In a new weekly feature, recent Her.ie recruit Mary is sharing her journey through the very grown-up world of juggling a career with further education.
Looking back over her first semester and forward to a thesis, Mary is learning some lessons along the way about time management, the trials of being a born crammer, the importance of sharing the stressful moments… and the reason why “mature student” is probably an oxymoron.
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That’s one lesson learned. The hard way.
I’ve categorically decided that all those people who do assignments weeks in advance are absolutely bonkers.
I took it upon myself to embrace the holidays and the ‘extra study time’ it entailed.
With that in mind, I decided to kick start an assignment I had due on Tuesday, by getting it underway last Saturday.
Yes, I know – a full four days before it was due. I was impressed with myself too.
But, never again!
This assignment had us watching two movies, picking the one we preferred and then writing a commentary on it.
Sounds pretty easy… right?
So on Saturday, I settled in – popcorn and cup of tea in hand – to watch the two films. Basically, have a nice lazy day doing ‘college work’.
That done, I moved on to bigger and brighter things: namely getting ready for a night out.
On Sunday, I picked my movie and decided that I had better watch it again, just to make sure I got everything right of course.
Sunday evening was spend in a haze of ‘hmm, I’m not really sure what’s going on’ and ‘Ugh, do I have to?’.
By the time Monday came around, I was so sick of the movie that I wished I’d never heard of it and that I’d only started the whole thing that evening… as is the norm for me and assignments.
On deadline day Tuesday, I had procrastinated so much and had messed around with the whole assignment so many times that I definitely wasn’t anywhere near finished, never mind ready to hand it up.
I met the deadline – only just – but if you asked me now what I wrote about, or even the basic argument that I put forward, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.
But at least it’s done I suppose! (Cue nervous laughter).
Lesson severely learned: stick to what you’re good at.
Though I’m not quite sure what that is just yet.
