So I’ve been a little neglectful of my online ranting as of late, and that’s mainly due to two reasons:
1 – I ran out of money while I was down in Cardiff, which meant my only source of food was jacket potatoes. Which depressed me. And I didn’t want any posts to be whiny and depressing.
2 – I’ve been back home for a couple of weeks, but due to the nature of where I work, I’ve literally been working every day since I’ve been back and all my shifts were about 10 hours long, so I haven’t had the time.
So basically comrades, I am sorry for being neglectful. And I intend to break the silence of the rants with this, volume 2 of Student Life Bites!
Recently my life has been dominated by money. Mostly the lack of it to be perfectly honest, which is nobody’s fault but my own really (as much as I try to blame, well, the world). And I know it’s not just me. Lots of students fall into the abyss of an overdraft at least once during their degree, but not all struggle with it alone.
I consider myself to come from a working class background. This means I couldn’t afford a gap year. I definitely can’t afford to study abroad for a year or an academic term of study. I probably can’t afford any of the random, culturally rich trips many student have the opportunity to go on and it leads me to wonder whether those whom are working class in university are deprived from opportunities in and before university because of their backgrounds. For example I can’t afford to take part in a months long unpaid work placement during summer, as I need to make money to give myself a financial cushion in September. Which puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to being employed next year. And these aren’t isolated instances.
The difference between working class and other more financially secure families in my opinion is pretty evident from day one of term. The working class, myself being one, are money conscious from day one, budgeting the first week to ensure they survive the term because that’s our only source of income. But I’ve noticed other students don’t have to do this. A couple of my friends spend in excess of £40 a week on food which is also payed by their parents, as is their rent. This isn’t a bad thing. Their parents want to look after their children while their away from home, and paying their food and housing expenses is one of, if not the best way to do so, but not every semi adult has this luxury. During my third year, I fell on hard times after my phone broke. As I was contracted and had no insurance, I had to pay to fix it which was quite a bit and it landed me in a tough spot, to which the only remedy was to crawl into my overdraft for the first time. The vast majority of people I told about this were baffled as I hadn’t mentioned this to my parents. As if to say “surely they would pay for it?” – but when you’re working class, you’re so money conscious to the point that it makes you reluctant to ask for money since you know that they probably are just as skint as you. And as much as my parents probably could have just about helped me out, it would have landed them in a shit situation which isn’t fair.
I’m not asking for more money from Student Finance Wales. I’m not asking for people with more money to have less. I’m just raising an important issue. When you’re working class in university you do struggle to get by a bit more than the rest. Financial aid from parents is a rarity at best (again I’m not complaining, I appreciate everything they have done and sacrificed for me) which means I’m not able to enjoy a social life as rich as others. It also means my diet is less varied. I’m unable to buy the books I need. I can’t afford foreign trips. Study leaves abroad. All this which aid a CV and cost tend to be out of my reach.
Are their positives to being a working class lad in uni? Of course!! It has made me much more independent from my parents. When I’m in trouble, I sort if myself. I’ve learnt to budget my money and shop intelligently this year more than any other and I am slowly crawling back out of my overdraft. If I do need or want to buy something or afford a trip, I get a job which in turn broadens my employability range. Cooking is another gain too. Since I can’t afford takeaways, I cook. And I cook marvellous meals on the cheap. If anything, it has prepared me to be completely independent once I am employed and more than likely living hours from my parents down in Cardiff. It toughens you to endure being skint. To put on an extra jumper rather than turn up the heating. To put tomatoes on a potato because, well, that’s all you have and make the most of it. Lots of little things that nobody really realises about being slightly less financially well off than others. It’s the different, boring side to uni life not many will experience. But hopefully more working class students will – it’s the best learning curve you will ever have.
tilitalks 