When dreams have to be put on hold

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

When you know you have given your all, there is nothing more you can do.

I have failed my accounting exam. I have failed. I cannot write the rewrite, because we will be in San Antonio Texas! In your final year, you sometimes get a second rewrite, but you have to write the first rewrite and fail to get the opportunity to the second rewrite.

Unfortunately, I cannot write the first rewrite, which means I have to do it again next year. I was planning to Au pair in the Netherlands next year and travel the world a bit. But that dream has to be put on hold.

Everything happens for a reason. Therefore, I will make the best of this major  minor set back. I will get a job close to the university or maybe at the university if I am lucky. I will complete accounting and maybe do a creative course or two in Communication related things. But while I'm working, I will try to save loads of money to travel the world in 2017.

I will make the best of this set back, like I said, everything happens for a reason. Maybe I will save enough money to have a royal time overseas. Haha wishful thinking! The Rand is so weak against the Dollar, Pound and Euro that our money means almost nothing! But every bit helps!

I shall make the best of 2016! Nothing will get me down! Challenge accepted!

Where has the semester gone???

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end the faster it goes." Anonymous.
Mr. Anonymous, never have you been more right than with this quote!

Oh man, just the other day I started with my post-graduate diploma in management, just figuring out how to wrap this arty, communication brain around business subjects and all things management. Changing my way of thinking. Making new friends and trying to keep up with the old.

And in a wink of an eye: here I am, beginning to stress for exam preparations!!! Like HELLO! Where has the semester gone? How has 6 months gone by so fast? Have I been sleeping for half of the time?

Exams are starting in a week. Scary!

Like I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I am struggling with Accounting. Never in my life have I worked so hard to master a subject and then failing miserably in it. Usually hard work pays off. We wrote our last test on Thursday. The test of Thursday will determine whether or not I have enough marks to write the Accounting exam. If I didn't pass the test, then I will not be getting my diploma at the end of the year, because I will still have to complete Accounting. So, I am holding thumbs, toes and hair that I have passed the test! I want this year to be my final year, please!

In my other subjects I am doing so good! Getting distinctions all the way. My other subjects are Economics, General Management, Information management systems and Strategic management. Never in my degree of Communications have I gotten distinctions for my subjects, so it feels really good that hard work is being reflected... (except for Accounting, of course!).

I will be making this exams successful, so I can fully enjoy my holiday in San Antonio, Texas with my family and my uncle, who we will be visiting!

Please hold thumbs that I get those grades for Accounting, it will give me the fighting chance to conquer my exams!!! It will also give me reason to celebrate in San Antonio!

I hope you all have great and successful exams and that the holidays will be as glorious as mine will be!

Has your passion gone MIA (missing in action)?

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style" -Maya Angelou

Lately, my friends and I have been feeling like we have lost our passion. I have been wondering if I'm doing the right diploma. Is this what I really what I want to do? The hard work and late nights is making me doubt in myself and in my skills. 

I completed my studies in Communications last year and this year I'm doing a post-graduate diploma in management. In this course we have subjects like Accounting and Economics. And with all honesty I have realized that I am through and through a Communications person. Because I don't like accounting or economics.

I have been doing some introspection and trying to figure out where my passion really lies. With all my Communication studies and trying out all the fields of communication, I have realized that I want to become a Public Relations Officer. I want to do campaigns, write opinion pieces and organize press releases. Yes, I really believe that this is what I want to do. If I can't do that then I'll be happy to become a social media coordinator for any company. Social media is my jam!

My passion is: I love to blog, and doing all things social media! I am doing the social media of the residence and I have the title as the Social Media Coordinator, sounds fancy right? I feel fancy too!
My other passion is that I want to travel the world and see the wonders of the amazing Earth we live on! I have a wanderlust in me that is really hard to explain.

The question is: What is YOUR passion?

I have come across an article, who gives tips on How to regain your passion for life and everything else. View link here

There are 2 ways:

1. Give yourself permission. 

Give yourself permission to go after your passion each and every day. Remind yourself what you really want from life.

2. Symptoms not the Cause.

"Symptoms not the Cause: Getting out of your Story." We all have our stories and these stories support our actions, so we often times feel justified in how our life looks and why we don’t have what we want. Many call this being the victim. The first step in getting out of your story is being aware of your story.

"I challenge you to push past your story and uncover what it is that you are truly afraid of, could it be fear of failure, fear of being alone, fear of embarrassment. Once you have identified the fear you can begin to work on the real issue and begin setting the foundation to have all that you desire.

The author is still to release 3 more tips. But I think these two tips are already something which we can try and see how it works!

Life can get busy and we sometimes forget why we are doing something. Try to remind yourself daily why you are doing this. Is this your passion or merely a way of reaching your ideal life where you can live out your passion? 

