Chivalry, please: A students tale

Why was I looking up that word you ask, well the answer to that would be that I find most men today are not as chivalrous as they should be.

Now I'm not asking for a man to lay his coat down over a wet puddle and allow me to walk on it. That's just going to make his coat dirty and material soaks up water anyway, right? To be honest, if I had two brain cells to rub together (which I do!) I would know that: puddle + ballet pump shoes = bad.

All I ask is that perhaps a man would hold the door open for me once in a while, or respect my personal space. I have many bad experiences in the college plaza (main gathering area; think "Zoo at feeding time") where a boy would just randomly push into me and nearly knock me into the next century with the sheer force of it. If I was to express how I feel at that point it would be like this, "AH!".

Now I know you probably think I'm exaggerating, that is why I'm going to use an example from today of how "Chivalry is dead".

I left college at 4 o'clock and quickly hurried out with my friend Shola. I had to catch a bus at just pass the hour and I didn't want to get stuck in the swarm of first year students as they seem to love nothing more than to stand in my way, like the newbies they are. The only part of them that they seem to put effort into moving is their mouths; chatting about how "Jenny totally made out with Tom at that party".

After a quick debate about whether I was going to catch the bus or not, I made up my mind and headed for the cattle drive.

I practically jumped for joy when the bus decided to climb its way towards us. I got on, flashed my student pass and went to look for a seat. Thats when I noticed the first of a string of problems. The seats were mostly taken. I was working myself up to be really annoyed, when I spotted a seat out of the corner of my eye. Thinking it was my lucky day I went to go sit there.

When I got to the seat I saw that a boy had his feet resting on it as he was sat across from it. He looked up and glared at me. He was the type of boy that looked like he hated the world and anything that was living sharing his air. I gave him a pleading face, like "Please give up your seat kind sir for a lady in need". He just scowled even more at me and I kind of had to perch on the corner across from him so as to not touch his feet. Ew. I looked like I was squatting. A position that did nothing for my social status I might add.

He carried on staring at me all the way up the road. His eyes burned into mine like embers and I looked away from him nervously. Finally, when I thought my head was going to implode from all the death stares, a man got on the bus. He took one look at that cocky boy and went to sit in the seat across from him. The boy quickly moved his feet like as if he had been scalded by hot water!

I sat there seething. All I could think in my mind was, you chauvinistic $!%^@%*!
He could give his seat up for a man, probably because he felt that he would get smacked if he didn't, but why couldn't he have been nice to me.
To top it all off, the man who sat next to me stunk. He was so smelly. I can barely even explain it in words but I'll try. He smelt like a million cigarettes that had been burnt in a bonfire, with an added sprinkling of sweat just for kicks. My nose practically jumped off my face and ran yelping for the emergency exit. Bleh.

And thats why I think Chivalry is indeed dead (and people should wash more).

My boyfriend Chris always holds doors open for me when I have my hands full carrying folders. He is the exception to the idiotic male world. If you're reading this Chris, then I have something to say to you: don't lay your coat on the floor for me, its just not sanitary.

Hoped you enjoyed my little rant about chivalry and the apparent lack of it.

Bye xxx