Vee Kativhu

It was 3am and I was in another assignment melt down. The last seven months give or take, had been a stress induced nightmare. Full time work during a pandemic, part-time study and an unstable relationship had taken its toll. I was a mess.

Reluctantly, I logged onto the online learning support webpage of my college. Heartbreak washed over me at the realization that all my progress bars were in red. Heartbreak as it stood was at the forefront of my anguish, but to my surprise got made redundant as panic took over. Loud and clear, displayed everywhere on my homepage screamed that I was behind. Beyond the point of recovery you could argue. I felt like dropping out as my stomach clenched, it seemed like all my hopes had diminished.

How was I ever going to recover from this? I was five months behind all my dead lines. How could I get this under control again?

I knew though, as the saying in English goes, 'where's there is a will, there is a way.' I had learnt the hard way, yes, but I had learnt it none the less. It's all about attitude and motivation!

Only thing was, ironically I was a little bit short of motivation. So, trying to be creative, I typed into the YouTube search bar, 'assignment crisis student.'

The first result that popped up was, 'writing 2,500 words in 5 hours, Oxford Uni Stress.' I read the title and thought straight away that this would help me feel less alone. The thumbnail was a picture of a young woman slumped at her desk with her head in her hands. She looked exactly like myself. I knew the pose well. The feeling of, 'why am I like this?' If the situation had allowed it, I would've otherwise found the thumbnail hilarious.

I clicked on the video.

Vee Kativhu, is a 22-year-old British-Zimbabwean, Oxford graduate. Studying Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, Vee graduated Oxford in 2020. Currently, she's enrolled at Harvard University. There, through online study, she is obtaining a Masters degree in International Education Policy.

Her YouTube channel, also called Vee Kativhu, stands at 192k subscribers. With an array of engaging content, her channel's focus is her studies as an Oxford and Harvard student. As an A and B achieving student, she gives insight into her many study techniques. Other outstanding videos cover topics like her revision processes, essay writing and organization.

The channel is a plethora of support from the real, stressful and raw side of studying any degree. Her relatability comes from her charming, bubbly and authentic personality. I found this to be true as she endeavors time and time again on portraying the reality of university stress.

In her essay crisis videos, Miss Kativhu shows an educational while entertaining approach to her essay's. Her simplistic style of vlogging these crisis is what makes her content so relatable. These elements are obvious in her essay planning and execution. All in all, it makes her journey a captivating experience. This is especially made exciting when she opens her end of semester results with her audience.

Instantly, I binged every single essay crisis video on her playlist. Fascinated, empowered, in awe and inspired were only some of the feelings I had. Procrastination at its finest, yes, but a completely necessary evil.

"Writing 2,800 words at 5am."

"Writing 1,00 words in 45 minutes."

"Writing an essay, 5 hour study with me."

"Day in the life of a student with a six hour deadline #dissertationlife."

Just like that, the motivation manifested itself, finally. From staying awake through the night and into the morning, to smashing out a few thousand words in 4 - 5 hours. It's obvious there seems as be nothing Miss Kativhu, this inspiring young woman can't do. With the lengths she goes to to ensure she completes her essay's, I'm certain she could motivate a lazy horse to water.

I'm so grateful to Vocal for presenting me with this opportunity. Celebrating the excellence of Miss Vee Kativhu is important as new chapters are opening for this exceptional young lady all the time. This comes days after a milestone announcement debuted on her channel. As of February, her first published works with Penguin Publishers is in progress.

With a bright and exciting future ahead, Vee Kativhu is certainly a future to look out for.

~ Also, if you're wondering, I successfully completed all my assignments. I'm can officially say I'm ahead of schedule and due to complete my degree (Journalism) in a matter of weeks. Extremely happy!

H. Terraine