Patronising people, and people criticising students. (Room 101)

Name: HelenW

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Product:	Room 101
Date:	29.03.08 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Um...

Disadvantages: Makes me want to scream.

The first thing I would put in room 101 is Patronising People!

My pet hate, is being patronised. Out of all the things that may annoy me, or might cause me to count to 10 silently, this is the whopping great issue.

1. Bank clerks
I went into the Lloyds TSB (where I already had a current account), around 2/3 years ago now in order to be able to set up an ISA. At the time, I was 18 years of age, an age at which I am perfectly able to make decisions about where to keep my money. UNTIL, I get asked "do you have anyone with you?". I walked straight out. Fortunately, the Halifax could not have been any more helpful.

2. Doctors
Not all doctors obviously, my old doctor. I won't go into details, but suffice to say, at the age of 20, I had never felt more of a child after spending 5 minutes with this woman. Now I have a different doctor :)

3. "You're only saying that because...."
No, I'm saying that because it is my OPINION. Free speech and all that. I have my own mind and am perfectly capable of making my own decisions and accepting the consequences.

The second thing I would put in room 101 is the criticism of students.

Plenty of times have I been called a layabout, or lazy (ok, in a jokey way) but with the amount of times I get it, I think I'm entitled for it to get to me.
I'm a student. No, I don't have a job during term time. The reason for that is simple: I live in the smallest city, where university students make up half of the population (not counting 6th form college students). Part time jobs aren't exactly 2 a penny. The careers service at my university has told me that there can easily be 50 applications per part time job. And shockingly, in the summer holidays, people aren't keen to take on people who they know are going to be leaving in 3 months. [/sarcasm] Result, I have no money, but it's not because I'm a layabout.

And as for lazy:
I work damn hard at university. I can easily have to write an essay a week, that isn't just merely typing it out, that involves hours in the library researching, quewing for textbooks and journals (which the library decides 3 copies are fine, regardless of the fact that one of my subjects has around 300 second years).

Not to mention the fact that we have exams every 6 WEEKS. As soon as your exams are over, there is no time for a lie in, or a night off because, guess what... You have exams in a few weeks time!!! Oh, and a few essays on top of that! Your next lot of exams are actually occuring before you get the results of the last. I kid you not.

It's completely normal for me to be living on adrenaline for a week or two. In the two weeks before I came home for easter, I had exams coming out of my ears for one subject, and oral exams for my dissertation for my other subject (joint honours). I was literally going to bed at 2AM, getting up at 6 for an exam at 9, then either going home or the library to work some more. My exams literally finished the day before I went home, so I think I can be forgiven for being tired on the day I get home and falling asleep.

Yes, I may only have 14 contact hours a week, that is completely normal at university (even less for some courses, a friend of mine has 6). However, this doesn't count the fact you are expected to do your reading (4 hours per 1 hour of lecture is the expected for my university), revise your previous lecture material, hand in essays, go to dissertation meetings etc. Not to mention those non important things like sleeping. Oh and on top of that I need to get work experience for the postgraduate course I intend to take following my graduation. Which, by the way, solicitors offices are notorious at not giving unpaid work experience places to students. For a reason which I have not yet established.

So, before you call me a lazy student, take time to actually look at what I *do* as a student, instead of taking a narrow minded view based on no observation whatsoever and making me feel about 2 inches tall.

mmmk?



P.s. not directed at people on here of course!

Summary: I'm calm. Ish.