Reflections of the masters journey for the Graduations newsletter :-)

Reflections on the Masters journey

Just the other day I was reminded of the first one on one meeting I had with my supervisor. At that meeting I was asked where I expected to see myself in five years’ time. I nervously answered, I want to work in government in the Ministry of Children and People Living with Disabilities. On applying for this qualification all I wanted to do was to change the world and protect young people. I wanted to see the culmination of my study journey, I mean I’ve been a UNISA student for what felt like half my life. Little did I know that I was opening up new doors, avenues that excite me more times than I can count. Interesting enough, the very same supervisor who listened to my dreams 4 years ago, is now my mentor on the Grow Your Own Timber project in the College of Graduate Studies. It has been a long journey, there were times where I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it through. There were times I felt like giving up, where I’d hear a little voice saying, “you were a person before this Masters, you can survive even without it”. Yes, I could survive, but, I had to remember why I started the journey in the first place. I had left a job, a monthly salary, had a baby and attend class daily for a year, but being in that space kept me going. The class set up was very supportive, it really helped to share the journey with others. In the following year I was fortunate enough to get hired as a Postgraduate Assistant in the department. That put a lot of pressure in me, as I saw my classmates coming through to see their supervisors, talking about their progress, and it got me down when they handed in their dissertations. Again I had to remind myself that this is a personal journey, which might take long because with every road there are speed bumps, detours, cul de sac’s etc. along the way. As I look back I am thankful for every step that this journey took me on, all the friendships, networks and support structures that were strengthened. More than anything, I got a chance to look inward, to find and listen to the real me so that I am able to plant into South African psychology literature.