I only have a few more hours until the second part of my ‘main’ holiday starts for this summer. It has been raining for most of the day which has begged the question if I really want to be standing on the back of our (I say our, we sort of share it with a family friend) narrow boat. I don’t claim to be good at many things, especially with practical tasks, but I can drive a narrow boat. Although do I really drive a narrow boat. Don’t I sail a narrow boat? Some people say that you motor a narrow boat. If I motor a narrow boat then why don’t we motor a car? Besides, isn’t motor a noun? Suppose it doesn’t matter, Shakespeare spent most of his time making nouns verbs.
Besides, I have bigger problems at hand, how I have foolishly decided to stop smoking. Being wise is another thing I don’t claim to be good at. If I was wise then I wouldn’t have started smoking in the first place but curiosity does kill the cat. Once you reach the legal age to buy a product everyone tells you should avoid, of course you will use your new found position in society to purchase that same product. When the government were discussing ‘under the counter sales’ for tobacco products I found it difficult thinking of anything more exciting all of that week. Most people like it when they lead a lifestyle which is different to others, smoking is certainly fast becoming one of those lifestyles.
Despite the physical cigarette being a commercial item it does entail a need for lifestyle change. In hindsight it is obvious beyond comprehension that this lifestyle is to be considered lesser than that of a non-smoker. However, smoking is still a choice, it is still legal, it is the highest taxed item within the UK’s market and so should be respected as a debt releasing medicine. If everybody smoked in the UK our shameless loan we have as a country (which requires more key strokes than I can offer you currently) would be eradicated fairly quickly. I believe our government has borrowed almost 4/5 of our country’s GDP. Staggering! Typically we only pay the interest of this loan, but don’t worry, we won’t go bust, our government will just print more money. Eventually we may even reach a Zimbabwean finale. So our country is in a bad position and smoking is a vice. The thought of a vice leading to a virtue? Possibly.
Time to light up those cigarettes, those torches of freedom, but I am unsure to do so at the moment. I can’t say that I won’t ever smoke again. I might decide to light up a cigarette tomorrow evening unless these pesky cravings disappear but even stopping temporarily has meant not smoking 20/30 death sticks this week. A saving of almost £10 and I am a student who is purely faithful to the straight and narrow, the Marlboro and Mayfair and consequently I need to save and earn that money.
What better time to earn and save that money than in the summer. When voting for the student union elections this year an awful lot of emphasis was placed upon the question, “What do you think of our current term times?” The majority of candidates quite rightly said how it was disgraceful that university terms are getting shorter and our costs are going up. However, the alternative side to that question was only answered by one candidate, a girl, who pointed out that the summer is an excellent time to earn money. Perhaps an excellent time to earn money if you have found the opportunity. I am one of the fortunate few and almost embarrassed to say I have more than one job on at a time. Thomas Paine said how the harder he worked the more luck he seemed to have. I am inclined to believe the same, I am working fairly hard and have reaped benefits so far.
There is an awful lot of luck mixed into my summer work and before I spend any money I keep in mind that the summer is only temporary. Whilst I imagine myself to have enough money to be set for life, I only actually have enough money for a few university meals and nights out. Saving money into separate accounts also ignores the fact I already owe over £3000 in course fees for my first year at university. People who started university only to not work and drop out must be mad, insane, loopyloo with the drooping tongue proudly resting upon thy chin.
I miss the academic edge university provides the left side of my brain, the great friends I have made in the last year (9 months) and being almost fully dependent. I look forward to starting next year, hoping my module choices will be satisfactory and cracking on with lots of new skills, challenges and projects. As a perspective onto student life I honestly can’t say that since my holidays have started I have worked any less. It is utterly untrue and dishonest to say that all students don’t work. It would also be false to presume working is an inconvenience, if I wasn’t busy then I would be bored. Although the thought of not smoking for the next bit of my holiday; an inconvenience and bloody irritating.
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