Losing my grip

" The corridors of the Leslie Commerce building have given me such great joy, I have laughed and cried, even felt sometimes, the walls caving in. I'll be eternally grateful for the experiences I've had and the people I've met here. "

I've read stories about stars who have left shows at the height of the show's success. Amidst great adoration from lovely fans they felt themselves strongly faced with the challenge of choosing between growth and comfort.

Such an uncomfortable place to be in.

I recently found myself in the same space, caught between staying and going. It has been an interesting 4-stretching-yet-amazing years at UCT. I've had more opportunities to follow my heart than many.

The complexity in growing up lies in having to leave one's comfort zone, and trusting the journey ahead though for the moment you can't see anything. It is daunting, especially when you'd like the security of an income and the comfort of knowing that you are somewhat competent; yet exciting in a mysterious kind of way, this opportunity to start over and learn anew.

Almost 3 years into tutoring, 9 groups of students later, I know for sure that teaching is my calling. For the past couple of  weeks I have been bugging my deputy Head of Department to consider making me an academic trainee in 2016, despite the fact that at the moment students on my program are not eligible to apply.  This Monday I waltzed into his office offering a description of the duties I could undertake should he hire me. What he said to me next changed my life. He asked if hiring me would be aligned with where I want to go, my growth and what I want to do.

For the greatest time now I had been avoiding this question. I live from my spirit you see, I'm a heart driven person (unless it's in my heart I'll probably not do it). Had he asked me this question a year or 2 ago my answer would have been a straight 'yes', but for the past while my heart has been heavy, wanting to move  on (to grow), at the same time burdened with the responsibilities of helping out at home which require financial security. It has been a war with passion and growth. Not to say that I don't want to teach anymore, but that for the moment I sense strongly that I need to hone that skill by acquiring experiences outside university.

Cape Town for me has represented a step towards my dreams, when all I had ever known was my shack of a home, and the mountains in the far distance around us, and the images on the tellie that fueled  my dreams. I can see why I've wanted to maintain my grip on UCT. Even scarier than admitting to yourself that a certain environment will not grow you anymore ( or for the moment) is not knowing what your next journey is or will be.

I am enjoying what I'm studying at the moment. I'm just not sure where I'll end up with it. I know what my end goal is, I just need to think around my strategy to getting there, and pray. I've seen people go through the devastating motions, you know: go to school, find a job,  get married (if you are lucky ), live miserably (without any hope or purpose)and die.

I don't want that life for myself! There must be more. I want to keep my dreams. I want to live my dreams.

This is the fight. There's got to be more.

The corridors of the Leslie Commerce building have given me such great joy, I have laughed and cried, even felt, sometimes, the walls caving in. I'll be eternally grateful for the experiences I've had and the people I've met here. For now though I journey towards self discovery.