Pressing Matters

blargh.

katieforeverago:

I wasn’t going to come online cause i knew i’d get distracted when i REALLYREALLY need to pack. And then my mum texts me ‘go on oovoo to see if it works!’ - ‘fine fine.’

It’s been half an hour and i’m still sat here surrounded by clothes and things not in cases/boxes/bags.

 Packing for university is such a classic! I’ve currently got clothes scattered across my desk and I’m leaving for London tomorrow. Today I bought a throw for my bed. Time wasting, me?

To the surprising amount of new followers..

Thanks very much! If you want to write a blog, or even post some of your own art or photography that’s related to uni-life and being a student please let me know with either an @pressingmatters or just a screamingly obvious uni-related piece that I’ll reblog with due credit. Also, please reccomend this blog if you’ve got any uni friends, it’s going to be used big time over the coming year for rants and raves.

Love and luck to you all.

The dilemma of the wooden, metal and plastic spatula.

Preparing to flee the nest for one final time, you realise that the real world is limbering up to throw problems at you left, right and center; like whether or not you buy a plastic, wooden or metal spatula to use on your brand new non-stick frying pan. All of a sudden, it’s clear that that the clear-cut isn’t as simple as you once thought. So, as an 18 year old boy/man, how do you tackle the new dilemmas facing you?

I’ve spent hours and hours over the past week trawling through home appliance catalogues, attempting to roll up to my London life with a bounty of utensils that will prepare me for any culinary challenge. I’ve written lists; bought a cookery book; asked my mother how to clean a bathroom effectively.

Across the road, my best friend Emma - in all her naturally maternal glory - has already bought every imaginable necessity. She can bake her worries away. Her haul puts my house plant to shame.

In typical man-fashion, I’ve managed to whittle away two of the four days I have left before I leave with other tasks. So, come Wednesday and Thursday, there’s only one option - panic buy, panic pack and say panic goodbyes. I know it’s haphazard but it’s exciting and I am not an organised person. So, if I could give advice to people moving away next year, I’d say this: enjoy the last minute buzz of realising it doesn’t matter what spatula you buy, because you will probably get there and realise you’ve forgotten to pack the non-stick frying pan.

Student Finance England - Financial Fiasco

Considering money is the main concern that plagues new university students, second only to the worry that comes with settling into a new city, I find it abominable that Student Finance England have made such a mess of this years grants and loans.

Recent news reports suggest that the company, who’re undertaking the monumental task of organising government loans to thousands of teenagers, began sifting through the mountain of paper work a whole FIVE MONTHS after they should have began processing people’s claims. With most students beginning university within a matter of days, it begs the question, who bares the brunt of this disaster?

Unfortunately the answer is simple - the students.

Some universities are attempting to offer an olive branch to pupils by deferring payment on halls but this doesn’t count for the students who are living in private housing or for those who don’t have parents in a position to lend money for groceries.

Earlier this year, there was the scandal with the poor handling of SAT’s results when the government handed the task over to a new company. But why aren’t these companies being forced to go through trials before they’re trusted with life changing decisions?

It’s a shame that this will cast a cloud over the adventure of university for so many students, who’ll be embarking on their courses living on their tightest budget yet. Hopefully, the government will learn something from this but - more importantly - they’ll create some kind of scheme that will actually help students for once.