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Kirsten MacGillivray and I chat about nothing as we walk the few metres from our Res to the Kaif. Affectionately known as Kirst, she is the girl with the infectious laugh and knack for playing pranks on the unsuspecting the residents of John Kotze House, and is one who I have come to know and love these past nine months. We arrive, find a secluded spot and Kirst begins to speak about the University that has enabled her to follow her passion, acting. Drama is the reason Kirst came to Rhodes and also why she has grown to love this little place. She considers herself a typical, fun- loving, wine- drinking Rhodent, and is not ashamed to admit that she falls under some of the stereotypes associated with Rhodes students. However, Kirst comes with a twist, although she loves to visit the Union, Rat and Parrot and Friars every weekend and get involved with sport, she also considers herself, “one of the drama kids” and this gives her the opportunity to let her alternative side show. Kirst looks the part today in her emerald green cardigan over a bright green T- shirt, a multi-coloured scarf, dark jeans and sneakers, and a bright yellow badge with a cheeky mouth on it.
While slowly sipping a strawberry Sterrie Stumpi, Kirst gazes at the passing students through her huge black sunglasses and chats about the people she has met at Rhodes thus far. The person she believes to have had the best influence on her is another J.K. native, Mia. She says this is because of Mia’s “no stress, no judgement” outlook on life and her ability to be herself and be happy with who she is. Kirst also admires Mia’s self-confidence, something that Kirst feels she lacks, despite having to perform in front of other people every day. She says her best qualities are her willingness to help a friend in need, her creativity and her unconventionality. Speaking of unconventional, Kirst chooses the night she was found asleep in the bathroom of the Rat and Parrot as the craziest thing that has happened to her while at Rhodes, “I was just in there taking a nap”, she laughs.
Although Kirst is mostly content with life at Rhodes, she has had her share of highs and lows. One particular low that she remembers is when she doubted whether studying drama at an academic institution was indeed the right path for her. She was contemplating whether going to a specialized acting school such as AFDA, or trying to make it in the international business would not be a better choice. However, Kirst has set her doubts aside and has decided that Rhodes is definitely the place to hone her acting skills and have a campus life at the same time. Still, there are times when she feels discouraged, “Like now, when my drama group is falling apart” she sighs. At this point our good friend Cit joins us at the table, the Kaif, after all, is the social hub on campus. Kirst and Cit both light up a cigarette, a habit Kirst picked up from hanging around outside the drama department.
Kirst has an adventurous spirit and describes her best day at Rhodes as the day she was thrown into a pit of mud after Botha House’s “Mud Olympics” and ended up having to walk home coated in the gooey, brown substance. She describes Rhodes as a University with a great campus life and a place that “allows you to make good friends quickly”. Advice she would give to incoming first years is to learn to balance work and play and also to take any opportunity they are presented with. However she says with a laugh, “Don’t stress about anything, it’s just first year, you’re only expected to pass”. This tongue-in-cheek statement encapsulates Kirst’s happy-go-lucky personality and is why she has been so successful in becoming the “ultimate Rhodent”.
While slowly sipping a strawberry Sterrie Stumpi, Kirst gazes at the passing students through her huge black sunglasses and chats about the people she has met at Rhodes thus far. The person she believes to have had the best influence on her is another J.K. native, Mia. She says this is because of Mia’s “no stress, no judgement” outlook on life and her ability to be herself and be happy with who she is. Kirst also admires Mia’s self-confidence, something that Kirst feels she lacks, despite having to perform in front of other people every day. She says her best qualities are her willingness to help a friend in need, her creativity and her unconventionality. Speaking of unconventional, Kirst chooses the night she was found asleep in the bathroom of the Rat and Parrot as the craziest thing that has happened to her while at Rhodes, “I was just in there taking a nap”, she laughs.
