Going against all odds
Tsoanyane is glad that she did not give up on her dreams of becoming a teacher.
Tsoanyane Itumeleng writes:
My name is Tsoanyane Itumeleng, I studied Bachelor of Education specialising in Senior and FET at The University of the Witwatersrand. I started studying the course in 2019 and completed it in 2022.
The first year of being at varsity was the most challenging and depressing year of my entire life. I could not adapt to the varsity environment, work pace, and workload. Everything was going at a faster pace than when I was in high school and the work was a lot and difficult. Due to not being able to adjust to varsity life, I ended up being depressed and attempting suicide. My first year was tough but the support I received from friends and family helped me.
I started doing extremely well from my second year until my fourth (final) year. I started to adjust and as a result, I did very well in my studies and was in the top 15% of the university and received a Golden Key award for my good grades. Although I had adjusted and was doing well in my studies, challenges, anxiety and depression caused by the fear of failure did not stop or end. I used to go to counselling at what we call the CCDU(Counselling and Career Development Unit) at Wits, which is the programme that helps students deal with anxiety and depression, and their time management (everything that affects students’ studies).
The fear of failure encouraged me to keep on pushing harder and working smarter at all times. The course of studying for my degree taught me that perseverance, being proactive, setting goals and working towards achieving them and ensuring that my everyday activities align with them is very important.
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