James Dean once said, “Dream as if you’ll live forever; and live as if you’ll die tomorrow”. I not only find this quote one great significance to life itself, but also to one very special person who has touched my life. Megan Kate Murison may appear the average first year at Rhodes University; smart, friendly and very enthusiastic about her social life. But there’s something about this 19-year-old young woman that makes you want to look at her twice. Is the infectious smile? The stunning girl-next-door looks? Or the open-hearted friendliness that makes you like her instantly?
Born and raised in the metropolis of Johannesburg, Megan fits the description of a big-town, typical Sandton girl; pretty, vibrant, outgoing and a private-school education. Underneath the vivacious bravado, however, lies something deeper than her natural beauty. Like most young women, Megan too has suffered her own fair share of emotional problems. The difference with this young woman is her ability to go on with her life, not expecting the world to stop and wait while she picks up the pieces.
Before coming to Rhodes University, Megan went to a private, co-ed school in the suburbs of Johannesburg, where she matriculated with the same peers she started her grade one schooling in 1996. The limiting factor of being with the same people for 12 years is the risk of having a difficulty with making friends in later life. Megan has also always shared a very close bond with her family, especially with her mother, Pam. The natural pangs of homesickness were therefore inevitable when moving so far away from home, but Megan’s mentality is one of “I really don’t mind where I am, it just matters who I’m with”. True to her word, it did not take Megan long to settle down in the Rhodes way of life, and within days she had herself a group of fast, strong friends.
Despite having every reason to have a thread of vanity and self-indulgence, Megan is anything but selfish. When asked as to what makes her day, she responds by saying that her day is brightened when one of her friends is having a good day. “That smile that reaches their eyes – it just makes my day,” she says with a spark in her laughing blue eyes. When speaking about Megan to her peers, her boyfriend, second year BsC student Robert Jones, says “She is a beautiful, caring, loving girl who loves animals, her friends and her man. She enjoys having a good time as well as valuing her time alone”. A truer word has never been spoken about this bubbly would-be hippie.
Most of the time it takes years to get under someone’s skin and discover the person beneath the front they present to the outside world. With Megan Murison, however, you don’t need time to see the beautiful person inside. I have had the privilege of knowing Megan for eight years and I have seen the things she is capable of as a person. Not only do I admire her, but I’m also inspired by her to be a better person. There is an old saying that says that everyone needs that one special person who instils some intangible value to your life; someone who not only brings out the best in you, but manages to be there for you when life deals you an unfair hand. I am proud to say that Megan Kate Murison is that person for many, but especially for me.
2 comments:
I really like how you portray Megan as a down-to-earth hero. It makes her that much more likeable. The reader can both relate to her and admire her. As a hero, she seeks to resolve conflicts among her friends, who could be represented as princesses when “life deals [them] an unfair hand”. I think Megan’s stable relationship with her family and a good upbringing are the donors, to borrow terminology from the Russian folklorist Propp. By writing from a friend’s perspective, the descriptions of her “open-hearted friendliness”, for example, feel more genuine. And by not dwelling on what problems she has overcome, the focus is a positive one – how she gracefully deals with the problems. The profile conveys a powerful message which is helpful to other first years – “don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.” - Anonymous
Wow Meg ! way to spam the interwebs
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