Why Did I Go To University?

My reasons for attending university were a mixture of personal, financial and aspirational. One of those reasons was the hope that I’d encounter an eclectic group of people who would open my eyes to new opinions and attitudes. People who would aid me in broadening my intellectual horizons.

For the most part this has not been the case. The majority apparently being obsessed with celebrities, excessive drinking, nights out and “fun”. Not what I would call suitable subjects for intellectual discourse.

There are a few diamonds amongst the student body of the University of Lincoln. I won’t name them, as I would not want to cause them any upset at being selected for praise, but they are worth talking to.

One of these diamonds is a young man hailing from the same part of North London that I once called home. We do not agree on practically every subject imaginable. But he is capable of holding his own in a debate, of presenting his opinions clearly and concisely and demonstrates that he has acquired real knowledge. He also has the strength of character to argue his case in the face of my own vitriolic style of delivery.

Another diamond, or to put it more accurately a group of diamonds, is a small group of Dutch students. They stand out like pearls in a bucket of pig swill. Their opinions on our academic work, the British and everything else are uniquely their own. They say that travel broadens the mind but here I am able to broaden my mind just by talking to this small group. They have struck me as having a real interest in what they are doing and a desire to learn. The fact that they are Dutch puts an interesting spin on what they have to say for themselves. Most unlike many of the British students I encounter.

Perhaps I am being unfair to the majority of my peer group? Possibly the fact that I am a mature student puts them off from conversing with me? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s all down to the fact that they are the products of an educational system that seems to have failed so many. The potential of these young people is there it just hasn’t been realised.