The amount of people going to university is on the rise,
which is advantageous for a number of reasons. Number one, the more educated
people are, the better. Graduates are skilled critical thinkers, no matter what
their discipline; statistically, they are likely to be more conscientious
socially and politically than those who did not attend university.
That said, a side effect of the growing HE sector is that
universities are first and foremost operating as businesses, not as student-focussed
institutions of education. I place most of the blame on our failing government,
though, not universities themselves. Indifferent decisions are made by rich
white men who have never had to struggle for anything (a topic for another
blog, perhaps) to continue to increase fees for those who wish to better
themselves academically. Every year, they slap a discouraging £9, 250 price tag
on our learning. Why? To make sure that the working class stay working class.
To keep everyone under their glass ceilings. Anyway, I digress.
As I mentioned, in spite of phenomenal increases in uni fees
and students’ cost of living, university applications are flooding through UCAS
like never before. That abstract idea of debt in excess of £30,000 is not
scaring young people off because, let’s face it, what’s the difference between
a lot of debt and a LOT of debt?
Regrettably, this means that more people than ever before
have donned a cap and gown before entering the world of work. Jobs are fiercely
competitive; degrees are judged not on individual merit but on the status of
the institution. Many find themselves struggling to set themselves apart from
the thousands of other graduates who join their ranks every year.
Now this is not an advert for The University of Gloucestershire,
but they were actually very switched on to this. ‘Your Future Plan’ promoted
internships, extra awards, employability conferences… You name it. There was a
real pressure for us to add more than just an undergrad degree to our
repertoire. And aren’t we thankful for it now! Largely thanks to them, over 95%
of my fellow graduates have now entered full time work or further study.
I’m very grateful that I went to Gloucestershire, despite
saying something to the opposite effect probably a million times in my first
year. I weathered it out and really came in to my own in 2nd year. I
got a first – we graduated last Thursday. Thinking of the things I overcame to
get there makes me deeply proud.
It is overwhelming how proud I am of my entire cohort, to be
honest. I know that some of them struggled at times, too. They were all
welcoming, caring and warm when I needed them, and I hope I was able to reciprocate
in some ways.
Aman, Emily and Zo, thanks for battling through Lit and Lang
with me – it may not have been the most organised course at UoG but we smashed
it anyway! Alex, Meg and Nicole, thank you for making me feel like I fitted in.
You have no idea how much I needed you three at the beginning of 2nd
year. Lauren, you are the most loving person I’ve ever met. Your kindness eased
my stress time and time again. You all deserve the world, truly.
After graduation, I met with my ex-tutor, Arran, for catch
up. On the way, still in my graduation dress, I stopped beside the lake in
Pitville park. I have stopped at that same spot innumerable times over the past
three years. I thought about all of this. Quite often, my thoughts in moments
like these take the form of language, it’s just how my brain works. I’m writing
some of them here.
I never walked to uni via the lake in first year, so the
first picture was taken at the beginning of second year. The last was taken just
after graduation.
Flash forward to today. I’m in Nottingham now, sitting in
the uni café waiting to meet one of my MA teachers about doing a PhD (a
PhD!!!!!!!). The application itself is several thousand words of work and I
have deadlines coming up, too. Things aren’t perfect, though I’d have loved to
finish this post off with ‘and they lived happily ever after’…
I miss home, more than I ever thought I would. My mum is an
absolute soldier of a woman and I feel a little uneasy that she and Julian are
over 100 miles away from me. My brother is struggling to manage his time just
as I am, and it pains me that I can’t continue to be his best friend from here,
at least not very effectively. I’m fortunate that he has Britt.
And, well, whenever I ring grandad he asks if I’ll come
home. He counts days on his calendar until the next time I’ll see him. He pleads
with me to not do my doctorate so that I can move back. I put off phoning him
some days because I don’t feel strong enough to say no anymore and I’m worried
I’ll just get in the car and go to him. It isn’t his fault, he’s just old. I
miss him just as much as he misses me and will try my best to move home next
year.
At the moment, Joel works full time (and more) at a primary
school and I’m juggling three jobs, housework, uni work and PhD applications.
Money is tight (which is a disgrace because a full-time job, part time jobs and
student loans should be more than enough to survive). Joel’s football is
becoming more serious which is great, but it means we see each other very
little – maybe two evenings a week. I’m on my own a lot. It’s hard, I won’t
pretend it isn’t, but I’m told life is a constant learning curve, aka an uphill
battle...
I came here because I wanted to be a Master of English, but
suddenly the stakes have gotten very high... Now I must master washing dishes,
paying bills, driving across the country every fortnight, working a job in Clevedon
and two in Nottingham, meeting deadlines, juggling relationships and getting accepted
on to a PhD. I just can’t afford to drop a ball.
In the interest of ending on something positive, we recently
adopted a gorgeous kitten, Tiger Lily, to keep me company and bring life and
happiness to the house. She is playful and very very sweet; she follows me
around and sits with me while I work on the laptop (a lot). I write a lot about
the intrinsic value of non-human life in my essays so it feels weird to
oversimplify it like this, but animals are the BEST.
