Stu-debt, No Food And Still Smiling

Student life. How to write this without hitting every layabout, tax-consuming, alcoholic stereotype that The Daily Mail churn out like sour milk. It's actually quite difficult; maybe the Mail was right all along? Well actually no, thank God. Rest easy in your beds, word on the street is that the Mail isn't always right. Who'd have thought it.

Yes it is true (well certainly for me) that students consume more alcohol than a Glasweigan stag-do that have been told their livers need to be destroyed or Scotland will never beat England at anything ever again. Or Peter Dowdeswell on a three hour bender. However, we do squeeze some work in there too. Perhaps more scattered and inconsistent than lecturers would desire. Not sure I'm going to be the next Oscar Wilde, but studying is occasionally undertaken and I do enjoy it... mostly.

University life has ticked a lot of boxes for me personally. Freedom, enjoyment and expansion of the mind, body and debt. Ah yes the debt. My favourite drunken subject, when I whinge about my current financial predicament. Let's be honest I'm not poverty stricken but I used to be able to buy bread and a pint of Guinness. I don't eat as many sandwiches now. My overdrawn account peers up at me pathetically at the hole in the wall, as another phone call is made to the parents to explain why I need bailing out or else I'm going to have to eat the desk. The desk is getting smaller.

That being said, university has met me squarely in the middle of my life. Right enough of sounding like a Guardian-reading twat (which I am). Have I proved the Mail wrong? Not really. Ah well, if my journalism course goes well I might be able to infiltrate them one day and sneak in a article about why illegal immigrants are modern-day heroes. Ha if only I had the nerve.

Conservatively Labouring To Complete Confusion

Is anyone else completely confused by politics but won't admit it because they think they'll look like an idiot when asked by their so-called "cleverer" mates who they're going to vote for? Um, well I'm not going to vote for Gordon Brown you answer - because apparently we all hate him. I'm actually still not sure why that is? This may be because I'm politically illiterate; but I bet if most people were honest they are too. Blundering their way through arguments with political spiel that no one really understands until they feel they can move on to lighter topics. Similar to what politicians do funnily enough.

I'm not trying to take the moral high ground here. Far from it. I'm the worst for pretending I know what I'm talking about when in truth the only thing I actually know about is football. Even then my mates manage to out-geek me on the subject - I'm not even the best at the only thing I'm good at. Brilliant. Slightly off the point though.

To my embarassment, I studied politics for two years and still have no idea what it's all about. In fact I'm probably even more confused now, I think I was better in blissful ignorance. Again this problem is down to me. If I had got a strong A, rather than a modest C, I would probably know my manifestos and mandates like I know my John Terrys and Wayne Bridges. But when it all boils down to it, I'll probably endlessly discuss parties and policies I don't know or understand in the build-up to the election, happily watch the FA Cup final and then make a last minute decision to vote Green... because they sound nice.