College is another word for Murder.

I think that college life is often misunderstood by those in the work force who haven't actually ever gone to college or university - and those who attended SOME college or university but discontinued their studies. I know that almost every single one of my friends and acquaintances who have not studied at this level or who studied and dropped out - have all misunderstood how my class schedule and study time affects my life. Because I sit for part of the day while they 'run errands at work' and do other forms of 'activity' that they get paid for (their jobs), most of my friends believe that they are stressed and active but that I shouldn't be. I shouldn't be stressed because I just sit and 'think' for part of my day, every day of the week. Many non-university peers believe that their stresses are more important than my assignment deadlines and exams because they get paid and I don't. They also misunderstand my student loan, thinking that I get government money and am partly a bit of a freeloader (However, I have to pay back all this money WITH INTEREST for my type of loan and I receive less to live on than welfare recipients and am far, far under the LICO/poverty line). I have to set firm boundaries with non-university friends and acquaintances - to limit discussions about finances, work, and certain life topics because many topics just cause disagreements. The facts are that student life is competitive, stressful, and a great number of students have the added stress of poverty issues to deal with (adding even more stress). But 'society' in general doesn't understand student life and because of this, student resources are limited. I receive a loan and even the government who issued the loan to me will not let me qualify for many services that other low-income citizens are able to receive. People who are on welfare receive benefits that I don't qualify for because I have a student loan that is noticeably at least $2000/yr less money than welfare recipients have. Of course, this might not be the same situation that every student is under, but many students are having these added financial difficulties ON TOP OF the study, time management, exam, and learning stress. Another thing that people don't realize about higher level learning is that often, the materials and topics that are for study - have the potential to cause a lot of stress. While 'workers' work and often do repeated tasks in a field they are relatively comfortable in, students often deal with learning concepts that change thier perception of the world and cause some inner conflict. For instance - most people who have jumped into the work force haven't taken an in-depth look at history like students are required to in most first year base-course-loads. They haven't done an in-depth, critical study of any particular 'discipline' of study, unless they've had an interest and initiated a study on their own. Students are required, in many colleges and universities, to delve a little deeper into information that the average person doesn't access. For example: Finding out that there was an attempted Canadian genocide of Natives, Japanese and other nationalities in my Canadian History studies was pretty upsetting material for me to learn. To find out that 'the rumours' of this were true, instead of only certain peoples' perceptions (which I was aware of before my classes), was difficult for me to deal with emotionally, since I am Metis. Learning about past political leaders, examining their actions and causes within a university environment where the focus is intense and you're expected to really EXAMINE and analyse such topics - is very stressful. Studying often causes 'discomfort' in thinking - as new ideas are replaced with old. It's about much more than reading, writing, lectures, and exams...it's about shifting focus, replacing old ideas with newer better (sometimes painful) information. Often this requires not only 'intellectual' capacity, but some emotional engagement with the topics, especially if you're studying some of the liberal arts. I won't even go into the 'competition' and the 'relationship'/study partners or dating in college. Those are just more stresses that many people don't realize exist.