Did I meet my 2017 goals?
I always tell myself to write a blog post without ever thinking ahead about what I'm going to write.
So I just sit there for about an hour scrolling through social media until an idea comes to me. It never usually does which is another reason why I've been away from the blog for so long.
But for once I actually have an idea that came to my head pretty quickly.
I thought it would be a pretty decent idea to see if I met the goals I set myself for 2017, both for personal gain and also for something for people to read in case they give a *&^% (I won't be offended if you don't care...).
So my first goal was to pass my first year at university with a first-class grade (or however you refer to it). I know loads of people say 'Your first year doesn't count towards anything just as long as you pass you can wing it' but to be honest I got so annoyed whenever someone told me this. There were a few reasons why I wanted to get a first in my first year. The first one is pretty obvious, it will make me feel more good about myself and motivate me for the rest of my degree because if achieved I will have proved to myself I can do uni. Also, I wanted to respect and build a good relationship with my lecturers. They've taken the time to help me by offering me tutorials and extra help and I will feel really bad if I don't achieve at least a 2:1 in their module to show I learnt something from them.
Like seriously, this semester I was more worried about disappointing my lecturer than my own parents with one of my assignment grades (results yet to be confirmed).
On top of this, I am paying £9270 (or whatever, it's still a &^%£ ton of money) on this degree. I don't want to just breeze through it. I want to get my money's worth. Personally, I don't think there is much point in doing a degree if you don't give it your best shot.
But I digress. I got my end of year results this September just gone and I passed this year with 79% (because one of my lecturers gave me 1% off a first in one of my assignments which was a tad bit vexing). But I'm not bitter, I got a first for my first year which I'm pretty chuffed with. And on top of that, I got nominated with the Dean's Award for my work and academic achievement which I'm dead chuffed with because only four people from each course get this and to be picked and have my hard work recognised...I feel a bit proud.
My second goal was to find out which career I actually wanted. Because my current course opens so many doors into careers that involve working with children, it's been such a challenging year to get my head straight and think about what I actually want to do. I did a module in my first year at uni called 'the growing child' and this was taught by a lecturer who specialised in health psychology and it really made me want to go down the child health/social work route. Midwifery is something that has always appealed to me but I don't want to chuck away my first year at uni and start all over again and then find out I hate it. I went to career meetings in the library (which were useless because they literally googled my course and gave me ideas on the internet...uh like I haven't done that countless times already?!). I went to my placement mentor and said I was really confused and she let me teach a few of her classes and this really gave me a thirst for teaching again, as this is what I originally planned on doing when I started uni. I've ended up settling for a primary school teacher working with children from reception to year three, as these are the ages I prefer. Obviously though if the only vacancies I find are for teaching year six, I can't be picky and I will still apply and give it my all.
Teaching definitely isn't for everyone. It is a vocation as well as career and you have to have a passion for it to survive. I remember my mum telling me when I was twelve that I have the personality and character to teach in primary schools. I thought she was just being biased because she was my mum, especially in my early years training because I just didn't have the confidence at that time and didn't feel like I had that natural flare with children. You can't teach people to be good with children either, it just comes naturally so I panicked even more. But with more experience (and more enabling and encouraging work opportunities/placements) I found out I actually did have this flare I just needed more practice and confidence. I was so flattered when I returned to my placement and I was offered a job as a teaching assistant, told by another mentor that I was 'a natural', and also fought over for classroom help and marking. I definitely think this is the route I will be taking.
Finally, getting back into photography. Also a work-in-progress. I need my zoom lens back for this to work out and it has been broke for some time. Either that or I need to order a new one because they take quality images. My eye for good photo opportunities has also come back, as I started losing motivation purely because I felt I didn't have the eye for it anymore. But keep your eyes peeled for images on the blog this new year.
So I just sit there for about an hour scrolling through social media until an idea comes to me. It never usually does which is another reason why I've been away from the blog for so long.
But for once I actually have an idea that came to my head pretty quickly.
