Lily, Emma, and Life Choices

Our time at Life Choices was a tremendous journey of growth and learning on a number of fronts. Whether we were gaining a better understanding of the South African education system by researching universities, achieving a new perspective on the quality of life for teenage Cape Townians through our sessions, or introspecting based on newly exposed strengths and weaknesses, we were always expanding our minds and hearts in some way.

A significant portion of our role in the Leaders' Quest program was to deliver to the grade 12s a dose of bad news with a spoonful of optimism - be it telling them that UCT was simply out of reach or giving them a solid figure on how much applying would cost, we had to be realistic and encouraging at the same time. Our balance between these two attitudes was often difficult to manage, and our tendency was often to lean toward optimism, as we wanted to be kind and for the sessions to be enjoyable. What we eventually learned from the incredible staff at Life Choices, however, was that the realistic part was the most important, because when the student is already in grade 12, we weren't doing them any favors by allowing them to maintain their rose-colored glasses. In the end, we learned from each other and developed a method to each session that ended with positivity but was infused with realistic goals. While we were certainly still working on this balance at the end of our time, we came to better understand the importance of delivering that bad news.

In order to become more comfortable being somewhat negative in the sessions, we reframed the way we thought about our jobs. Instead of thinking of ourselves as the bearers of bad news, we considered what we were really doing for our students. For example, instead of offering to do all of their research for them to help them decide where to apply, we began to encourage them to do their own research. Instead of letting them continue to hope for UCT and just telling them how to apply, we began motivating them to look into the real possibility of that dream and to take control of reality. What we were doing was not shirking our own responsibilities, but encouraging the learners to embrace their agency. By delivering the tough news, we encouraged them to take ownership of their futures. We moved from delivering resources to facilitating resourcefulness overall.

Emma compares her daily experiences in Cape Town and at Life Choices to a trip to Mzoli's. While she might have been going into Mzoli's with expectations, as a former vegan, nothing can prepare you for the plate to come. Nothing could have prepared her for the journey that has been her abroad experience, and like Mzoli's, it can take you days to recover from some days in Cape Town. In the end, of course, it's all worth it.

Lily came to think of her time at Life Choices in the same way that President Obama thinks about his time in office - not as a sprint, but as a relay. While the goal was always to get as much done in our time with the organization as possible, she found comfort in knowing that another student would arrive in the spring to take the baton.

Thanks so much for an incredible quarter. We wouldn't have preferred to have been on this journey with any other group of people.