Raisa Meiswinkel is anything but your typical Rhodes student although you might be fooled by her Cartman t-shirt and friendly attitude. At the age of twenty she is a perceptive young mind that says of herself “I see life in binaries, everything is black or white while I am one huge grey area”. She is a character that has been through many changes and taken many paths all of which have shaped her into who she is today… a survivor.
Lying on her red and orange bed while I sit in a chair opposite things begin with an air of meeting with your physiatrist. The only difference would be that Raisa does not have to be forced to talk as she answers questions enthusiastically and openly. We pick up her story at the tender age of sixteen when she left Port Elizabeth to live in Pretoria on her own so that she could attend the Pro-Arte Alphen School of Arts. “It was the best and worst experience for me the art was great but I was still young, vulnerable and easily manipulated” It was not long before she had a lip ring, dyed her hair black and started experimenting with drugs. She thought she could handle being on her own in Pretoria but looking back she realises that that was not the case but at least she has learnt enough from her experiences to realise that now. With the help of her mother she moved back to Port Elizabeth and started at another school.
It was after finishing her matric at The Hill College and with her extreme rebellious stage behind her that she started at Rhodes University. To say that the decision to attend Rhodes was easy and that it has been easy being here would be an understatement. Torn between two professions Raisa had to make a choice Rhodes or AAA. “I wanted to go to AAA; I had already filled in all the forms and started working on my portfolio”. It was the best place for her to go to fulfil her art and design dreams but she decided that she would give Rhodes a chance as it was closer to home and her aptitude tests had suggested that it would be better for her stress levels (which according to her can get quite high). She explains “I am hoping that by taking the academic route I will still end up at my design destination”.
Looking directly at me she admits that “arriving at Rhodes was a real low for me I don’t think I had mentally prepared myself for what was to come”. Although things were rather rocky in the beginning and it has been difficult to adjust it has not been all bad. “I am amazed at how I am absorbing information” she responds with a smile that crackles with electricity. The academic stimulate is what keeps her going as one of her happiest moments at Rhodes has been when she received her exam results. This reminds her of the time at The Hill College when she received 100% for a business project. Sitting up quickly to tell the story she says “The principal told me that I was one of the five people that he had ever given 100% in his teaching career. That made me feel like it was all worth it”.
Whether Raisa will be continue with her Journalism degree here at Rhodes is a question that she asks herself daily. Taking a deep breath she says “I need to do a lot of soul searching over the holidays and decide what I really want to do. Life is too short to stick to something that doesn’t make you happy.” But on the other hand she accepts that if the next few years will get her where she wants to be then they are a necessary evil. The only thing she does not want is to be here for the wrong reasons. She explains this further as “most people are out to prove themselves to others whereas the only people they have to prove anything to is themselves”. This is the lesson that she has leant the hard way but through perseverance and a support network she has survived. And found a way to live her life for herself.
Lying on her red and orange bed while I sit in a chair opposite things begin with an air of meeting with your physiatrist. The only difference would be that Raisa does not have to be forced to talk as she answers questions enthusiastically and openly. We pick up her story at the tender age of sixteen when she left Port Elizabeth to live in Pretoria on her own so that she could attend the Pro-Arte Alphen School of Arts. “It was the best and worst experience for me the art was great but I was still young, vulnerable and easily manipulated” It was not long before she had a lip ring, dyed her hair black and started experimenting with drugs. She thought she could handle being on her own in Pretoria but looking back she realises that that was not the case but at least she has learnt enough from her experiences to realise that now. With the help of her mother she moved back to Port Elizabeth and started at another school.
It was after finishing her matric at The Hill College and with her extreme rebellious stage behind her that she started at Rhodes University. To say that the decision to attend Rhodes was easy and that it has been easy being here would be an understatement. Torn between two professions Raisa had to make a choice Rhodes or AAA. “I wanted to go to AAA; I had already filled in all the forms and started working on my portfolio”. It was the best place for her to go to fulfil her art and design dreams but she decided that she would give Rhodes a chance as it was closer to home and her aptitude tests had suggested that it would be better for her stress levels (which according to her can get quite high). She explains “I am hoping that by taking the academic route I will still end up at my design destination”.
Looking directly at me she admits that “arriving at Rhodes was a real low for me I don’t think I had mentally prepared myself for what was to come”. Although things were rather rocky in the beginning and it has been difficult to adjust it has not been all bad. “I am amazed at how I am absorbing information” she responds with a smile that crackles with electricity. The academic stimulate is what keeps her going as one of her happiest moments at Rhodes has been when she received her exam results. This reminds her of the time at The Hill College when she received 100% for a business project. Sitting up quickly to tell the story she says “The principal told me that I was one of the five people that he had ever given 100% in his teaching career. That made me feel like it was all worth it”.
Whether Raisa will be continue with her Journalism degree here at Rhodes is a question that she asks herself daily. Taking a deep breath she says “I need to do a lot of soul searching over the holidays and decide what I really want to do. Life is too short to stick to something that doesn’t make you happy.” But on the other hand she accepts that if the next few years will get her where she wants to be then they are a necessary evil. The only thing she does not want is to be here for the wrong reasons. She explains this further as “most people are out to prove themselves to others whereas the only people they have to prove anything to is themselves”. This is the lesson that she has leant the hard way but through perseverance and a support network she has survived. And found a way to live her life for herself.
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1 comment:
The story of 'surviving' appealed to me as it highlights and emphasises the features of a true hero and survivor.The writer focuses on Raisas overwhelming experiences by employing the Russian folklorist Propp's idea of a hero overcoming a tragic incident and coming to a significant resolution at the end.The writer also adopts Todorov's 5 stages of equilibrium, wherby the initial equilibrium is when she moved to pretoria to attend an Arts school.There were several disruptions such as having a lip ring, dying her hair and experimenting with drugs. Raisa recognised these disruptions and attempted to resolve them with the help of her mother which led to her changing schools. Although Raisa would like to carry on with her art,she is not quite sure what she wants to do,but im sure with her positive attitude she will make the right choice!
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