Survival of the Fresher

First years are easily misdirected ________________________________________________________________

Young people come to universities to experiment as well as to discover themselves. First years usually come to universities confused and unsure of themselves. They do everything with the intention to please other people so as to be accepted and be deemed normal. In the process of discovering themselves they get lost in a haze. “First years are very confused and seriously need their heads to be read”, says Tavonga.

Young people come to universities at a very crucial stage in their lives. They want to prove that they are capable of handling their independence and that they can make proper decisions without their parents’ interference and guidance. The stage being referred to here is the stage between being a teenager and becoming an adult. This stage is very confusing. People believe that they are doing what they want where as unknowingly they are doing what they are doing to please other people, the pressure is high and there is little resistance. They want to prove that they are cool and they want to be accepted by those around them.

Most first years like me have been living under their parents’ protection for the last 18 or 19 years of their lives. They do not know how to handle pressure and how to distinguish between when they are doing things for themselves and when they are doing them to impress other people. They fall under this trap without them realising it, because they think that they are doing what they want to do or things that are cool, but they forget to ask themselves who gets to say what is cool and who is cool.

When you get to university, you find that certain things have been classified and put into different categories e.g. coolness and uncool. These categories are implemented and put into place by older students but first years usually fall into this trap with the delusion that they have voluntarily fallen under this category but you find that it is not the case. This is because we hear the things being said about certain people and we see how they are treated. This is peer pressure in disguise because the minute you hear bad things being said about a certain group you immediately have to reconsider your stance. You have to do what is being done by the majority.

First years are faced with the challenge of choosing what is right by them and other people around them. The onus lies on them to make the right decision even though the decision is not completely theirs. They do everything with the intention of impressing others and making their lives simple. If an older student tells them that it is good to start partying on a Wednesday they not question they just agree to it because they do not want to be seen as uncool, boring or dull. This statement does not apply to all first years but it happens and applies to most of them without them realising it.

posted by Sam at 4:23 PM >1 comments

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