Communication degree: COMPLETED!

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

On Thursday I wrote my last test for my communication degree, I wanted to scream with joy after the test, but I had to be considerate of the other people who were still writing. But on the inside I was screaming of joy!

I MADE IT THIS FAR!!!!!

Blood, sweat and tears were all part of my degree. So were all-nighters, calls to mom crying my eyes out, running like an Olympic champion to give projects in on time. and also going to write an exam for the second time, because I failed the first exam.

Yes, it wasn't always easy, but there were more good times than bad. I made amazing friends, who will be my bridesmaids. I have fallen in love and also fallen out of love. I have learned to replace my "what if's" with "Oh well's". I realized that it is fine to not know what the future holds and to simply tackle each day as it comes. I discovered myself.

My amazing group of friends

We had a lot of group projects this year and in previous years, we had people in our group who did nothing and we were stuck with all the work. This year we had the perfect group and they became my best friends (See photo above). We worked very hard, but also played hard. Without that combination I would've drowned.

Unfortunately, some of my friends are not going to study further and my last goodbye's have been said. But most of my friends will be staying on and doing their Honours or a diploma of some kind.
I will also be making new friends next year when I am doing my post-graduate diploma in management.

I look forward to the adventures and the unknown awaiting me next year. I am also gonna complete my bucket list for university. This song is my motto for next year:

But that is next year! Now, I am going to enjoy my 2 months vacation and spend some time with my amazing family and friends from home.

Surviving in a residence

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

I am a third and final year Communication student and since my first year, I’ve been staying in a hostel. An all-ladies hostel. Meaning hormones, moodiness, back-stabbing, but also so much love and friendships... I've also met my bridesmaids here. 

My hostel is the home to 260 unique ladies and that means unique things happen and you learn your lesson very fast here. Here are the things that my friends and I have learned:

• ·         Sometimes it’s better to not see/hear anything (Jonanke)
• ·         Never leave your dishes in the kitchen, no matter how insignicant you think it is, it will disappear (Mart-Mari)
• ·         There is not really ghosts in the residence, but yet you sometimes believe it (Toni)
• ·         People who do not live in residences will never really know what goes on there (Hanri)
•        Never stay next to the balcony, because you will have people constantly smoking next to you and chatting very loud (Mone)
• ·         You get one toilet roll per week. TOILET ROLLS ARE GOLDEN! If you accidentally forget them in the bathroom, they will be gone by the time you go looking for them.
• ·         Silence is not golden.
• ·         It is totally acceptable to walk in pajamas all day long or slip into your pajamas any time of the day.
•        The more you participate, the more friends you will make.
•        The more you participate, the more fun you will have.
• ·         Bathing is too much cleaning work (because people don't clean after themselves) and it takes too long to take a bath. SHOWER INSTEAD.
• ·         The walls are thin. Watch what you say and keep your music down or you will have angry neighbors.
• ·         There will be someone studying the same as you, so get yourself a study buddy to make things a bit easier.
• ·         Buy some earplugs for noisy nights.
• ·         You will have a lot of friends in the residence, so doing projects can sometimes be hard when they pop.
• ·         Having a tidy room, makes you more positive and feel task-oriented.
• ·         If you go to sleep before 11 pm, people will ask you if you're sick. NO ONE SLEEPS EARLY.
• ·         Watching scary movies is not great when returning to the residence. A residence is scary by nature.
• ·         Watching a lot of series' is acceptable.
• ·         Being up to date with ALL the movies and series is acceptable.
• ·         Great food is scarce.
• ·         Having an almost empty fridge is common and not strange. Fridges mostly contain sauces and food that no one wants to eat.

·      I would not have preferred to stay anywhere else, it is so much fun to participate in activities and all the friends that one makes, makes life worth the while.

Living in a residence makes you part of something fun, you will have stories to tell your children one day. Living in a residence has taught me many lessons and how to work with other people.

Also check out my post about the things that university guides will never teach you.

Free food, massage spa's... being a shadow is great!

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

For this week, I'm shadowing/interning at Flow and I've been enjoying it a lot. I wrote a blog post on Monday about my first day, but never wrote a post about yesterday.
Why? Because this was me almost the whole day:

Typing away and doing research

But today was quite different, I had a jam-packed day. This morning started off with another opinion piece of a wonderful entrepreneur, who has great ideas for the future. Later in the day Street Chef came to the offices and made some nice Thai Red Chicken with Basmati rice, it was so delicious! I love the concept of Street Chef! You can check them out on twitter @5star_chef.

Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, we had a walk-through at enmasse (No, it shouldn't be with a capital letter), they are a spa, unlike any other you have ever been to

Selfie at enmasse

Being rebel in the quiet massaging-area

enmasse's chocolate tea= amazing!

