It has been a “long” two years filled with whines of the intensity, of a programme my fellow Matts would describe as for the “smarties”, which I argue with on some degree. But nonetheless everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The programme aims to target talent and polish it. I couldn’t agree more with the prior sentence. Prime example is myself. I have indeed discovered a “new me”, which I never thought existed in me. It pushed me to my breaking point, which is where the true being, traits and potential of a person is evident.
Waking up at 5am and going to bed at 21:30, every contact session. Walking in the cold corridors leading to the showers. That was indeed the hardest because my fellow matts, waking up isn’t nice at all. Eating breakfast in early morn to ready ourselves of the nothing else but over productive day. 80 minute lectures were highly effective because of lecturers who didn’t lecture us, but rather taught us.
“A healthy mind in a healthy body”, that one is to be attributed to the interchanging sport and hip hop sessions.
Building trebuchets and rockets that aims beyond the stars, steam propelled cars that propel us to our success in engineering. Questioning the norms with critical thinking in philosophy. Mastering the language to afford us remarkable power in language (English). Computing programmes of encryptions like the Caesar cypher in computer science, and so on the list the classes we had.
It essentially exposes and prepares one to a world that awaits us all (12th graders) next year. The horrifying transition we weren’t, some still aren’t ready for, tertiary education level.
But finally being able to graduate was the ultimate goal. The sweat and tears, backaches and blisters and all the whining has finally come to an end. Bidding farewell to our friends we have shared moments to be cherished was the epitome of sadness. Only one thing consoled us, that some of us will attend the same universities in a very few months. In essence, some goodbyes were temporary. It was a very sombre moment.
All in all, it has been a wonderful journey of life experiences and being prepared for the transition to varsity. I am forever grateful for being selected to participate in such a prestigious initiative.
By: Sibonise Gcilitshana
