Since I have completed my first two weeks as a PG Laws student, I have had a chance to see how my reasons for enrolling match the reality of study. I have four principle reasons for enrolling. One is the quite common goal of pursuing a new career path. The other three might be unique and personal. I am studying law to improve my verbal skills, develop special knowledge of European history, and to reduce stress.
When my study materials arrived, it gave me a chance to dive into my course in Western European Legal History. The study skills materials that the university sends to new students are comprehensive and very helpful. My packet included the three books of essential reading for Foundations: Roman and canon law 500 -1100, the course study guide and the PG Laws handbook.
Author: caowrites
Jelly Bean and I officially enrolled in the PG Laws degree!
Jelly Bean the Highly Motivated Collie Dog
Well, we’ve done it. Jelly Bean and I have officially enrolled in the Postgraduate Laws Programme. Our registration is complete, our module is selected, and we have just passed a rainy evening downloading study guides and examiners’ reports. Although I did my best ETNJ planning, I have had a case of the butterflies since making the commitment to enrol in this exciting programme. Jelly Bean is a great listener, a comforting little friend for stressful days, and as you can see, she is highly motivated to get the reward coming after our training session. She is just the kind of study buddy you want to have around.
My Degree, And Things I Always Wanted To Do
It has been a nice, long autumn here in Pittsburgh with ever so much to share with you. Jelly Bean and I are so happy to be blogging about our experiences. Just a few days ago my credentials arrived in the mail from the University of London International Programmes. For me, it signaled time to think carefully about what happens after completing a degree, and what my next steps will be. I suppose it depends on your goals, which might include professional objectives or personal fulfillment. For me it is both. Getting the paperwork acknowledging your success is quite satisfying, but it also underlines the question about how to proceed after finishing the degree. Should I concentrate on postgraduate credentials or concentrate on professional or personal opportunities? For me, it is a combination of all those things. To paraphrase Rodgers and Hammerstein, the beginning is a very good place to start.
Studying as a Form of Stress Management
Despite the somewhat romantic notion I had about enjoying a leisurely time after finishing my degree, it has worked out to be a bit different. This summer I have had very little break time between interviewing for new opportunities, IT repairs, a 180-degree shift in a work project, finishing my home redecorating project, and preparing to enter a new academic program. You would think I could see all of that coming, but, unfortunately, no. What managing it all helped me realize is that reading and studying has been a kind of stress management tool for me, in addition to being something I really, really enjoy. Studying as a form of stress management might sound unusual to you. It certainly sounds unusual to me, but while managing all the rough and tumble of professional life this week, I realized that having my reading and intense engagement with English studies is an excellent stress management tool and helps me maintain a helpful perspective on other projects.
Transition Time!
What a week we have had here in Pittsburgh! Jelly Bean, my collie dog, and I have accomplished a lot. We spent some time digging over and planting three new flowerbeds, began a creative project, and finished our ‘spring’ cleaning that got sadly, sadly behind when concentrating on exams and some professional projects. This week we also finally finished two big, lingering work projects. (Yes, we – she is a very good co-pilot for long stretches at my desk.) Having professional and personal projects like this is a great thing right now. While it is sinking, albeit slowly, into my brain that I actually completed the degree, I have not quite figured out what to do with the time devoted to study. There was a celebration and a few tears of relief and joy when grades were released but nothing like the sense of satisfaction that came with the invitation to our graduation ceremony in the spring.
It feels like transition time, and perfectly timed too with the lovely feeling of spring ripening into summer, not that it is always a process without drama. This week we had an incredible summer storm. In just a few hours, we had three inches of rain. A building on our street was struck by lightning, streets were closed from flash flooding, people were rescued from floating vehicles, and our garden room flooded impressively. Although Jelly Bean is normally quite brave during thunder and lightning storms, she felt better sitting in my lap as we watched this one from her favorite window seat. In an almost Shakespearean way, like our own personal ‘Tempest’, the storm arrived along with my decision to pursue new professional opportunities and set new academic goals.
