Graduation – second time around

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 so mentally and emotionally exhausted after finally finishing the two years of the masters that I couldn’t summon up any energy to write anything more about my time at Leeds, or studying in general. Now that it’s been quite a few months since I’ve picked up an academic book of any kind, I’m starting to miss it.

A few pics from the day:

All in all I enjoyed the day, but to be honest, it wasn’t half as much fun as my Open University graduation back in 2016.

There’s a lot I’ll miss about studying at Leeds.  I’ll miss:

• the early morning starts, which meant leaving home just after 7am for lectures or tutorials which didn’t start until 2pm or 3pm (yes sometimes 4pm), just to secure a place in the car park.
• sitting in Caffe Nero with my croissant and cappuccino, which later changed to porridge and skinny cappuccino after the horrendous amount of weight I put on in that first semester.
• studying in the Brotherton Library (my favourite library, although it was sometimes freezing and I couldn’t study there without my fingers almost falling off with frostbite) and the Laidlaw Library (the warmest with the best loos).
• walking around the lovely campus feeling so grateful that I was able to be there, studying a subject which I have such a passion for.

There’s also a lot that I won’t miss about studying at Leeds:

• the awful anxiety that came with feeling like a fish out of water.
• the feeling of isolation, which was surprising after being used to solitary studying with the OU.
• having to acknowledge that my once wonderful memory wasn’t what it once was, which meant I had to write down absolutely everything my tutors said at 1-2-1 meetings, otherwise their snippets of information would disappear forever.

So what’s next?  Well I’m already chomping at the bit for more studying, so it’s either another Masters or a PhD.  I’m leaning heavily towards returning to the Open University and also to my classical roots by enrolling on the MA in Classical Studies.  The PhD could come at a later date, it’s not like I’ve not got enough time or interest to carry on studying.

And here it is, the piece of paper which I worked so damn hard for:

I’ll be keeping the blog updated now and then, but most definitely after October, when I start studying again, in whatever form that may be.

So TTFN – and thanks if you’ve stuck around this far!