Thursday 22 September 2016

I did it...

This week I started a university course, just a short online course but a university course non the less...why did I do it?

Well it does seems a bit silly to take on another commitment when I have a full work load, book writing coming out of my ears and all the usual family/wife/mother stuff as well...however...I needed something for ME.

I wanted something outside of my normal routine, something that would challenge me and get my 'ole grey cells fired up.

When I looked around one course jumped out at me -  'Empire of the Imagination: Victorian Popular Fiction and the Occult'.  I love to read,  I have always been fascinated by the Victorian era and of course I am knee deep in the occult thing...perfect.

I have to admit I was a bit excited and a bit nervous when I signed up.   I have a few O levels to my name and am fairly well read but a university course conjured up all sorts of scary notions.  I spent the next few months switching from excitement to blind panic that I had taken on something that was way out of my league...

Start day arrived this week and I entered the online forum with trepidation...

My initial reaction was of being overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done as I printed off what felt like reams of paper...Unit 1 filled an entire ring binder...eep!

Then I subconciously avoided looking at it for a few hours, distracting myself with things I thought needed doing...until I felt brave...

However once I sat down and started I was captivated.  To be fair I did have to use the dictionary a few times for words that were familiar but ones I had never really understood the real meaning of (a bit of enlightenment there already) and getting to watch videos of Professor Hutton helped quite a bit too...

I have today completed the written section of the first week's work having fired off quite a few pages where I have probably waffled away in my familiar style and it won't be academic by any stretch but it is my work and from the heart.   To complete the first week I just have some recommended reading to do - all Victorian fiction which should be interesting.

The point of this blog post is this:

Even if you don't think you can do it you might surprise yourself...
Don't let fear or doubts hold you back...go for it...you will not regret it.

Excuse me now whilst I sit down to swot...

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