Still I rise

“I had to learn how to be a mother. I had to learn how to do all those things done by mothers” these are the words of the 20 year old journalism student Nosethu Badlezana. Being a mother at a young age while studying is often regarded as one of the reasons as to why many students and school pupils leave their studies. This is nonetheless not the case with this hard working student.

Coming from impoverished rural areas of Eastern Cape to Free State, Nosethu managed to obtain herself a bursary to come study at the University of the Free State.  She explains her motivation for choosing to further her studies at this particular university as simply pursuing a dream. “As compared to home one has to admit that Free State is better equipped with infrastructure and possibilities of succeeding in life. Unlike here, there is limited career choices and access to information in Eastern Cape”. The 3^rd year student dedicates her academic achievements to her mother and teachers that helped her to have come this far. She nevertheless acknowledges the disappointment she has caused by falling pregnant whilst studying.

“Throughout my pregnancy my mother had always tried to motivate me to be strong by shouting ‘you cannot drop out of tertiary and be pregnant at the same time, don’t disappoint us more than you already have’. Nosethu describes her role as a student and as a young mother as challenging yet very motivational. “I spend most of my time studying”. With a naughty laughter she adds that she tries to stay away from “trouble”. “Whenever life gets difficult I ask myself; how will the quality of my life improve if I don’t try to overcome obstacles in my life? How will I secure my child’s future? So, yes I had to learn how to be a mother. I had to learn how to put my child’s interests before mine” said the mother of a 4 month baby.

Being raised in a Xhosa home by her grandmother while her parents worked Nosethu is strongly advised to uphold her traditions and not succumb to the city’s modern ways of doing things. She explains that remembering where she comes from and the role that she has to play in shaping her child’s life is what keeps her true to herself.