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| The future ain't looking so bright now... |
I
got my A Level exam results the other day – B in History, C in English Language
and D in English Literature, for all those wondering – which means that I can
go to the University of Sunderland in September and study Sports Journalism.
I’m very happy and, obviously, very lucky to be able to go onto higher
education. But I’m worried (and no, not because of the city I’ll be living
in...)
I
should be excited for university, for my future, for my life. I’m eighteen
years old and I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. I’m prepared to work hard, of
course, which will hopefully result in me getting what I want from life. No?
Of
course not, we all know that’s not true. If you want to succeed in life the
likelihood is that you will need to work hard, have a great deal of luck on
your side and be given chances left, right and indeed centre (unless you’re
born into a rich family who give you your life on a plate or something similar
– in which case, I hate you). It’s far too simplistic to say ‘if you work hard
in school etc you’ll get the rewards’ – it’s not that easy anymore.
The
student fee increases are unlikely to affect me (as far as I’m aware) but that
doesn’t mean I’m going to be anything like financially secure over the next few
years and probably beyond. Generally, things are getting more and more
expensive, the economy is ruined and no one seems to know what to do. The
government are tasked with sorting out these problems but I can’t remember the
last time I believed something that came out of a politician’s mouth – in fact
I don’t think I ever have. It’s not exactly very promising, is it?
Everyday
I sit down to watch the news and, without fail, it depresses me every single
time. Electricity and gas prices are going up, house prices are on the rise,
unemployment rates are obscene. People are dying every day, be it in Iraq or in
our own back yard. People are angry, people don’t know what to do – our society
is ‘sick’.
Clearly,
some perspective needs to be had. Problems all over Africa and other
third-world countries have it much, much worse than us and, again, that
depresses me – there are people in this country who earn tens millions of
pounds a year but, yet, there are people in Somalia who haven’t eaten in days,
weeks, months. This kind of issue is nothing new – but nothing is ever done
about it.
Going
back to the need for perspective – of course, I feel pretty pathetic
complaining about not having enough money after going to university, after
paying for driving lessons, after going out with mates, etc. I’m very lucky to
have these things. But then, as human beings, we concentrate on the issues in
front of us. When you’re in a car stuck in traffic, do you resist the
temptation to complain because you’re very lucky to have a car, to have such
lovely roads? Of course not – you wonder what that bloody tractor in front is
doing.
The
point is, it’s all a bit depressing at the minute, perspective aside. People
are destroying their own communities and, while that is unjustifiable, the anger and dismay on show is – to a certain extent – understandable. These kids – while they are
criminals and most will simply be idiots looking for some new trainers – are
not happy. They do not see a future for themselves. They’ve watched on as their
parents work hard all day, all week and still end up in a council house -
working hard, as stated earlier, just isn’t enough.
Those
kids destroying London last week were criminals and should be prosecuted
accordingly (what ‘accordingly’ means, I’ll leave that up to you) but this
problem goes beyond those kids. Prices are going up and those who are fortunate
enough to have jobs are seeing their wages stretched further and further.
Punishing
the rioters will send out a clear message to other kids and will – possibly –
deter them from committing similar crimes. But it doesn’t solve the main issues
at hand. It might sound ungrateful, but it’s deeply depressing what is going on
in England at the moment. For want of a better phrase – this country’s fucked.
I’m
going to university in a couple of months, I should be excited. I’m not – I’m very
worried.
