from Mrs to Master….and everything in between. A (very) mature student's musings on life in the academic world.
On 13th December 2019 I graduated with a Masters in Health, Medicine and Society, with Merit. Not bad for a 57 year old, who left school back in 1980 with 5 O levels and no A levels. I don't know why it's taken me so long to write about my graduation. I think I was … Continue reading Graduation – second time around
I feel it only appropriate to send out a little (and short!) blog post to mark the fact that 3 years ago today I launched Debsadac with this insightful post..... At that stage I had no idea where I wanted to go with the blog or even where I wanted to go with my studies. … Continue reading Happy 3rd birthday to me!
This morning, I submitted the dissertation for my Masters degree. There. If I write it just simply and quietly in one sentence it seems just a little thing - it doesn’t reflect the major amount of work, stress and pure effort I put into it - as any master’s student does, I hasten to add. … Continue reading And just like that…it’s over
...well apart from a 4,000 word essay for the end of May and a 15,000 word dissertation to be handed in at the beginning of September. But I’m currently sat in my favourite Caffè Nero spot in the Laidlaw in Leeds having my last breakfast before what is about to be the final taught seminar … Continue reading The End Is Nigh…
So with all my ambitious talk of thinking about doing a PhD in my last blog post, a couple of weeks ago I came very close to sacking the whole thing and walking away from even completing my masters. This came at a time when I felt quite lost with the direction in which I … Continue reading Planning, presenting – and post mortem photography
I find myself writing this in the first few days of 2019, in that time when the days feel really strange and not connected to the rest of the year. On reflection, that's how I felt for most of the beginning of year 2, the last year of my masters, which was very different to … Continue reading New year, new plan?
I've been very remiss with my blog posting over the summer. Apart from writing about my meeting with Homer and his tomb back in July I've been quite quiet on the blogging front. That's mainly because I wanted this blog to be about uni things and not home things. Another reason for my absence is … Continue reading Hello and welcome year 2
This is another post which has nothing to do with the Masters, but a lot to do with my classical studies roots. A couple of weeks ago Mike and I came back from a very welcome break on the Greek islands of Ios and Santorini. Now I'd never heard of the island of Ios (pronounced … Continue reading Paying homage to Homer
Last Sunday I submitted the last essay for year 1 of my Masters, for my favourite (so far) module The Origin of Modern Medicine and that’s it. All done for year 1. And I survived. A couple of weeks ago, on the last teaching day of the year, I found myself drafting this blog post while … Continue reading Masters year 1 – ✅
The first year of my Masters is very nearly over....and where on earth has it gone?? I can't believe that after all the mental angst and turmoil of the first few weeks it's very nearly over. I've recently submitted my penultimate essay for the last module of this year and now the countdown to the next … Continue reading Four down, one to go…
The worst thing about beginning any essay is, of course, the blank page. You start off with a nice empty Word document open in front of you. You've written tentative notes on various pieces of paper. You have a very sketchy essay plan. You've got all the library books you (think you) need. You've printed … Continue reading How (not) to write an essay
And so I found myself back in Leeds for the second semester. Now that I'm fully immersed back into Uni life again I'm feeling much more at ease with everything than I was last semester and thankfully I'm not running around like a demented headless chicken anymore! This semester I'm only scheduled to take one … Continue reading Hello Leeds…..I’m back!
So here I am at the beginning of a new year and about to begin a new semester. I've not made any resolutions but would be very very happy to finish the first year of the masters in June with a pass, that will suffice. And very nicely indeed thank you. To get towards passing … Continue reading A new year, a new semester…
I've left it until now to write a new blog post as I've been so busy in terms of studying and essay researching and presentation writing that I've not had energy for much else. But I'm nearing the end of the first semester ......and I’m sooo glad to say that I’ve managed to calm down. … Continue reading Thoughts on being a ‘mature’ student…..and the final push
This blog post has been written over the first 3 weeks of my journey deeper into the academic world. It's been a bit traumatic, a bit wonderful and a bit in-between. It's also a bit (a lot) of rambling too, so please forgive me as my head was mashed for 3 weeks and I'm only … Continue reading Planes, trains and academia …..or rather cars, croissants and a small matter of anxiety
After thinking long and hard about what to write in my last blog post before starting the MA, I decided to give a brief snapshot of what I'd been up to in preparation for beginning at Leeds. Now that I'm on the eve of the start of the module I'm feeling somewhat more reflective than usual, … Continue reading The calm before the…?
