When everything on social media shows you how everyone is moving on with their lives, all the reels and posts of how your peers have stepped into the best part of their lives and you’re stuck at home - it stings. Especially if you know that you were class of 2025 Matric and you beat the odds, you did your best, heck you exceeded your best.

You faced all the personal challenges that you probably never told anyone about. Maybe you were even the only person who believed that you deserved an education and had to be the coach, player and cheerleader of your own team.

Maybe you woke in the middle of the night and studied -after a day of walking to and fro school and maybe no lunch money. Maybe you were the one that never had the latest drip, and because you were so devoted to your goal of passing matric that a lot of people found you “boring” and not “relevant “ so you didn’t have many friends.

And then maybe you did the unthinkable, you passed your matric with a Bachelors Pass to boot ntwana! And when you thought, finally, “it’s my time!” then your heart sank. The NFSAS Application wasn't approved and there is absolutely no one to help you.

Seeing all the reels and vlogs of your peers driving to college or varsity with their big luggage bags and moving into res, seeing the breathtaking views of a campus you probably should be at too the entire February, shuu hun - that must have been devastating.

Maybe all you hear when you wake up is, “Vele ube ucabanga zo phelela kuphi? Uzenza ngcono kithi kodwa buka uphelele phi.” You of all people know that angeke uphelele la. This is just part of the story, not the end of it. And if that grit and tenacity of yours is anything to go by - what comes next will amaze even you. Show grace to yourself. You know how dilligently you worked and that’s something to be mega proud of.

In the meantime chat to BigSis when it all feels too much, yeah? You are never alone. And keep your eyes peeled on our socials for plugs on internships, courses to take and so on ukuthi nawe uJikiZinto.