{"id":23414,"date":"2023-06-20T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=23414"},"modified":"2023-06-20T09:00:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T08:00:25","slug":"ive-made-life-long-friends-through-the-ou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/arts-social-sciences\/ive-made-life-long-friends-through-the-ou\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I\u2019ve made life-long friends through the OU’"},"content":{"rendered":"

After recently moving to the UK, Khudayja, 25, hadn\u2019t expected that her BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing<\/a> degree at The Open University (OU) would introduce her to life-long friends and a huge community of fellow book lovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to the UK from Pakistan with my family four years ago. My family are big advocates of education and were keen for me to further my studies with a degree,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was drawn to english literature and creative writing because of my passion for reading. I\u2019d love to one day become an author and have already started work on my debut novel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I researched brick universities, including those local to where I live in Bradford, I couldn\u2019t find a course that I liked which still offered me the flexibility to work and remain living at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quality course material<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Khudayja was drawn to the OU\u2019s course materials and her decision was solidified by the supported distance learning structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe OU\u2019s english literature and creative writing degree ticked so many boxes for me. Not only did it include modules about genres that I already adored, but it also offered the opportunity to explore so many areas that I hadn\u2019t yet ventured into.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m now nearing my final year of study and am happy to say that my expectations about the course have been met. The OU\u2019s course material has been great. As well as looking at classics like Jane Eyre, I\u2019ve also written a film script, which is something I never thought I would do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supported studies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During her studies, Khudayja has overcome some personal barriers, but has been able to continue her studies with the help of her tutors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety, and although I\u2019ve been able to manage my condition with medication and meditation, the support from my tutors has relieved so much stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my first year of study, I was on the verge of giving up. I was unhappy with my grades and didn\u2019t feel like I had what it takes to complete a degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe OU community, including my tutors and fellow students picked me up and encouraged me to carry on. By working with my tutors on how to improve my marks and getting feedback on assignment drafts, I\u2019ve been able to lift my score to Distinction level, which makes me incredibly proud.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying via distance learning isn\u2019t a lonely experience. I\u2019ve made life-long friends through the OU and spend my spare time travelling the country visiting them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been refreshing to find likeminded people, who love books as much as I do!\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Khudayja has made many more friends through her Instagram page, Literary the Best, <\/em>where she shares her current reads and documents her OU journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started my Instagram page, so that I could look back on how far I\u2019d come in my studies. It\u2019s been great at reminding me of my successes, as well as the challenges that I\u2019ve overcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cOutside of my course, Instagram has introduced me to other OU students and made my OU world even bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

With ambitions of being an author still on Khudayja\u2019s radar, she also has plans to pursue a career in teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I\u2019ve completed my degree, I\u2019m considering a PGCE, which would go hand-in-hand with my current role of Assistant Director at Explore Learning, a maths and English tuition support centre for 4 to 16-year-olds.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I specialise in helping students with english literature and creative writing, I\u2019ve been able to apply what I\u2019ve learnt in my OU course directly to my job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst my family were sceptical about OU study when I first signed up, they soon changed their mind when they saw the amount of work my course entails and the way it\u2019s already benefiting my life and future.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor anyone that\u2019s considering an OU degree, I\u2019d advise checking out OpenLearn<\/a> for an array of free courses. It\u2019s a brilliant taster of the quality and content that full OU qualifications involve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khudayja is part of the OU’s flash fiction competition #OU50words. The multi-award-winning campaign invites budding writers to craft 50 words of creative writing in response to the University\u2019s daily video prompt. To join in the fun, visit the OU\u2019s Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> pages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After recently moving to the UK, Khudayja, 25, hadn\u2019t expected that her BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing degree at The Open University (OU) would introduce her to life-long friends and a huge community of fellow book lovers. \u201cI moved to the UK from Pakistan with my family four years ago. My family are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":23415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[1525,1640],"class_list":["post-23414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-social-sciences","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}