According to my mother, I have the worst table manners in the family next to my dog, Susan.

A couple nights ago I went into the kitchen for dinner, sat sideways on a skewed chair at the dinner table with one leg crossed on the chair-seat, picked up a piece of broccoli with my fingers and began to eat. My mother was immediately disgusted. She told me to sit properly and eat with my utensils "like a human being."

Throughout the course of that dinner I was constantly snapped at. I was told not to lean toward my plate, to use my napkin, to try my best not to masticate like a grazing cow, and, of course, to keep my elbows off the table.

Up until that point I was unaware of how apparently terrible my table manners were. I was just eating to fill my empty stomach, not to impress anyone.

According to my mother I haven't always been this slovenly. I used to take much care to take small bites, sit up, and use my napkin often. So I wonder, what has turned me into such a messy animal?

Since I had to blame someone or something, I came to the conclusion that my lack of manners was not my fault, but due to the absence of a clean place to eat at school.

During lunch, I usually eat on the go or standing up and don't pay attention to how I ingest my food.

Some could argue that there are tables in the kitchen and couches in the lounge. Yet, can manners truly be inspired when surrounded by sticky surfaces and trash-covered floors and sofas?

The truth is that it is the student body's collective fault that any potential eating surfaces are a mess. The lounge is disgusting and constantly on the verge of being closed, the kitchen is filled with dirty dishes, and students leave their trash behind everywhere they go.

Perhaps in our Uni bubble it doesn't matter if we are dirty fiends who wolf down our sandwiches and spill our drinks but I think we should start looking to the future and the world outside of Uni where such behavior, according to my mother and yours, is frowned upon.