one notion, your career started at university and you my friend was an outlier sifted through thousands of job seekers to earn your rightful place in the job market.

Sometimes it meant you having to work multiple jobs part time, joining student committees you may have earned the right to be called comrade by your fellow students and sometimes a traitor lol depending how deep you were into student politics one thing you cannot deny yourself were the unkempt lessons that you carry with you even today from those experiences.

? Those memories continue to hold purpose it encompasses your very being they define your journey and as you start from the very bottom in a new organization where no one knows you.

? You can re-craft your career and start again, redefining yourself as a personal brand of the values you hold dear and the personal boundaries no one should dare to cross make your new colleagues aware of who you are and what you stand for.

? Ask yourself what lessons, skill, knowledge I want learn in this organization and what experiences I want to take with me during my time here.

For me personally I consider myself to be a multi passionate individual I have understood something quite profound about myself and that is a 9 to 5 will never be able to butter both sides of my bread and livelihood, this new revelation surfaced when I was willing take on three jobs while I was studying towards my postgraduate degree full time in 2018.

The mere fact is I love keeping busy and yes, making a bit of money?? never hurt anyone. So, side hustles will always be part of my life as I hope they will eventually culminate in crafting the type of career I want for myself in the future.

?I refuse to self- destruct in my twenties

?I refuse to make knowingly immature decisions based on the mantra “You only live once"

?I refuse to get in debt in the effort of trying to impress an unknown audience.

??These questions continue to ruminate in my head, how I am going to separate myself from the crowd?

??I am willing to live like no else, so I can be like no one else?

??Am I eager to put in the work today, so I can live the kind of lifestyle I had always wanted and what will those sacrifices be?

As you leave university to enter into the job market what are my plans on your personal and career development? What about my thoughts on financial literacy?

These are the type of questions that keep encircling my mind constantly, I have started working towards my vision board because science does support this statistic that you are 45% more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down.

? Stay on your game my friend, continue riding on your own lane, avoiding the distractions around you, block the noise of” I am not good enough”, block of the noise of self-comparison.

Because once you become the only voice that you hear its volume becomes so loud and clear that none of the critics will matter, continue working SILENTLY. ???

What I want you to know my friend is to know that you will not be alone in this journey I will be right here alongside teaching you, giving you the tools and resources to start crafting a life of meaning and growth.

I am so excited about the growth we will start seeing in each other I want to know on the comment section what career move are you most proud of that you have made so far this year to propel yourself forward? What career related topics would you like me to delve into during this festive season?

??Side note: Stay tuned for my video I will be posting this coming Monday on my top 10 lessons I have learnt while working in my very 1st job this will prove useful for all my ambitious students who will be entering the job market early next year.

If you enjoyed the content of this article, please make sure to hit the like button and share this article so other ambitious professionals like yourself can benefit from this content and don’t forget to follow me on my profile so you can be updated whenever I post new content- Happy Friday everyone!