Dear School leavers,
First i salute you for having the good sense to complete your basic education, its the most important thing you have done for yourself. You will be suprised how many times in your life you will be asked about this stage of your life.
I am sure you are full of book-knowledge now.
But shock of shocks, that will be irrelevant for the next couple of months. What you need most now is to be street-wise.
You must lean very quickly what you can do and what you should not do whatever the case.
A few points to note:
1. You are currently trending. Enjoy the limelight, but within reason. For every action has a reaction.
2. Many people will want to have a piece of you. Don’t take it personally,they always want everyone of that age. You don’t have to give in.
3. Alcohol is intoxicating and when it does it removes what we call inhibition..reason,judgment and sanity all disappear hence the feeling to depart from your clothes or allow total strangers access to your private lands. Go slow on Alcohol if you must. Better still, give it a few more years to make the decision.
4. Drunken driving. Kills. That machine is all nice and cosy until you loose control of it. Then it kills or maims you or that girl/boy you wanted to impress or some unfortunate pedestrian who had nothing to do with your theatrics.
4. Sex is complicated (always said that). It comes with too many emotions and entanglements. It requires a given level of responsibility which I believe you dont want to get into now. But if you insist, negotiate a position. But most importantly, spare us the PDA.
5. To the girls, boys don’t get pregnant. And I can tell you 9 months is a long time carrying around some weight in your young tummy. Abortions are emotional landmines.
6. Your parents are stressed. And many of them moneliness. Don’t make it any worse. The least you can do is assist with house chores, rest of the time be invisible.
7. Apply the Maths you learnt in school to home situations. If the loaf is one and there are 5 people in the house,use the concept of proportions! Concept of time is equally important. Its extremely embarrassing when you can’t get the change right when you are sent to the shop.
8. TV can be entertaining and movies can be captivating but that’s not all there is to life. Households have ( or should have) sleep-time boundaries.
9. Considering you have so much energy and free time, help around the house. Make yourself useful. Learn an art or two. But more than anything else, keep your surrounding clean. Make your bed, clean your room, wash your towels and bed sheets, improve on your personal grooming.
10. Be wary of the internet. It may offer cheap and instant publicity but my dear, whatever goes on the internet stays in the internet to rear its head when you least expect. Worry about people who are keen to have you intoxicated or about photos/videos taken in the throes of passion.
Lastly, enjoy the long holiday. You deserve the break, only don’t break your leg in the process.
Love
Aunty Betty Olela
Youth Mentorship Forum