Although Kirst is mostly content with life at Rhodes, she has had her share of highs and lows. One particular low that she remembers is when she doubted whether studying drama at an academic institution was indeed the right path for her. She was contemplating whether going to a specialized acting school such as AFDA, or trying to make it in the international business would not be a better choice. However, Kirst has set her doubts aside and has decided that Rhodes is definitely the place to hone her acting skills and have a campus life at the same time. Still, there are times when she feels discouraged, “Like now, when my drama group is falling apart” she sighs. At this point our good friend Cit joins us at the table, the Kaif, after all, is the social hub on campus. Kirst and Cit both light up a cigarette, a habit Kirst picked up from hanging around outside the drama department.
Kirst has an adventurous spirit and describes her best day at Rhodes as the day she was thrown into a pit of mud after Botha House’s “Mud Olympics” and ended up having to walk home coated in the gooey, brown substance. She describes Rhodes as a University with a great campus life and a place that “allows you to make good friends quickly”. Advice she would give to incoming first years is to learn to balance work and play and also to take any opportunity they are presented with. However she says with a laugh, “Don’t stress about anything, it’s just first year, you’re only expected to pass”. This tongue-in-cheek statement encapsulates Kirst’s happy-go-lucky personality and is why she has been so successful in becoming the “ultimate Rhodent”.
Have a look at Kirst's Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=670510714&ref=ts
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4 comments:
Hi fellow blogger,
Wow, your interviewee sounds like such a fantastic girl who's really enjoying Rhodes and embracing her new lifestyle. You've written this piece so that it really flows easily as well as being able to slot in the vital information about Kirst without it sounding too cramped with plain facts. Although there are lots of drama students you've really achieved in describing Kirst as a unique character who has settled in well at Rhodes despite being slightly alternative! I could easily pick up the elements of narrative profile writing, as Todorov describes news narrative structures as having a "basic structure of a television news story". You provided the information necessary to relate to Kirst and then described any hardship or disruption she's experienced this year. Well done, Candy, I loved reading about another hero at Rhodes.
Happy Blogging.
Sam
I think this was a really nice profile about what seems to be a very interesting girl. The interviewee, Kirst, was described as an energetic life-loving girl and I really enjoyed this blog. Kirst is definitively the hero in the story…the Rat and Parrot could be the ‘villian’ in some cases as Todorov might have described it but all the elements were there and it was a very creative piece with all the narrative and genre elements.
The hero had some difficulties that she had to overcome. When she came to Rhodes it disturbed the natural order of her life (the equilibrium) because it wasn’t the same as her ‘old’ life before Rhodes obviously, but she overcame it and dealt with it and restored the equilibrium in the end by still being the happy person she was before Rhodes. It was a really fun piece! Awesome job fellow writer!
Keep up the fun times!
Etto =)
Hey Candy
Kirsten is a drama student with a bursting social life. She feels almost as if she is in two worlds. The first world is one of the stereotypical conformist Rhodes student. The second, which she enters through her affiliation to the drama department, is less rigid and more expressive encapsulating the life of a performer. To use Todorov’s terms the disruption in the equilibrium occurred when Kirsten had to decide whether or not she would like to further her drama education at Rhodes or if she should go to a specialized school. After almost a year at Rhodes Kirsten feels content and that she has made the right decision. This contentment signifies a return to a state of equilibrium although it is different to the first. I think this is a problem many people face after high school. The popular argument is that universities are purely theoretical and to ‘make it’ in the so called real world, one has to embark on a more practical education. This is not always true as we can see clearly in Rhodes Drama Department which has a very strong practical emphasis.
Greenas
Dear Candy,
I thought that your piece was very well written, being a fellow Jk dweller myself, I thought that your description of Kirst is perfect. Kirst is an example of a Propp hero as she is presented with obstacles, and overcomes them in the end with the help of her helper Mia. Deciding what to do with the rest of one’s life and who one is and wants to be are examples of what most Rhodes students encounter but seldom overcome. Life is not a fairy tale, however, when juxtaposed, the similarities are overwhelming. The villain in the story is partly her self-esteem, and partly the pressure that you are placed under in first year. Taking on the ‘happy-go-lucky” attitude is truly a heroic act in our chaotic lives.
Love katieb
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