Educating BJ: Distractions of an Oxbridge Misfit

Oxford University ... alma mater to the elite, and breeding ground for aristocrats, politicians, and academics. Built on centuries of culture and tradition, and pompously proud of it. Its motto, Dominus illuminatio mea - The Lord is my light. Well, if The Lord was guiding me, perhaps He had shone his torch in the wrong direction.

I was no scholar, nor anything remotely special ... even the label they had, articulated as much. In Oxford, I was merely a 'commoner' ... lacking the intellect, and with neither the wealth nor breeding to walk among 'the great and the good.' I was Studens vulgaris, a common-or-garden student ... and, occasionally, a rather vulgar one.

Even as a commoner, Oxford promised to open doors; a gateway to opportunity and prosperity, to lifelong friendships and love, and to endless horizontal shenanigans. Frustratingly however, things seldom go according to plan.

Educating BJ is a rose-tinted (or tainted) portrait of undergraduate life; a commoner's experience of fun, friendships, and frustration. Spun from real-life events, and as factual as any government record, Educating BJ is my story ... and I hope you enjoy it.