Struck by a particularly poignant piece of writing in our campus newspaper I descended into an unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome bout of nostalgia. This is my fourth year and university, my fifth out of school and the 24th year of my life and more than ever before I can see clearly the paths I have taken in the past; there is tangible experience of how far I’ve come. Whether it be in the dreams that I’ve accomplished or the hopes that have failed to materialise there dwells within me deep realisation of being a man altered. When I look back at university I’ll see how I survived fires and epidemics, how I’ve grown the deepest friendships of my life, how I’ve learned to laugh at the heartbreaking things and cry with joy at beauty revealed. I’ve grown enough to write that last line without feeling like I need to make a joke to balance it out (okay, almost without feeling like I need to make a joke). I’ve learnt to eat residence food and how to cook decent food of my own. I’ve learnt that it’s nearly impossible to look cool while dancing and that not looking cool while dancing is awesome. I’ve travelled to Namibia and I’ve returned home and both felt good. While studying law and accounting I’ve sat in on History, English, Actuarial Science and Decision Making and Value Studies classes. I’ve danced until the early hours of the morning and I’ve sat by a fireside just talking. I’ve got my own column in the campus newspaper which I’m discovering is being read by more than just the three people who I assumed read it. Life is worthy of a smile of three.
While many things have moved in a definite linear motion some things have come full circle: Just like Grade 7 I have a pet rat who has managed to build a decent fan-base. Once again my life is filled with in-jokes to the point of being utterly incomprehensible. As always, God is a vital renewing force in my life.
Next year my sister joins me (an event I’m sure excites me more than it does her) and another year of Stellenbosch begins. As I prepare to go to class in a suit (it’s International Suit Day – probably not a real thing) I can take stock of a life filled with humour, randomness, irony (possibly, I’m not sure), complications and above all joy. That’s a good life to look back on.