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I didn’t think I’d be excited about going back to university. Honestly, I didn’t expect to go back to university at all. I thought I’d finished studying, but nope. This month I will start my course studying Professional Writing and Editing. It can’t come soon enough.
Goals (before starting university)
I’ve got a lot to work on. I want to improve my writing and editing skills. I want to improve my book. Learning never stops, but this is one way I can learn from other writers.
I’m excited to be around people who have the same passion I do. I want to learn from the teachers, two of whom I’ve read their books and loved their writing. I want to get feedback from my classmates and I’m actually looking forward to getting homework. Yes, you read that right. I’m looking forward to homework! I am now Hermione Granger and I’m completely fine with that.
Outcome (back at university)
I love studying.
Writers are so friendly and I love giving and receiving writing feedback. One of my classes even had fifteen minutes devoted to teaching us how to give feedback in a friendly way. I was like, ‘I’ve studied architecture for five years, give me all you’ve got’. Seriously, I’m quite determined to make my work as good as it can possibly be and that means listening to others and taking feedback on board.
I’ve got time between classes, which I haven’t had before. As my campus is in the city, there’s so much to do and I have time to waste. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve considered ‘wasting’ time, but it’s been a while. I found the time between my classes to be relaxing. Recent discovery: if I’m forced to waste time, it becomes ‘me’ time. Yep, ‘me’ time. I didn’t want to use that phrase because it makes me cringe, but seriously – if you learn one thing from reading this post (not that it’s supposed to be educational), it’s to set time aside to ‘waste’.
Also, one of my teachers said to always put health before university. Yes to that! She said to take sick days or mental health days because that’s what’s important, and she said we shouldn’t have to do much work outside of class. I know! I couldn’t believe it either!
I’m learning so much in my classes that homework doesn’t feel like a burden. Isn’t that how all education should be? I’m going to stop now or I’m going to go off on a tangent about the issues with Australian education …
Learning can be fun!
To finish this post up, I just want to mention that studying and education don’t have to be a chore. If you love what you’re learning, it’s actually so much fun. I’m now that student in the class who raises their hand every question (read: Hermione Granger), but it’s because I want to. Not because participation counts toward my mark or because the teacher will pick out the students who don’t raise their hand (yes, I once had a maths teacher who did that and yes, it was awful). So find what you love and go for it! Find your inner nerd!