What Hope Do We Have?
At the age of twenty-nine, I have a new-found confidence in my writing (both creative and critical); an ability to articulate oneself (ya' know talk propa and all that); the courage to speak up, expressing opinion, and not feel as if I'm treading the waters of Academia Sea whilst slowly drifting closer and closer to Ignorance Island. I've found feminism, well I say this, the reality: I have discovered what feminism actually is which, by the way if any of you are wondering, is not a pack of angry women stomping naked around a camp fire, whilst aimlessly throwing their bras to the flames and regurgitating slurs of male hatred. And among discovering feminism's implications, have realised a feminist I have always been. At the age of twenty-nine, I have graduated with a BA Hons in English Studies and the three years I spent at University has changed my life. I feel I'm equipped to understand and relate to people from all walks of life; to not judge people on first impressions; to see beyond labels like: 'mental illness,' 'drug addict,' and 'bisexual.' I am now able to see that whilst some are trying to rid themselves of these given labels, others hide behind them. I am aware of gender constructs and social conditioning, binary systems and linguistics. At the age of twenty-nine, I haven't ever found it so difficult to find a job. Leaving school at the age of sixteen, ironically, feeling academia was not for me, I floated in and out of many jobs, from bars to banks, shops to schools, pubs to publishers; I applied, got invited to interview, received a job offer. In fear of being misunderstood I must state, I wasn't ever an ill-mannered teenager, I have always been reasonably articulate and haven't ever struggled finding my way around Microsoft Word, but in many ways, I was clueless. When finally deciding, three years ago, to return to the one thing I had always been certain I enjoyed, I decided to leave my job and follow English right back to the classroom, where I started my expedition to adult education. And what a wonderful place it was too. A world of grants, help, guidance and encouragement. A degree all for the small price of ÂŁ9000 - priceless really. Or is it? In May 2010 we saw only the second hung parliament since World War II and the first full coalition since 1945 - well, in my opinion, Cameron and Clegg's union plays out more like head girl of the 'popular' group you saw at school and one of her minions, who fears to disagree with number one bitch would only result in being shamed in front of the entire school in having her knickers pulled down in the canteen on a Friday lunchtime. And it's this fear of exposed underwear that resulted in the 'new kids' at my university, the following year, signing up for a nice weighty sum of ÂŁ9000 per year - the cost of my degree in its entirety. Since David Cameron's pink, chubby cheeks have blessed our screens, newspapers and billboards, we have heard nothing much more than his grievance with our benefits system. Cameron insists 'we should give young people a clear, positive choice: Go to school. Go to college. Do an apprenticeship. Get a job. But just choose the dole? We've got to offer them something better than that.' Well David, I went to school and I then went to college and I'm now on the dole and can't get a job, not to mention the fact you've made higher education something that only a class of people, that wouldn't ever have a need for benefits, can afford. Irony anyone? No?....Not a fan? *Ahem* One of January's headlines, unsurprisingly printed by right-wing newspaper The Telegraph, read: 'Increase in employment will bring "peace of mind" to UK, David Cameron says.' Now, I must admit there hasn't been a shortage of vacancies that I have applied for both directly and through a recruitment agency, but I still seem to have no joy. When asking this agency 'where I am going wrong?' I received the reply: 'Your cover letters are brilliant, your CV is great, but the current job market means that they can afford to be "picky," and the only thing successful candidates have over you is more recent work experience.' Okay, so what does this mean? The fact that I have studied for the last three years is now working against me (mind the pun)? Oh look, there's our faithful friend, Irony again. This then begs the question, do companies and small businesses no longer find employees educated to degree level desirable, or is it that the rate of unemployment is still so high that there will always be someone better suited to a role than you? 'Jobs are still being created but there are more people looking for them; hence unemployment is coming down more slowly,' writes Larry Elliott, economics editor for The Guardian. So, as graduates, what hope do we have? In this economic climate and under a, lets face it, Torie government, do we simply leave university with debt, unemployment and a bruised ego?















