A personal symbol of “Life After Nova Pioneer” for myself and those close to me was the day I finally cut my peculiar, nappy dreads off. It was on that normal day in the first month of a surreal year that I matched the next chapter of my life with an adjustment to  my physical appearance. Dreads that had become so synonymous with my story and eccentric period at Nova Pioneer, had reached their noble culmination which coincided with the exordium of my academic career in Law, at arguably the most acclaimed tertiary institution in South Africa, the University of Witwatersrand. 

The Rapid Shift

The scale of the transition to university has been unprecedented, in keeping with the theme of the unforgettable year of 2020. The rapid shift from two months of contact learning to online learning, the mental adaptation necessary to get accustomed to living at home again, the high cognitive demands of a law degree – all of this alongside the strange practicalities of living in a COVID-19 world have all been challenges I have grappled with in my first year at Wits. Obviously though, my challenges are extremely trivial relative to the horror many families and individuals all around the world have experienced at this time.

Personal Growth and Improvement

This reality has added an additional emotional strain on my empathetic nature so much so that I decided to stop watching the news about a month ago, as one of the limited things I can control at this time is my emotional and mental well-being. My partial oblivion to world affairs which have become so distraught, has allowed me greater psychological space to enjoy the mere simplicity of life like reading books. These reads include, “The Land Is Ours” by Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, “Sula” by Toni Morrison and “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the most so far. In this way, perhaps, the lockdown has been a productive time for my personal growth and improvement, despite the unfortunate events that caused it. 

A New World

As I continue the online learning programme, I remain hopeful and pray for better days for our feeble world at this moment. If we, as a human race, can come out of this historic predicament with more empathy and fortitude, a genuine appreciation of unity, equality and how much we actually need each other, then perhaps this disastrous year would have aided our mentalities and outlooks on life for the better. Perhaps, if we can return to a normal world with greater awareness and an authentic willingness to eradicate the evils of our country, and the world at large, such as corruption, racial injustices, gender-based violence and poverty to name a few, then we would have probably used this dark period in our lives to come to terms with the subtle realities of the world we live in and acknowledge the need for real change. 

I shall end with a couple of lines from a song I think encapsulates the remarkably strange times we’re in: 

“Streams running down my eyes think I’m losing faith

But God is always on time no he’s never late

This epidemic had my mind in another place

Put some love in the world let it marinate”

– Kofi Stone, Diamonds in the Water

Thanks for reading, stay safe, stay hopeful and spread love. The world needs it, especially at such extraordinary times. 

Check out our webinars where our alumni from both South Africa and Kenya discuss life after Nova Pioneer.