Oh how I love you UQ

Welcome home to Brisbane! Welcome back to UQ! After 15 months out of the country and even more time having not set foot on the university campus, returning has been quite a change in scenery. Not only is Brisbane intolerably hot, riverbanks look different, accents sound funny and bogan-like and people seem more stylish and attractive than I remember them - though perhaps only relative to the feral looking travellers and tight, tacky, polyester blend tops that latin americans seem to love. Of course, the best people watching (and eavesdropping) location is always the university campus, where Queensland's best and brightest young minds  (oh dear god!) congregate, in order to study, avoid having to find a real job for a few years and for some - find a husband. And what better day to observe so many fascinating young people than on Market Day - where various clubs bribe students to drop their hard earned dough in return for club membership and candy. Every interest is catered for, with clubs representing gamers, sporty people, engineering students and even Omani students, market day is for everyone. Being amongst such people, it did not take long for me to wish that I were overseas once again, amongst inspiring, interesting and diverse travellers. The particular uni types that really make me lose faith in tomorrow's leaders are those such as:

• College Students: Who then, are the students who fork out $300 a week to live on campus with every whim accommodated to? Those lacking common sense, confidence to live out of home, people with rich and generous parents, people from Townsville (shudder), people who need the forced social life in order to make friends and those who longed to have a 'Uni experience' like the ones that are shoved down our throat by Hollywood. Dressed up, whooping loudly and providing an annoying presence on campus, there is just nothing to like about big groups of enthusiastic 17 year olds.
• Boys that wear stupid hotpants around campus. 2 years ago these boardies that cut off above the knees were all the rage, and it seems that no matter how ridiculous it looks, they are still sported by too many guys. Extra points for the ones who shave their legs.
• And the girls aren't exactly deserving of any fashion prizes either. With shorts that fail to cover the entire ass-cheek and caked on foundation, the university campus looks like more of a hooker hangout than a respectable academic institution. If some girls paid as much attention to changing the world as they did to getting laid and trying to look as much like a street-walker as possible, there is no limit to what could be achieved.
• Queue-ers: Market day is reknowned for freebies, as clubs, associations and businesses try to bribe students for as much money, membership and email addresses as possible. From flyers to candy and frisbees and slushies, bribery is an effective motivation to do anything and students in particular are an easy target for such marketing. One has to wonder however, if waiting hours in queues all day amongst the sweaty masses in the sun is worth the free slurpee or cupcake that is up for offer. The idea that anybody could be interested in a particular offer, club or product without a free pen is simply unthinkable! The ignorant masses need to be bought with the biggest goodie bag rather than any substance that may be on offer.
• Perky people: There is happy and then there is creepy. Student representative who spend an entire day smiling, patiently answering really stupid questions and selling selling selling are something special in themselves. Personally it scares me a little. After all, people can only be so enthusiastic and perky for so long before they snap and kill somebody.

When I was president of LASA I became one of these people. Once upon a time I thought people were mad to spend all day at a stall, and then of course the time spent decorating, carrying boxes of shit back and forth, but it's not so bad...

Actually, it kind of is. But it's for a good cause, and it's nice to believe in what you're doing. Sometimes the perkiness comes naturally.

• Dubstep DJs
• Photographers
• Ultimate frisbee players

Yes, they still suck. Ultimate frisbee isn't even a real sport!!! What a wank! Seriously! And playing frisbee to the tunes of dubstep played by a "DJ" while amateurs with SLRs take photos has got to be about the most stupid thing in the world. I stand by this 10000%

Amongst all of the shallow turds that seem to roam the campus, I remain optimistic. From a university of 40,000 students, the odds of finding fun, interesting and inspiring people are hopeful. Bring on the semester!

So this did happen. In 2012 I got more involved with things happening at uni. I joined clubs, helped out with things, made more friends, and eventually I ended up finding amazing people that I loved. I really enjoyed spending time on campus. Sure, there were still those basics that pissed me off, but I came to love it, stop being cynical, and now I miss everything about it.

It just proves that if you get involved in uni then it will be a great time. I regret my cynicism!!