So, what are you doing now?

The question I literally hate more than life itself. The question is so loaded. It comes with the social expectation, at my age, that I will either be off on …

The breakdown of trust

Having lived with my flatmates for 29 weeks (3 terms) mostly without incident, I thought we had avoided the thing that seemed to feature in most people’s university experiences- food theft. But, apparently though this has never happened before now is the perfect time to start and I am the perfect victim.
But why is this ok? We are all broke, being students, at this point in term. So, the question is why steal from other people?
Generally, if you can’t afford the money for food people are more willing to help you out if you admit it rather than just take from people. Just taking things is not ‘borrowing’, as some people term it, but ‘stealing’ because generally people aren’t planning on replacing the missing items. After all, that is the reason why they are stealing it in the first place.
Also, the excuse that I got confused with which one was which gets old when your food item is unique to any other in the fridge, freezer or your own cupboard. Fair enough, if you both have the same margarine and you use the wrong one, that isn’t food theft that is accidental. Taking something you have never owned in your entire life and then eating an entire sealed pot of it is theft clear and simple.
Food theft, or any kind of theft for that matter, is not acceptable ever. It’s making me question the people that I have lived with all year. If this is how much people respect me then it makes me question why I should respect them.
When you steal something you break down that trust that you had earned. After all, why should someone trust someone if they’re willing to steal from you and not show remorse?

Have you ever experienced food theft at uni? Let me know in the comments below. What did they steal and how did you react?