By Lebidike Phathudi,
Dear Matric Class of 2023
You and I know one certain thing that is going to occur from now early next year, each and every one of you will be up late at night waiting for the delivery of your results that will confirm your fate.
You will be anxious to see what the results say, to see how well you have done and excited at the prospects of what the future holds, you will be glad to finally get your ‘entry’ ticket into the big world, where for the first time in your life mom and dad will no longer be there to make decisions for you, but rather be there to guide you. In time what will be the longest, most pressured, exciting, and significant year of your high school career, will come to a close and will soon be a fading memory, and where you will be at that point is a choice left entirely up to you.
You see, I have come to learn and profoundly respect the power of ‘choice’. This one word sent Nelson Mandela to prison for 27 years because he chose to believing in something that a once powerful government opposed, and it equally made him a President, it has seen orphans go through school, persist through university and finally become successful business people, this one word has seen powerful government regimes collapse and student movements effect change, history can give you an infinite example of what choice can do and has done.
And it is because of this that I can without a doubt say, that if you make the right choices, wherever it is you want your life to lead, you WILL get there. The extent of your success is literally up to you, and when it gets tough, it is ultimately your choice to continue pushing forward.
Life is weird, it places us in circumstances where we may be fooled to think that our surroundings is an indication of the extent that we can go, however, it selfishly does not tell us that whoever we are, and wherever we are, we can simply choose to make it all better.
From this day on, everyday you are given a chance to make a good choice. And for once in your life, for each day you make a choice, will either add or subtract to the emotions you feel four months from now. IT IS YOU WHO DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY, and it is now that your destiny is desperately calling you to make good choices.
Work hard, and if you think you work hard, you’re not working hard enough! Do whatever it takes to make sure that this year is a success and most importantly remember…
It isn’t rocket science; it is merely a choice!
