{"id":26211,"date":"2024-11-06T09:28:25","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T09:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/?p=26211"},"modified":"2024-11-14T09:32:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T09:32:46","slug":"ou-study-is-the-best-decision-youll-ever-make-says-proud-graduate-maria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/arts-social-sciences\/ou-study-is-the-best-decision-youll-ever-make-says-proud-graduate-maria\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018OU study is the best decision you\u2019ll ever make,\u2019 says proud graduate Maria"},"content":{"rendered":"

When English Literature and Creative Writing<\/a> graduate Maria, 32, realised that attending a brick university wasn\u2019t the right fit, she thought her dreams of becoming a writer were behind her.<\/p>\n

Spurred on by her mum, Maria discovered supported distance learning at The Open University and never looked back. Now celebrating the degree she always yearned for, Maria shares why she thinks OU study is the ideal way to pursue your passion.<\/p>\n

One size doesn\u2019t fit all<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Keen to progress to higher education after school, Maria followed the same path as her peers and signed up for a brick university.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t for me. I can be quite reserved, so attending lectures with so many people was quite daunting,\u201d Maria remembers. \u201cI also think I was a bit too young \u2013 I wasn\u2019t ready, and I chose the wrong course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deciding to leave university and find a full-time job, Maria spent her spare time crafting short stories and poems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved writing since I was a little girl,\u201d says Maria. \u201cI see a pen and paper and have this need to get something down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing Maria\u2019s passion unfulfilled drove her mum to scour the internet for a learning approach that would inspire her daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my mum showed me what the OU had to offer, I thought it was perfect,\u201d Maria recalls. \u201cI loved that you didn\u2019t have to go to physical lectures and that you could live your life while you get an education. I wish I\u2019d known about it earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes financial sense too, you can fit study around work, avoiding the huge debt lots of students have to take on,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Support every step of the way<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Unsure what to expect from distance learning, Maria was thrilled to find she never felt alone with her studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced anything like the support you get at the OU – it\u2019s something else!\u201d Maria says. \u201cMy tutors went out of their way to help, even calling me personally to go through anything I was struggling with. They\u2019re amazing, I couldn\u2019t fault any of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria adds, \u201dI enjoyed getting involved with student forums too, they\u2019re an informal way for students to support each other and share experiences \u2013 knowing there was a whole community there if I needed it was really reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faced with the tragic loss of her dad in year her third year, Maria reached out to the OU\u2019s Student Support Team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have asked for more \u2013 it was the toughest time, but everyone rallied around to make sure I had everything I needed,\u201d said Maria.<\/p>\n

Pushing through tough times filled Maria with the confidence she needed to get to the finish line and achieve her degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing my dad was incredibly hard, but there were other times when I really needed to dig deep,\u201d Maria describes. \u201cA disappointing mark can leave you questioning your abilities, and it was my tutors that dragged me out of that place, the OU\u2019s support system is absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advice to others<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having overcome some challenges along the way, Maria shares her top tips for OU study.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t try and do it alone<\/strong> \u2013 make the most of the incredible support the OU offers and connect with other students in the right way for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a break when you need to<\/strong> \u2013 when I got a mental block I\u2019d go for a walk, have a change of scenery and the ideas would start to flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake yourself do a little bit, even when you don\u2019t feel like it<\/strong> \u2013 when I had a bad week at work, I\u2019d tell myself to just do an hour and often I\u2019d end up doing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve in yourself<\/strong> \u2013 I learned loads about myself throughout my studies \u2013 I know know that I can do anything I put my mind to!\u201d<\/p>\n

And for anyone considering OU study, Maria has this to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a top-quality education with next level support. I guarantee you won\u2019t regret it – choosing OU study is the best decision you\u2019ll ever make!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When English Literature and Creative Writing graduate Maria, 32, realised that attending a brick university wasn\u2019t the right fit, she thought her dreams of becoming a writer were behind her. Spurred on by her mum, Maria discovered supported distance learning at The Open University and never looked back. Now celebrating the degree she always yearned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[1525,1643,2142],"class_list":["post-26211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-social-sciences","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-news","tag-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26211","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\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26213,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26211\/revisions\/26213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}