To have cried!

[7dayslater]

I'm 19. DS is 18 months.

I live with DP & DS. I work hard, I have 2 jobs. DP works too. So, no we don't just sit on our arses, but we still need UC help to pay the bills. I want(ed) to train and work in the NHS. I'm also interested in politics.

So yeah, when I woke up this morning and saw the election result I cried. Austerity is very real, it's not a joke or a fictional story. With the way it is right now, I cannot afford an education. I cannot afford to study for a career. I'm stuck where I am.

Sadder still, others have it far worse. There are children in poverty, a homelessness crisis, the NHS is crumbling when people need it more than ever. I can respect democracy. I can respect the vote. But I have to ask, for people like me - what now?

Individual choice my arse.

If you are born into a poor household, in a poor area, with not enough food and parents who struggle, e.g. due to mental health, drugs or have literacy issues themselves, then the odds are stacked against you.

People don't know the half of what goes on. But we'll all feel it after 10 years of this shower, because BJ is going to get 2 terms on the back of this.

Andysbestadventure I totally agree.

OP, until you choose the subject you want to study, nothing will change. From what I've read in your posts, you got a diploma in creative media (whatever that means), then you changed my mind and enrolled in a triple science course which the college cancelled. Then you considered paediatric nursing but are now thinking of doing a degree in politics, philosophy & economics.

You need to think about which, if any, of those are going to give you a good career and with good earning potential.

I've cried 4 times so far today.
What we all need to do - I think- is do what we can despite the Tories. I work in education. I'd implore you not to give up on your education and to visit whatever colleges or unis you can, or call them, and ask what's available to you.

We need to do this despite them. to spite them. I wish you all the best.

I can’t cope. It’s whingeing.

@Thestinkycheeseman You're right, what she is whining about is her triple science course being cancelled three weeks before being due to start, which meant the spaces at other colleges were full and she had to go to work instead. HTH.

Not really

And I came from a council estate, too. Our family experienced violence, substance abuse, unemployment and poverty. I worked my arse off and went to Oxbridge. As a SAHP, this is the first time I’ve been unemployed since I was 15. I don’t want anyone else to have it that hard.

This is the problem with labour voters, if your opinion differs they start with the name calling.

And of course Tory voters never do that.

There is literally ALWAYS a way out. You just need to put the effort it.

What a load of bollocks and magical thinking. Sometimes shit happens in life that is absolutely life changing and there is no way out. Yes sometimes there is a way out of you work hard but sometimes there isn't., no matter how hard you try.

Op, I think it.is a good idea to keep optimistic if you can and to keep trying, just because it will make things feel better, though the outcome isn't always what you might hope for . That is kind of what bravery is about. You keep working and trying in the face of the real possibility of failure and hopefully you will succeed. Also you are young. Take it from someone older, life is long ( if you are lucky) and it often changes beyond all recognition in that time. Don't lose hope.

@Iwouldlikesomecake
Exactly what you said.

There is such a lack of empathy in some.people on here. I think that is a lack of bravery in itself , in that it is scary to think things can for wrong and we may not be able to recover from it. Far easier to blame someone and their 'bad choices' than face the fact that pretty much everyone makes bad choices. Sometimes some people get away with it through luck, regardless of how hard they work etc. . We can try as hard as we want but in the end we have limited control of the outcome off most things in life.

That doesn't mean you give up, and stop trying. What is the alternative otherwise.?

@AllideasAndNoAction You know your rant just makes you sound like an even more right wing version of people like Priti Patel?

If there was no support for children poor people would soon stop having children.

They wouldn’t, and children would die.

Allideasandnoaction is correct, some women in other parts of the world, do not have such good opportunities, that is a fact. Like lack of education, poor health care, starting work or marriage too early.

Op I would suggest that you look at the good in your life first. You have your youth, your health, employment & a partner & child who love you which are all positives, that you can build upon.

Ref further education
You should be eligible for a student loan. You don't pay it back until you earn over a certain amount. You would need the support of your partner. I believe that you can work up to 20 hours as a student. Choose a course that guarantees a job at the end !

The alternative, instead of working 2 jobs, find one better paid job, with benefits like sick & holiday pay, pension contributions etc

You are not alone. I'm 33 and voted Labour and I cried. I felt sad after the referendum but haVe never cried after an election.

@bringincrazyback you are correct.
I change that from labour voters to entitled snowflakes

Yep I have a student loan from OU which I have not had to prepay anything as of yet. You may be able to get that before they take it away x

Do poorer people in poor countries not have children then? They do have children and unfortunately they live in extreme poverty. I do not wish that on children of the UK. (Or any children)

Fuck me some of the comments on this thread are hideous. I remember the thatcher years - this is very reminiscent - have some fucking empathy and humanity people.
OP - don't give up. Opportunities will come. My sister was a single parent in the early 80s and eventually managed to get out of the poverty trap through training and getting better job prospects as a result

Not really

You admit that you don't care about people less fortunate than you are and because of that, you don't feel that anyone other than you, (you, who has received many thousands of pounds worth of benefits in your lifetime, possibly more than average), should receive benefits. And yet you think you are not a bad person? I think admitting that you just don't care, despite having put out your hand and receiving benefits your whole life is one of the scummiest things I've e or read🤢🤢🤢.

Scuse typos

I want to know whether @Thestinkycheeseman thinks the State should have let him/her starve.

OP - hope you sensibly buggered of ages ago rather than reading a lot of this shit!

My mother received benefits.
I've never claimed a penny.
What do you you want me to do, the op can go to university but seems very undecided on what it is she actually wants to study.
She chose to have a child and now has to support that child.
I am not even slightly responsible for others life choices.
So suck it up buttercup

@Thestinkycheeseman

Should you have been allowed to starve? Caught rats in the street? What?