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Fame, Glamour and A Life full of action! Everybody’s dream, right? Well all our “Fame” caught up with us today when Taryn and I had our own groupies waiting for us after the show! But when I was asked for my home address, I started to get abit worried… and Taryn was even asked for her ”Digits.” We all ended up laughing as we both turned the colour of fresh red tomatos! Thank you girls, we were both very flattered and abit embarrassed! Since Monday, we saw some killer dance moves and of course the boys winning most of the time. Today we saw the beautiful school of Heron Bridge High School, which I could’ve just spent hours looking at –  the scenery and the amazing river flowing past the school. Tomorrow is a big day for us as our show will be taped and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t alittle bit nervous, as you have all seen what happened during my first clip of my L.O project! But I’m sure with the help of the awesome schools tomorrow, it will be a great success.  I leave you with W.W.W (Wise Words from Watkins)…  Dream As If You Will Live Forever, Live As If It’s Your Last Day!

It’s a hot Thursday afternoon, the last show of the day and everyone is exhausted. Somehow, everyone manages to keep it together despite the heat and lack of energy. Chris has his regular dose of Coca Cola, Musa has his Iron Brew and I’ve got some extra strong coffee. Let the games begin! Everything goes off to a smooth start and the kids seem to be having fun but during the last five minutes of the show, we have a power failure. Hey! I thought this load shedding thing was over, Eskom…Thank goodness we had a great combination of improv skills, vocal projection and a small group of learners to ease our troubles.

If we only we lived in one of those countries where your tertiary education is paid for by the government… But we don’t! So it’s time to face facts, and think about how you can pay to get the education you deserve. Even if you have involved, loving parents, the responsibility for your future is all yours, and you need to take an interest in how you’re going to reach for your dream. Even without a fat savings account waiting for you, there are ways to get ready for life after matric.

WORK!

When you think about how much just one year of varsity costs, you might be tempted to throw in the towel right now. That would be a terrible mistake! Do whatever you can (without resorting to crime, of course) to find a part-time job, as early as possible. Sure, it means you’ll be tired sometimes, and struggle to find enough time to do everything you have to. But that’s real life – it’s only going to get harder when you leave school. Save as much as possible. Varsities require a deposit of anywhere from R4000 to R10 000 when you start a course, and if you have that money in hand, you can register. From there, you have a fighting chance to move on to phase two…

STUDENT LOANS

If you know someone with a good debt history, like a parent or other family member, or even someone who just really believes in you, then you can apply for a student loan. You need that person to sign for you, and that makes them liable for your debt if you don’t repay it, so it’s a serious business. While you’re studying, you only pay the interest on the loan. The rest becomes your responsibility as soon as you start full-time work. Any of the big banks will be happy to give you the information you need.

OR YOU CAN WORK SOME MORE!

Studying and working part-time is TOUGH. But many, many people before you have done it and made it work. There is a lot of work available for students, from waitressing to doing promotions and tutoring. Most campuses even have an office where you can put your name down for student employment. On the down side, don’t expect to get much sleep until you’ve finished your degree.

BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS

So many matrics pin all their hopes on getting some kind of bursary. We’re not saying you shouldn’t try – of course you should! But understand that bursaries and scholarships are given to the top achievers, and there is a huge amount of competition for very few of them.

GET YOUR FUTURE EMPLOYER TO PAY

You can study for free, or close to free, if you are going to be a teacher, a policeman, or a military person. There are also private companies that will happily pay for you to study, as long as you keep passing, and you promise to work for them for three to five years after graduation.

CHOOSE AN FET COLLEGE

FET’s (Further Education and Training) have, in many cases, become great places to study. They have extremely low fees (as little as R5000 per year for some courses) and certain diplomas, like electrical engineering, or civil engineering, can be done FOR FREE, if you pass all your exams. Not all the FET’s have the same high standards. Do your research carefully before you choose one.

There’s always a way, if you’ve passed matric and you’re eager to make a good life for yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you differently!

We’re in Careers24 every Sunday now. But if you haven’t bought the paper, check out the ‘City Press’ tab to read the latest article!

Wow! Just when I thought the Joburg leg of the trip couldn’t get more
exciting Chris decided to bust some serious sokkie moves with the
winner of the Standard Bank Rocking Future Roadshow backpack. The
learners were in absolute stitches at Lantern High School in
Roodepoort! I must be the luckiest girl on the planet if this is just
another day at the office. Usually, I would be quite excited about the
weekend being just around the corner but I honestly can’t wait to see
what’s in store for this roadshow next week!

You know you’re doing a good job when the the entire school including the teachers get up on their feet to sing and dance to their cheerleading song… then having  more than ten people thank you for a job well done.The colleges agreed with  me that this was the best show that we’ve ever had. It’s true that dynamite comes in small  packages! The smallest girl in the school won the Standard Bank hamper. Liezel Levendal exploded  in dance and left the entire school in absolute awe. Much love to you guys at Settlers!

Lights…camera…action!

They don’t say, “There’s no business like show business” for nothing.
The stage was set, The Hill high school had just been introduced to the
show and received some awesome prizes. Then, the colleges and
varsities were about to be introduced but as Chris was about to make
his dramatic entrance something unexpected happened…A nose bleed!
Luckily, Chris, Musa and I had a plan.(After all, the show must go
on…) What could’ve been a disastrous situation turned into a rather
interesting and fun show. Probably, the best show we’ve had all week.
Nothing like bit of drama to keep you on your toes!

It  went wild yesterday! The matrics from both schools,  Belgravia High School and Queenspark High had a really good time. Niyaaz Isaacs pulled a dance move that we’ve never seen in Cape Town so far –  He totally melted the stage today with crumping (that’s a dance move, for those of you who don’t know)  He is a profestional dancer. Pascal tried his best to imitate the cool moves but let’s just say he’s a better MC and leave it at that!

A wise woman once said, ‘Beginnings are scary while endings are sad,’  and how true that is! The Pretoria tour started off with nerves and ended with sad goodbyes. Thank you to all the colleges for being amazing people and even better friends, and to all the schools, thank you for cheering for us and all the support! We hope we helped you guys with your futures and your lives. We really enjoyed our trip to Pretoria. And now we look forward to a new Scary Begining in Johannesburg and to making new friends.  So again… Thank you, Pretoria!

Goodbye From Chris, Musa, Pascal and Taryn

It  was good having Pascal back on my team! The matrics went mad today, and it was a breath of fresh air in the mother city.  Steenberg High rocked today –  the guys  were better dancers than the girls this time!