I thought it would be a pretty decent idea to see if I met the goals I set myself for 2017, both for personal gain and also for something for people to read in case they give a *&^% (I won't be offended if you don't care...).
So my first goal was to pass my first year at university with a first-class grade (or however you refer to it). I know loads of people say 'Your first year doesn't count towards anything just as long as you pass you can wing it' but to be honest I got so annoyed whenever someone told me this. There were a few reasons why I wanted to get a first in my first year. The first one is pretty obvious, it will make me feel more good about myself and motivate me for the rest of my degree because if achieved I will have proved to myself I can do uni. Also, I wanted to respect and build a good relationship with my lecturers. They've taken the time to help me by offering me tutorials and extra help and I will feel really bad if I don't achieve at least a 2:1 in their module to show I learnt something from them.
Like seriously, this semester I was more worried about disappointing my lecturer than my own parents with one of my assignment grades (results yet to be confirmed).
On top of this, I am paying £9270 (or whatever, it's still a &^%£ ton of money) on this degree. I don't want to just breeze through it. I want to get my money's worth. Personally, I don't think there is much point in doing a degree if you don't give it your best shot.
But I digress. I got my end of year results this September just gone and I passed this year with 79% (because one of my lecturers gave me 1% off a first in one of my assignments which was a tad bit vexing). But I'm not bitter, I got a first for my first year which I'm pretty chuffed with. And on top of that, I got nominated with the Dean's Award for my work and academic achievement which I'm dead chuffed with because only four people from each course get this and to be picked and have my hard work recognised...I feel a bit proud.
My second goal was to find out which career I actually wanted. Because my current course opens so many doors into careers that involve working with children, it's been such a challenging year to get my head straight and think about what I actually want to do. I did a module in my first year at uni called 'the growing child' and this was taught by a lecturer who specialised in health psychology and it really made me want to go down the child health/social work route. Midwifery is something that has always appealed to me but I don't want to chuck away my first year at uni and start all over again and then find out I hate it. I went to career meetings in the library (which were useless because they literally googled my course and gave me ideas on the internet...uh like I haven't done that countless times already?!). I went to my placement mentor and said I was really confused and she let me teach a few of her classes and this really gave me a thirst for teaching again, as this is what I originally planned on doing when I started uni. I've ended up settling for a primary school teacher working with children from reception to year three, as these are the ages I prefer. Obviously though if the only vacancies I find are for teaching year six, I can't be picky and I will still apply and give it my all.
Teaching definitely isn't for everyone. It is a vocation as well as career and you have to have a passion for it to survive. I remember my mum telling me when I was twelve that I have the personality and character to teach in primary schools. I thought she was just being biased because she was my mum, especially in my early years training because I just didn't have the confidence at that time and didn't feel like I had that natural flare with children. You can't teach people to be good with children either, it just comes naturally so I panicked even more. But with more experience (and more enabling and encouraging work opportunities/placements) I found out I actually did have this flare I just needed more practice and confidence. I was so flattered when I returned to my placement and I was offered a job as a teaching assistant, told by another mentor that I was 'a natural', and also fought over for classroom help and marking. I definitely think this is the route I will be taking.
I needed to start learning to find the joy in little things and stress less. This is still work-in-progress, but I think I've come a long way and I have my work in Zakynthos to thank for that. I've become so much more confident and content within myself since that trip. I do more things to make myself happy and have started hobbies which make me happy and that I can enjoy. These include embroidery, reading, calligraphy and getting back into character illustration.
Finally, getting back into photography. Also a work-in-progress. I need my zoom lens back for this to work out and it has been broke for some time. Either that or I need to order a new one because they take quality images. My eye for good photo opportunities has also come back, as I started losing motivation purely because I felt I didn't have the eye for it anymore. But keep your eyes peeled for images on the blog this new year.
**********
I hope this blog post was good enough 4 u. I will be back shortly (tomorrow) for another post that will detail my goals for 2018.
Until then...
buh-bye now xo
Comments
Post a Comment