Summer Reading Surprises
It is such a lovely summer here in Pennsylvania. Jelly Bean and I are enjoying some long, lovely summer days. Her favorite way to spend the day is lolling in the grass, playing in the lawn sprinklers. When evening comes, the fireflies mesmerize her. Because of her chronic medical condition, we dedicate a lot of our playtime to these pursuits as well as lounging in the shade and reading. There is nothing like relaxing in the garden with Jelly Bean and a good book. My summer reading list is quite interesting, perhaps even eclectic, and a bit surprising. Continue reading
Exam results are released for the BA English
Grades were released for the BA English last week. As you can imagine, the event generated some excitement in our student chat areas. For yours truly, it is an enormous relief to have the marks and know where I stand, so to speak. For me, this was a challenging year with greater work and study responsibilities than ever before. Revising for exams was a worrying time, managing professional projects and trying to have some kind of personal balance. This year, like other years, the link to grades arrived in my inbox just at the time I settled my thoughts about each course and started thinking realistically about the exam. I like that process because self-assessment is an important part of our study skills in distance learning, and because it is an excellent validation of some complex thoughts and feelings.
My Top 9 Indispensable Texts
It is the first week of a very hot summer here in Pennsylvania. Jelly Bean and I sit in the shade of our enormous maple tree for our favorite activities. She indulges me in one of my favorite activities, reading and we wait for a chance to indulge in her favorite activity, romping with her canine playmates as they come by on their walks. Now that I have no specific course to study for, I am suddenly aware of how much reading I have been doing over the last several years and how much I enjoy reading with a plan and a purpose. Even without preparing for a course of study, since May, my reading list surprised me: two novels by Hilary Mantel, one by Rushdie, Malory’s complete works, and Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain. Right now, I am back onto Victorian poetry. I wondered what I would choose to read without a syllabus or course goals for structure. How much our course of study has affected how I read is a constant, pleasant surprise. How did this happen, exactly? Other students seem to be curious about this too, according to conversations in our student chat areas. Many wonder which texts on the recommended lists are the best aids to degree level study. How I read now has been influenced by some helpful texts.
What is it Like to Study English and Comparative Literature?
Some readers have asked what it is like to study English in our distance learning program. I have been thinking about how to describe the experience, and what my practical approach to degree study would be if I were starting the program today. For me, the program has been such a marvelous experience that starting over today would be a delight. The required courses are very interesting with the opportunity to focus on such a variety of texts that reading them again would be very interesting work. Although the advanced courses I selected were my first choices there are several others I would enjoy reading. The process of studying in this program is very rewarding and offers a treasured opportunity. Here are some notes about what to expect.
Waiting….
Waiting is a challenging thing to do, as I am sure it is for all of us, especially when it is waiting for information we really want. To while away the hours, as the examiners are working hard reading essays and writing reports, Jelly Bean and I have embarked on a furniture rearranging strategy that touches every room in the house, and even reaches to outdoor living areas. For me, it is absolutely wonderful. Jelly Bean is a little more cautious about the process and the outcomes, just like me in exams. She keeps a careful eye on her toy box and favourite blankets while the rearranging is in progress.
This is the first summer in a long time that I do not have a course to prepare for the next semester. Not having to read for a new course leaves a lot of free time. Having so much free time makes the wait for results seem even longer. I have several great things planned for this summer, but the real sense of anticipation comes from wanting to get on with my next academic step. It is hard to think about anything else.
Today, while shoving and tugging furniture from one room to another, I tried to think carefully and realistically about my results. I am anxious for the results not just because they show the effectiveness of my efforts, but because they will help me plan my next academic and professional steps. The need to delay making or executing a plan is quite frustrating to a Myers Briggs ETNJ like me. The furniture rearranging, along with several writing workshops, helps redirect my planning needs and tendencies, but I still cannot wait to apply to my next program.