Next year we, the matric class of 2016, will face a series of pressing issues in our country head-on, writes Danelle Plaatjies.
Fears concerning university placement, university protests and job security come to mind when looking toward 2017.
A lot of the same decisions exist that matric classes before us had to face, but they are now met with new challenges.
Fresh from high school, our futures always seem to concern our minds and now more than ever before we have to try and shape our futures.
Coming from high school where a certain routine has been embedded into us all, there stands a great sense of fear amongst all of our excitement. Our futures are already quite uncertain and what seems like chaos in the university environment at the moment acts as an additional stressor – not for the reasons most adults would guess but rather for the inner conflicts that we face as students and whether things will pan out as we hope they will.
The inner conflict revolves around whether or not we will be bystanders of the #FeesMustFall movement or active participants and when we choose between the two how this decision will affect our future and careers.
We are faced with pressures to conform and fit into the university environment while also wanting to experience a worthwhile academic journey and achieve as much security in our futures as possible. We thus face an inner debate of which route will lead to the best outcome for our university life and beyond.
The truth is that as outsiders to the movement we, the Matric Class of 2016, do not truly understand it. The only exposure we’ve received is through news reports, word of mouth, social media outlets and newspapers (believe it or not 18-year-olds still read these). Every report has come from the perspective of personal opinion and interpretation of events.
Students are right, the media is right, various organs of government are right and the third party individuals ranting on social media are right too. We thus will only know what is really true once we enter this environment and in this realisation, fears of whether or not this truth is what we want or are able to handle arise.
Furthermore, in living in isolation of the issue, we place it in the back of our minds, only causing worry every time we see a report or social media post on the matter.
Many of us try to not to think about it to avoid the stress or worry that comes with it in light of the already stressful anticipation of our final examination results.
However, as outsiders we are still able to sense that we are entering an environment filled with tension and animosity and in which we have to make difficult decisions once we enter while still coping with the drastic change in scenery. Unlike before where after a few months you adapt to certain routine, the current university environment promises an irregular routine that will be difficult adapt to.
All that we can do now is wait for our final examination results and hope that the changes that arise next year will allow for the bettering of our futures rather than proving our fears to have been correct.
* Calling the matric class of 2016! Tell us how you feel about your future in South Africa. Submit a short video or write a maximum of 500 words and mail us at iolletters@inl.co.za