Feet up while being served the tea

I was also in meetings, which were also interesting, because people are interesting! Anyway that was my day in the life of a shadow/intern at Flow. And man, am I loving it! I can really get used to this! 

Who thought job shadowing can be this fun?

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

In one day I learnt how to write a press release, how to evaluate a company's website, as well as how to handle corporate people when you criticize their website, social media presence as well as their digital marketing.

Day 1 of shadowing

In the beginning of this semester, we were notified by a lecturer that we had to shadow a Public Relations Officer in our October holiday. I wanted to shadow at my mother's company, only to realize they don't believe in the importance of Public Relations... Like are you crazy?

Anywho, I had to find other alternatives, because working at my mother's company was out of the question. My aunt's friend told us that her daughter is in Public Relations and will organize something, that's when the opportunity of a lifetime came my way! Flow Communications accepted me to shadow at them for this week. I couldn't be more ecstatic! They are a company doing pure communication work: anything from web development, content, design, social media, public relations, media training, exhibitions, name it and they do it in communication.

On my first day, I was asked to fix a press release by making it shorter and write more concise sentences. It was hard for me to think in English again after being at the university for so long, where we speak purely Afrikaans. I'm sure in a day or so, I will get my English vocabulary up to date again.

I, also,  helped to evaluate a company's website, we then went into a meeting later this afternoon to point out what needs to be done to their website, the content on it, how it links to their social media profiles, etc. Thankfully, it was not my job to tell them what Flow thought and what the critique was, because I'm only shadowing. It felt like sitting in a tennis court and the ball going back and forth. The opinions in the company differed so much, one person agreed, one didn't, the other one asked Flow to elaborate... No one was on the same train of thought. Coming to a conclusion was not easy at all. I was just a spectator in that tennis match and I'm so grateful for that. Nonetheless, it was a great learning school on how to handle a meeting like this.

A selfie on the way to the meeting with this company

Today was really great and I have already learned so much. Flow Communications have exceeded my expectations on so many levels. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for me! I think PR may be for me, but let's not talk too soon.

Flow Communications is responsible for the following campaigns:

• Nando's
• World Wildlife Fund
• Nelson Mandela Foundation
• South African Tourism
• SASOL
• South African Heart Association;
• and many, many more!

So yes, I'm very privileged to be shadowing here. They mean business!

Peace out 'til next time!

The things that university guides will never teach you

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

I am a third and final year Communication student and in my 3 years at university, I have learned some things. There is no guide on what to expect when going to university, you sometimes have to learn by falling face first in the ground and then learn how to stand on your own two feet again.

I asked some friends and family to contribute with the things that they have learned at university, as well. Here is the list:

1. Nobody cares about the marks you got in high school, you are at university which means you are clever. (Jana) 
2. You learn that school was fun and games (Ruan)
3. Hard work really pays off (Ruan)
4. You learn to social (Ronel)
5. You also meet your best friends and who the people are that is always there for you (Ronel & Ruan)
6. You realize what subjects you really love, but still have to have the bad ones with it. (Karen)
7. Nobody cares, but if you find someone that does care: HOLD ON! (Ena)
8. It's the experiences that teaches you something at the end of the day (Mart-Mari)
9. There is no degree like a spine. Just keep on going and finish! (Ronel)
10. You'll learn dressing up is cool.(See photos above)
11. It is every man for themselves. No one will buy you free drinks, unfortunately.
12. Having a bucket list is necessary!
13. Know the titles of your lecturers, for example Dr. Blah Blah. They believe that their titles has contributed to society and they are utterly important. 
14. Alcohol is a solution. Scientifically speaking.
15. Fitting in is so 'high school' ago.
16. Yeah, it sucks doing the laundry, the dishes, making your own food and cleaning the house. Your parents are actually cool.
17. Alcohol resolves everything, except your problems. 
18. Time is precious and you should use it wisely.
19. Falling in love is not easy. But it's even harder to fall on the pavement.
20. You'll learn to eat 2 minute noodles in a thousand ways. 
21. You measure the cost of everything, by the amount of drinks you could have bought. 
22. 50% is the new 80%. Plot twist: You're not as smart as you thought.
23. Procrastination teaches you that you can do amazing things within a few hours. 
24. Cheating in tests and projects is not so cool or smart, it just shows that you're an idiot and will earn you no respect from your 'friends'.
25. Wearing pajamas is totally acceptable clothes to wear on campus, except if you have a onesie; wear that instead.
26. First years are recognizable by the fact that they try to look good at 8 in the mornings. You give up after a year.
27. Do stupid things! You won't get the chance again, because responsibility starts after university.
28. You are only young once. Carpe Diem. YOLO! Enjoy university life and stop worrying!

These are the things that my family, friends and I have learned in our university journeys. If you have learned some other things; please share them!

This is the official 101 guide to university!