Issues | Is Uni For You?

The question so many people have to ask themselves when they get to the age of 17/18 is whether university is for them or not. It's a difficult choice and if I'm honest I feel that colleges push the idea of university far too much. Everyone is required to write a personal statement and decide at a too young age what they want to do as a career.

What was my experience of uni like?

The idea of university was something I had always wanted to experience. It was something that was always encouraged by my parents and college. The questions I began to ask myself in the last year of sixth form was; 'what am I going to do with my life after college?', 'where will I be 5 years time?' I've always been one for experiencing new things and new places, I wanted the experience of living somewhere new and studying something I found interesting. For me, this was Psychology, being a second year now I am glad I went to uni, but it wasn't at all how I expected it to me. I was very unhappy for the first few months of my first year and found it very daunting moving so far up the country from my home. Not knowing anyone and have to support myself was intimidating. After a few months, I began to settle in, I pushed myself to try new things and meet new people. I personally feel that uni has changed me as a person to who I was two years ago. Personally I'm glad I went, I feel I've gained a lot more independence and I've learnt a lot of life lessons. I've become more tolerable of people and learnt to compromise a hell of a lot more than I used to. From studying Psychology, I now know that it is something I'd like to do as a career when I graduate. 

HOWEVER

I think that sixth forms need to highlight that there are other options apart from university because it isn't for everyone. Apprenticeships and going straight into work are just as good options. The decision you make should be completely your own decision and it shouldn't be influenced by anyone else. It completely depends on the type of individual you are. Perhaps you like where you are and don't want to move away, or you're happy with your group of friends, it could even be that you've had enough of education and want to get into the real world straight away. Whatever the reason, there is nothing wrong with not going to uni and I don't think this is stressed enough. You can be successful without going to university and you can still go far in life. Money wise, you won't be in a huge amount of debt like say I will be. For 3 years of tuition it will cost me a total of  £27,000 and that isn't counting the loan I get given by student finance which is around £3,000 a year. If you're not 100% sure you want to go, then don't go, because it isn't worth the money you'd be paying, especially if you want to drop out. 

Something I should have thought about

Like I stated earlier, I am one for adventure, one day I want to go travelling. Something which I wish I would have thought about was deferring and take a gap year. Personally I don't think I was ready for uni when I was 18. At the time I didn't really know what I wanted to do and needed more time. Thinking back, it didn't even seem like an option to me. I've always toyed with the idea of travelling, its something I want to do in my life. Some of my friends took a gap year themselves, worked full time and then went travelling, they said it was the best time of their life and grew up a hell of a lot whilst being away. If travelling is something you want to do, then do it while you can, it will get to an age where you won't be able to do it due to your job or starting a family.

Think long and hard on what you want to do, whether it's university or getting a job or starting an apprenticeship. Do what you think is best for yourself, you know yourself more than anyone else.

Eikc.  

Issues | 'Why are you so skinny?'

Hi everyone!

This post was inspired by two of my house mates, both who would be classed as 'skinny'. We were examining the stigma towards being skinny and the discussion which developed I found deeply interesting.

There is a question that within society gets brought up time and time again, 'why are you so skinny?', personally I think is quite insulting. What right do people have to criticise an individuals weight? The same question would be asked.. 'why are you so fat?', that wouldn't be a socially acceptable question so why should it be acceptable to pick out someone who is skinny? There might be reasons why they are skinny, it might be due to their high metabolism or their smaller bone structure or perhaps they have an eating disorder. If in fact they do have an eating disorder, they already will have a negative body image of themselves, so why would you want to implant that thought into their mind any further? If anything, it is just plain rude and insensitive.

You shouldn't need to ask people why their body is the way it is, it isn't necessary. It can deeply affect their self-esteem and confidence. It isn't fair making people feel conscious about their body image. As long as the person is happy and healthy then why should they have to change? If they had an issue and weren't happy, then they themselves would address the problem. If however, it is someone who wouldn't be able to address the problem themselves (perhaps someone who has an eating disorder) and you're worried them, then they are ways of addressing it in a more sensitive manner. The way you communicate this is very important.

The word 'skinny' I feel is quite offensive, it comes across as being negative. The term 'thin' I'd class as more appropriate. If in fact you're trying to compliment someone, make sure you think about the way you say it so that you don't offend that person.  For example, 'you look SO skinny'. This could be interpretated the wrong way and upset that person. A better approach would be, 'your body is looking really good!', conveying the same message but in a more positive way.

Another issue which I find unfair is comments like 'you shouldn't have lost weight, you looked so much better before'. What if before that individual was a healthy weight but was completely unfit and couldn't run up and down the stairs without being out of breath? What if now they feel more comfortable and have more confidence? As long as they are healthy and happy, why does it matter? It appears there are people who they themselves have low self-esteem and feel better by expressing negative comments about another individual to make themselves feel better, that in itself isn't healthy.

The moral of the story is that everyone is different. If everyone was the same then our world would be a boring place.

Eikc.