So after leaving school in what feels like the Dark Ages (yes, it was that long ago), without any A levels and just a smattering of O levels, on Friday 4th November 2016 I graduated from the Open University, with a First Class Honours degree in Classical Studies. Yay!! The degree ceremony was held at Manchester's … Continue reading And finally….graduation!
After the challenging experience of A330 I came back fighting, determined to crank myself up a gear and give A340 my best shot. That's not to say that A340 didn't have its own fair share of challenges either, including the minor issue of a 3 hour exam at the end and a not so little … Continue reading A340 – The Roman Empire
Or, as it really should have been titled, 'the one which nearly finished me off'. To say that life during this module was both the best of times and the worst of times isn't really an exaggeration. I reached my lowest ever point whilst studying this module and it nearly ended my relationship with the … Continue reading A330 – Myth in the Greek and Roman Worlds
This was one of my favourites, not only because of the subject matter, but also because of the friendships I made along the way and it was the first of the three Classics modules I took. It started in October 2011 and finished in June 2012 and was the first module I studied over Christmas, rather than … Continue reading A219 – Experiencing the Classical World
So armed with my lessons learnt from studying A200 I started again, keen and eager to move onto pastures new (albeit slightly battered and bruised) and like a breath of fresh air, A218 began..... And my god what a difference. This one......I loved! Wow, I really loved it - it made such a lasting impact on … Continue reading A218 – Medicine & Society in Europe 1500-1930
This was the module from which I learned the most about how to study with the Open University. I suppose this post should really be called revisiting my nemesis as having mastered the topic of TMA avoidance I now find myself in the interesting position of becoming quite good at blog avoidance too, although it's not … Continue reading A200 – Exploring history: medieval to modern 1400-1900
Technically this post comes under the "and everything in between" part of my tagline, it's got nothing to do with the OU or the Masters and everything to do with getting ready for when I start in September, in the shape of the must have stationery items, which of course I absolutely need to buy … Continue reading A little breather…..in which I discover the world of planner love and Twitter
So I feel I need a little time out (or avoidance) before I go into the challenging matter that was my next module, A200: Exploring History Medieval to Modern 1400 to 1900 to give it its full title. I'll do that by talking a little of TMA/studying avoidance which, to be honest, I'm bloody fantastic at. … Continue reading “Well, that won’t get the TMA written will it?!”
This was my first proper module with the OU and I really enjoyed studying it. However, this is the module which is the least easy to recollect, which is why it's great for me to get the old books out again and rekindle the memories. I started it on 9th February 2008, back in the … Continue reading AZX103 – Introduction to the Humanities
It all began back in 2007 when I was working in the Specialist Retail division at the Co-op, in the IT department. I was about to be made (very happily) redundant and was wondering what I was going to do next. I'd been looking around for courses to study and thought it would be fun to … Continue reading Y160 – Making Sense of the Arts
So today I accepted the offer from the University of Leeds to study the MA in the History of Health, Medicine and Society, starting in September 2017. Wow. I waited to see how I felt when I clicked on the 'accept' button and I felt....great! Big smile on my face, great feeling inside and no 'oh … Continue reading To boldly go…
So, whilst waiting for official confirmation from the University of Manchester that I'd been accepted and after having received provisional confirmation from the Programme Director, I thought I'd revisit the course at the University of Leeds by going through it with a fine toothcomb . We (Mike, I & the pups) had paid a visit to … Continue reading An 11th hour change of mind?
Christmas and the New Year celebrations are well and truly over so this afternoon was spent on making a start on the OU section of the blog. However, I have come to realise that writing a blog isn't just a matter of writing one word and then another and then another.....but sorting, organising and generally getting … Continue reading Well hello and welcome 2017
This morning I found out that I'd been accepted onto the MSc course at the University of Manchester. Woo hoo! However I think no-one is more excited than Mike, for whom this means no more chewing of his ear off by myself, as to why I hadn't heard yet. Apparently the Faculty had only just received my application … Continue reading Hurrah, it’s a Christmas miracle!!
Deb's Adventures in Academia 