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Dione Machaya Midlands State University
Tertiary education can be a blessing and a curse; the joy that comes with one securing a place at university or college defies narrative.

As the Bible says, many are called but a few are chosen. The way “university” is portrayed by different individuals makes one think that it’s a little heaven on earth, while others make it seem like a predator waiting to devour its prey.

Being at university means freedom – being a free spirit. It marks the transition from being monitored 24 hours to being unmonitored. This is when a lot of innocent people’s lives are made or destroyed. In other words one may succumb to peer pressure leading to painful unintended consequences.

Parties, drink-ups and clubbing has led to many young women destroying their futures. Parties are more of a culture at university with ladies entering for free most of the time, while spiking drinks, weed cakes at the so-called “parties” have left many young women at risk of being raped or abused due to consumption of weed unknowingly. It is the choices we make that spice up our lives.

That is why some people do not even rejoice on the day of graduation. It is because they would have already been devoured at the early days of university life.

This is akin to sacrificing one’s life in exchange for a degree – so much for being at university. A lot of young people lose their morals to the extent that some students are two-faced creatures – at home they are good children but back on campus they are the ones that are trending from the dressing, the hair and their social life is always on point.

Little do they know that there is more to life than being the hottest chicks on campus?

Therefore, one is exposed to all sorts of hustling because they have to keep up the status they have set for themselves. They make themselves vulnerable to the vileness of the world.

On the lighter side, university is pictured as the ultimate achievement, which is true, because many have been there and they have made it big.

University can be less stressful if one is, determined, a go-getter and, most importantly, if one knows where they are headed.

With these in mind, one can be assured of a great experience at university, because one does not have time to waste on things that do not bring him or her a step closer to their goal.

A group of post-graduates gave out some tips on what kept them safe and healthy at university. They confirmed that in everything that one does he/she should put God first as it sustained them.

My advice is: Don’t lose focus, just play your part and God will do the rest.

Dumisani Mvula Midlands State University
Zimbabwe is in need of entrepreneurs; the reason why we lag behind is because we do not have entrepreneurs who come up with new ideas.

Let me define an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is anyone who believes in new ideas as a way of creating or enhancing productivity.

He or she is ready to invest and is ready to face all risks that come with investing.

It does not mean that one has to come up with a new idea to create something really new, but one can come up with an idea to enhance an already existing idea.

For an example, Henry Ford was not the first to design and manufacture a car, but he was an entrepreneur who came up with an idea to enhance an already existing idea and the same is true of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg was not the first to come up with an idea of a social network and yet he is now one of the world’s young billionaires. Our education system is among the best in the world and we need to be proud of that. But it is time we looked at it again and come up with changes.

The system is known for producing best workers. We manufacture top class lawyers, doctors and teachers. But to be honest, for how long are we going to be shipping our labour to South Africa and other countries?

This brings us to the reason why we are lagging behind as a country. We need to produce top class entrepreneurs who have the mentality to create industries.

The phrase, “when I grow up I want to be a doctor” needs to change to “when I grow up I want to own my own clinic.”

It is time Zimbabwean youths learnt about money and investing while still at schools.

China has become one of the big economies because they have changed with time and have adopted entrepreneurship. They have embraced it. Children in China are taught about investing at tender ages. However, if you ask a university student in Zimbabwe about investing, they do not have an idea.

What they desire the most is to be employed. Robert Kiyosaki an American entrepreneur has one of the best books about entrepreneurship which Zimbabwean youths need to read so as to understand how the game of investing works.

Kiyosaki explains the difference between an asset and a liability, which is one of the key elements one needs to understand so as to become a good entrepreneur.

Government has all ways and avenues to engage with youths so as to improve their lives and to resuscitate the economy, but it is hard to engage and give out loans to youths who have the mentality of being workers in other countries.

The solution to such a problem is to introduce compulsory entrepreneurship courses or programmes in schools.

Zimbabwean universities have an entrepreneurship module which is compulsory for all students.

This is a good move, but students because they were programmed to became workers, only take the module in order to pass and move on.

Not everyone can become an entrepreneur, but if those who are passionate about it are taught from a tender age, Zimbabwe will have new ideas to enhance productivity.

A case in point is that of soccer academies, where they teach young boys and girls how to play soccer at tender ages.

Thamary Ashanie Midlands State University
Workouts and herbal life have brought changes to both men, women and students. Sacrifice has become part of every person, with every one striving to have the best body he or she wishes no matter how much it costs or however long it takes.

During this lockdown period, more people have time to conduct work outs at home and also use herbal remedies frequently.

Women all over the world have become the most active number in combining herbal use and work outs as every woman desires to have a big round bubble shape as well as round hips, small waist and flat tummy. This is what is leading most women to workouts. They also buy herbal mixes to realign their bodies to their expectations.

In a conversations, several women say they made this switch in their lives because they felt insecure with the shapes they were born with, especially in the presence of friends or spouses.

This was until they decided to conduct research on the Internet about workouts in order to reshape their bodies. It is their belief that now that they have voluptuous shapes they are the envy and dream of every other woman.

But it is not only women who feel uncomfortable with their bodies. There are men who also feel insecure with their body shapes.

Body builders suggest that there is an increasing trend where men buy supplements in order to boost their muscles and sculpt their bodies.

The belief is that most men have adopted this trend as part of their lifestyles. Ladies are attracted to men with sculpted bodies. So this admiration from the opposite sex becomes an incentive for men to have a body shape that makes them attractive to the fairer sex.

In so doing, work outs and herbal remedies have brought about significant changes to people’s lifestyles.

These days most women believe that if they have big rounded hips, flat tummies and small waists, they are beautiful and feel comfortable if their bodies look like that.

However, there are other people who are comfortable with the way they were born. To this extent, some of the people do not want to hear about herbal supplements/therapies because they believe herbs have negative side-effects.

Workouts have become everyday activities for men, women and students alike.