Another twist and turn of uni life: socioeconomics

PHOTO: From Dupe Photos

OPINION

It’s probably been drilled into your skull at this point that as a first year, or being a university student in general, you’ll meet people from absolutely all over the show.

I remember hearing this and thinking ‘oh righto’, but holy country I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Not only is uni life filled with people from all walks of life with different interests and beliefs, but every single person comes from their unique background and upbringing.

As a result, it has led me to developing friendships and to a smaller extent, holding conversations and interactions with people who come from a completely different financial background.

Now, me personally, I’m a proud member of the weekly studylink + part time worker crew, but I am aware that compared to a lot of other people, I am incredibly blessed.

I’m proud to say I’ve got two parents that have worked hard to build this platform I find myself on. They’ve been able to supply me with things that have given me such a head start in life, such as a beloved ’03 Legacy for my birthday.

With that, a major part of university and really growing up is understanding that, as sad as it sounds, people may have more or less choices based on their financial situation.

It’s a bit of a taboo subject here in Aotearoa, as those who are well off/wealthy tend to shy away from their success/family’s success in fear of being touted as spoiled or a nepo baby in the making.  

Those lack of conversations have led to an absence of a tried-and-true solution to the problem. However, by just tweaking the mindset a little to one geared towards ‘treat others how you want to be treated’, the problem becomes that little bit less.

Say your mate, who’s just been a good sort and picked up 2 or 3 boxes for the group’s Saturday night, has asked you to pay them back.

Now as the night goes on, it’s entirely possible that everyone’s kind of just forgot about it, and as a fleeting moment passed on a dusty Sunday, you all think ‘oh yeah I’ll just pay them later’, even though you’ve got enough to do so.

Meanwhile, your mate is now panicking as he’s got to decide whether he pays the rent or eats this week, but is too shy to follow up, thinking it’ll place strains on the friendships they’ve worked hard to create.

You see the wee adjustment to be made here?

I’m not saying it’s quite literally as simple as that but having that understanding of you don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes is important to have.

If you’re that mate who can find that sort of situation relatable, don’t be afraid to have those upfront (and sometimes uncomfortable) conversations with your friends. If they’re truly your mates, they’ll understand 100%. If not, go find some new ones – they ain’t worth your time. Or money.