Extreme nuance

Dutch soccer legend and aspiring linguistic philosopher Johan Cruijff once noted: "every advantage has its disadvantage". The logic is as compelling as it is redundant, pointing out genius in the obvious. An abundance of sunlight turns skin a nasty bright red usually reserved for cooked seafood and a happy night of drinking is rewarded with a head heavy like a millstone and a stomach obnoxious as an unfed lioness. If you become aware of your success you risk getting smug about it, and if you know your strength you might underestimate that of your opponent's.

But like every proverb with a little complexity, the opposite is also true. Every unfavorable situation has a silver lining. Every setback opens possibilities that had priorly been ruled out.

It is important, however to keep this balancing mechanism in mind when meeting both extremes of the axis. For it is usually only with hindsight that the value of the matter is understood, as moments of bliss and terror don't naturally cater for a nuanced reflectivity.

The words of the master flash through my head as I run up the endless sets of stairs that make up the UCT campus. It is the last week of my semester, and still one of my courses doesn't appear on my study record. No one I speak to seems to be able to explain why this is the case, and nobody takes responsibility either, pointing at faculty, student records, student administration and the department. Stoicism is beautiful idea in theory, and these experiences might lead to something good, but right now I feel like severely beating someone up.

The experience at campus has changed, the lingering masses of students waiting for classes have made way for bursts of people pouring in and out of exam venues, timid and stressed at first and frantically relieved after, hurrying to make their way to a more fitting location for the temperature of 28 degrees we've been blessed with the last few days. And once again I can't stay on the middle road as a smile in sheer enjoyment at the sight of the green leafs gently shaking in the warm wind. This day might have a down side too, but I will need Johan Cruijff to point it out to me before it will bring down my mood of immediate and utter contentment.