- “Don’t give up on your dreams because of the time it will take to achieve them, the time will pass anyway” Anon
When I embarked on my first module way-back-when, I don’t suppose anyone who knew me even entertained the notion of me completing an entire degree. In some small way I don’t think I honestly thought I would either; I was very prone to fads and bouts of peer-jealousy and most of my ideas fizzled out in a matter of weeks. My first couple of modules flew by but then I lost focus and drifted away from study as other aspects of my life took centre stage. Then, somehow, despite everyone’s scepticism about my commitment I picked it up again and trudged my way to the finish line.
My experience as an OU student has taught me the importance of committing yourself and maintaining faith in your own ability to finish. Disregarding the actual degree, I’m so immensely proud of myself for what I’ve achieved during my ‘career’ as an OU student.
- “The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.” Christopher Hitchens
OU study afforded me the chance to study that one subject I had always dreamed of studying – philosophy. Level 3 philosophy takes learning to a place I hadn’t even dared to imagine and transports you to a world of critical thinking, intricate knowledge and is an almost continual process of repeated learning and questioning (almost ad nauseum). Critical thinking in that way has to be one of the most vital skills I’ve brought away from my studies because I apply it to my life every single day. I question everything and want to discover knowledge for myself rather than take anyone else’s word for it and I have a greater understanding of the world because of it.
- “A good director creates an environment, which gives the actor the encouragement to fly.” Kevin Bacon
On a rainy afternoon in the late spring of 2010 I emailed a link to my newly-started blog – charting my progress as a student striving for bigger and better things - to the editor of Platform. Almost three years later and I’m still rubbing my eyes in disbelief for what it’s led to. Receiving such praise and opportunity from Platform gave me a boost of confidence which was more than I could’ve ever imagined. I now have faith in my own writing abilities. I’m far from the most articulate and I’m no wordsmith but I like to think my writing is quite down-to-earth and unpretentious. I owe a debt to the Platform team for the confidence they have given to me, I truly do.
- “In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking.” Sir John Lubbock
I’ve lost count of the number of times people have said to me “oh my god, how do you find the time to study AND work [etc.]?” Well, I don’t find the time to do things. The time exists anyway; I just choose to use it wisely. Studying with the OU forces you to use your time better and you quickly become aware of just how much time you’re able to waste without even realising it. Most people have far more free time than they’re aware of; it just gets wasted at an alarming rate. As an OU student, one of the greatest talents you develop is for making good use of pockets of otherwise vacant time and this spreads into other aspects of your life in a very beneficial way.
- “You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” A.A. Milne
From writing for Platform I have gone on to write for a few more websites and have learned that opportunities don’t fall into your lap as if by magic, but if you seek them out they can be beneficial in more ways than you realise. This doesn’t just go for expanding my writing repertoire, this goes for making friends too. Through the OU I have made some great friends, many of whom I rarely see but are the kind of friends I know will be in my life for a long time to come. I’ve got a terrible track-record for friendships but my OU friends appreciate the constraints that studying has on your time and don’t get all tetchy if they don’t hear from me for a few weeks at a time. As I type this I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with a fabulous OU friend which also involves a catch-up with another OU friend, and I’ve just text my bestest OU buddy just to let him know I miss him (love you loads Tim x). My OU friends are so incredibly valuable to me and they probably have no idea how much they’ve changed my life. I really ought to tell them.
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Comments
Study on OU modules are a great deal of flexiblity and sense of achievement as a full time work.
Thanks Carrie, really good to hear you. A real inspirational story and you sound like
a real inspirational person. Once again, thank you for sharing your story:)