Student Loans

I can't decide if the student loan company is good or evil

It's good because you can take a huge loan, and it doesn't effect your credit rating for other borrowing. If you can't pay it back you don't. If you haven't paid it off within 20 years, your debt is forgiven. You can't default on any payments because it comes out of your wages before you get them. At the end of the day it's just glorified income tax.

It's evil because their rules are ridiculous. For example it discriminates against the middle class. If your parents earn less than a certain amount you get grants and fees paid for you. If you're parents are wealthy they can pay you through college. But if you're middle class, and you live in a family or 1, 2 or maybe even 3 siblings; your parents are expected to pay you through university with a minimal loan. This on top of having other children, a mortgage, and rising living costs to deal with, not to mention in this current climate - job insecurity!

Also if you're a second degree student, you can not get funding unless in special circumstances. What about the countless number of people who choose a degree when they're 18 and decide when they're done, or even worse when they don't even complete it, that the course leads to a path they do not want to pursue for their career. That is way too much pressure on someone not old enough to make a decision that will decide the path for the REST of their life. I mean how many 18 year olds really know what they want to do with their lives? Only a select few.

It leaves people feeling trapped and miserable in what they do. How many people aren't even using their degrees? Their should be more support for people who wish to retrain because often with a little bit of life experience they've found out what really drives them. This has been my experience, and if I have children I will be encouraging them to wait a few years after A Levels to try a few things, enjoy a bit of life, figure out what they're passionate about and then go for it.

Especially because there's big bursaries for those who are over 25, as they are considered "independant of their parents". What a pile of poppycock! So I'm living away from home permanently but just because I'm only 24 I'm still dependant on my parents?!

Another thing about all of this that bothers me is that 15 years ago, people were practically being paid to go to university. There was no such thing as the Student Loans company, because there was no need for one. The government was giving out grants practically saying "There you go son, go and get pissed for three years". Since then there's been tuition fees, top up fees, and now they're considering even doubling that.

I get it. I understand that universities need money to progress, but it's getting blind ridiculous. The only advantage to increased tuition fees will be that it will discourage people from taking on unnecessary degrees. There are too many degrees out there at the moment. The value of the degree has been cheapened. "I have a degree.....Oh who hasn't", which is a great shame.

/end rant

lip service

Everyone has pet hates, and one of my biggest ones is lip service. You know when people say something with their mouths, but you know it's a pile of bull, and they'll never follow through.

But there's a worse kind of lip service, the type when you actually believe what someone tells you, and you get disappointed or even hurt that they don't live up to their word.

I mean for goodness sake, don't say you'll do something if you never had any intention of making any kind of effort to follow it through. It's infinitely better to just be honest, so people know what to expect from each other.

As with all people in the hypocrites anonymous club, I have been guilty of my own pet hate.

my mate dave

Has anyone noticed that Dave is actually the most common name ever? You can actually walk into a room of people and exclaim "Dave!" and it's almost a dead-cert someone will react.

This post is about my friend Dave, whom I met camped beside the spar on botanic avenue on a freezing cold November night. I had just bought a new hat, that I was particularly fond of, and as I got chatting to him, he asked me if he could have my hat, and my heart was immediately endeared him.

As we shared with each other about our lives, mostly his, I could see a life of sorrow. His weather beaten face suggested years of being exposed to the elements, sleeping rough, and alchohol abuse. As I got to know him better I discovered that he had an amazing faith in Jesus Christ, and even more so that he writes hauntingly beautiful poetry about it. His faith brings him great joy in the midst of adversity.

Which makes me feel great shame. I'm not gonna do the whole "his faith puts us to shame" thing, but rather the churches inability to live out it's mandate given to us from Christ. That is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the prisoner. Why is a man like this who has such faith, on the streets? Why isn't the church doing it's job and taking in people like this? And this guy is a Christian, God help the unbelievers!

This guy even went to a church, that turned him away for his appearance, because they thought he looked like a "bum". I mean what? Have they not even read the Gospel? Jesus came to heal the sick, not the healthy! Is it too far to expect a Christian to invite people like Dave into their homes for a hot meal, even for a nights rest and a shower? Where does our responsibility end? Is it not up to the church to rehabilitate these people?

Anyway time passes by and I haven't seen Dave in a good few months. Don't know where he's been. On Saturday passed there I randomly decide after leaving some people off to the boat, that I wanna buy a hat from the Rusty Zip on Botanic Avenue. And yes, you guessed it, as I walked down the street, there was Dave sitting on that familiar spot beside the spar. I was so excited so see him, and I believe now, that it was no random act that I found myself there.

It turns out that Dave has pluracy on his lungs. He's in his 50's now, and with sleeping rough, and no one to take care of him, it's likely he's going to die someone soon. So he's decided to go to Edinburgh to see out the rest of his days in a place that he loves. I really hope he finds peace there. As he continued to share with me about his struggles with alcohol, his face lit up with joy in the knowledge that his faith covers his sin by the blood of the Lamb, and that someday real soon he is going to be redeemed with his maker.

His faith in an inspiration to me. One of his favourite sayings is "I have nothing yet I have everything, in the Lord". That is the kind of deep revelation one can only get by being close to the Father. It will be a sad day when he leaves this earth, and I believe the earth will notice his goodness missing. Please pray for Dave, for peace, for health, for his continued faith, for someone on this earth to love him.

I have another friend called Dave. He's just swanned off to East Africa for the indefinite future. He and his wife are wonderful people and I will miss them immensely, so please keep them in your thoughts too. There really is something about the name Dave!