Recently I have read a lot of articles about how TOWIE has lead to the discrimination of Essex-tonians, in ways that have not only lead people to believe all people from Essex are as stupid and dense as the orange, rich kids strutting around on our television screens, but has also started to prevent Essex folk from excelling in life.

Now, for a bit of background on myself. I am a 4ft 11, soon to be journalism graduate at the University of Chester, I live in the North West of England and I am originally from Essex. I tend to write a lot of opinion pieces because I like to rant about things with the hope that one day, I will be paid lots of money to do so.

The main reason for my opinionated rant this week is that this constant rubbish filling my news feed on social networking sites, about how TOWIE makes people believe that everyone from Essex are orange Barbie and Ken dolls, caked in make- up – that one can only assume was applied using a some sort of industrial building appliance – while parading about talking about who is dating who and who cheated on who, is quite frankly the most irritating thing since the ‘Go Compare’ man first entered into British advertising.

Don’t get this confused with a rant about TOWIE, as personally I am partial to a bit of shallow TV and in fact I actually use TOWIE as part of my essay writing routine. Watching a load of less intelligent people talk about meaningless rubbish, actually inspired me to write essays based purely on the idea that when I was stuck, I realised that I am actually a lot more intelligent than I give myself credit and it could be worse, I could be as stupid as the orange people on ITV whose main phrase is “shuuuuuut up”. This is purely a rant about people allowing themselves to believe that due to this TV programme, they are classed as stupid. For all of these people, here is a message just for you… YOU ARE WRONG.

British humour has always been classed as dry, witty and highly sarcastic. It is actually something a lot of Brits are proud of. My granddad would always tell me that British people can always get in and out of trouble using their words, because sarcastic banter is much more powerful that any fist. This is something I have always found to be true. However it appears that British people are becoming slightly touchier, when it comes to humour at their own expense, despite how lightly it is meant.

As an Essex-tonian living very far away from home in the colder, wetter and to be completely honest more sarcastic North West, I have found that my home county has caused a fair amount of ridicule. However under no circumstances have the majority of people I have met over the last three years – whether at university or not – automatically thought I was stupid because of a southern, slightly Essex flavoured accent. Of course there are one or two mindless idiots who believe that being from Essex does mean you are actually stupid. But these are the sorts of people who believe that everyone from London’s east end sounds like Peggy Mitchell, that politicians will always follow up on their promises because the Daily Mail said so and their misunderstanding of when to use the appropriate there, they’re and their is actually exceptionally common. All of which is wrong and for all of the above reasons, these people’s opinion on the stupidity of another human being is actually invalid.

As for being discriminated against at university and job interviews because of an accent, I have found that jokey banter tends to break the ice and most people like to be around others who have one of those personality things. It is all very well and good being exceptionally intelligent and having a strong work ethic, but without a personality, peers, lecturers, clients and co-workers alike will dread the idea of spending any time with you and would actually prefer to speak to a wet sponge. So if you didn’t get a university place or that job you wanted, it is most likely less to do with an accent and instead because you aren’t quite what that specific establishment or company are looking for. That isn’t to say you are any less deserving or indeed capable, it just means that that certain position wasn’t quite suited to you.

So instead of posting your almighty rant about discrimination and unfair selection, just step back and consider that actually you may just not be suited to that position or place. There are always more opportunities and if you ever feel vulnerable or question your intelligence due to a knock-back  just put TOWIE on and you will soon realise you have nothing to worry about. If those orange, Barbie and Ken doll like people can earn a ton of cash then so can you.

Of course if all else fails Essex-tonians, act stupid and apply for TOWIE. Having the accent could actually work as an advantage.