$70,000 a year degree for $400 wages
Let me start by addressing the title of this post. Yes, $70,000 a year is actually how much my degree cost 😂. And it was actually a 4-year degree so that’s a total of $280,000 give or take. That’s not even counting the $30,000 a year high school I went to for two years. Before you assume I’m some sort of billionaire’s baby -or sugar baby- let me disclose the fact that I’m a proud -poor African- scholarship baby. Now, do I sometimes wish someone could have given me that money to start a business with instead? Totally, yes! But were these academic experiences worth it? Absolutely!
Urban babe in the bush
… here I am, 6 years later, overlooking the Serengeti plains from my office window. I knew my hundreds-of-thousand-dollar-degree would take me places, but I did not imagine it would bring me to a job in the Serengeti.
Yet here I am, an urban babe in the bush!
Setting yourself up for a successful semester
Those of you who have been in University/College for a while understand how hard it can be to successfully go through a semester without a plan. For those who are just starting out, you need not be making your own mistakes, you can learn from mine and avoid feeling overwhelmed altogether. After a couple of rough beginnings and mid-semester re-strategising, I finally figured the way to plan for a successful semester. This is how I stay up to date with all my deadlines, keep track of my assignments and schedule study sessions around these assignments and deadlines.
Here is my step by step guide:
My journey to fashion
If you grew up in Tanzania then you understand how important it is to get a new dress for Christmas (if you are Muslim, for Eid).
It's 11:49 pm on the 24th of December, 2002 and I am holding a torch for my mom whose back is bent over a practically ancient singer sewing machine. We are making my Christmas dress. Flower printed chiffon over a pink satin. We are making a high-waisted pouf dress with a huge bow at the back.
From a good learner to a good student
My experience with missed deadlines and disorganised notes has taught me that being a good learner is not the same as being a good student. It’s New Year’s Eve and I am back home in Dar es Salaam writing a research paper due two weeks ago for a class I took in Paris in the Fall (August - December semester). So, I am clearly lacking on the whole good student thing. I am not proud of this! In my defence, my laptop crashed and all I had written for this class was gone. Yet, this is the reason why being a better student is at the top of my new year resolution list…