Not long to go now . . .

And I'm in the last week of the actual course work!


I can't believe that 26 weeks can go by so fast!


I'm now on week 27 of the 32 week course - or module as they're now known as - although, to be strictly honest with you, I'm still actually at least a week behind but, because I've still got my final TMA to be in by 21st April ( a 2,000-word essay), and then the EMA - End of Module Assessment - (a 3,000-word essay) to be in by 26th May, I won't actually be officially finished until the end of May.


I can't say that I've enjoyed this course as much as I'd hoped to. Not because it failed to be interesting for me, but because I've had so very many health issues throughout, and so I've spent what little time I've felt well enough to do the work, on frantically trying to play catch-up - not indusive to enjoyment, believe me! :(


For my last TMA, I managed to scrape through with an 80% mark, which I'm exceedingly pleased to have got, considering how ill I was when writing it, and I can't see me getting any better for this next one, due to the same problems. But I am worried about the EMA, as I'm supposed to be sending my tutor a plan of work around about the time that my TMA is due in, so that she can verify that my work is actually my own for the EMA but, as I haven't a clue yet as to which option I'm going to choose, let alone which books and course work I'm going to be selecting to back up my essay, I'm going to have a hard time sending it in.


I never was able to write a plan of what I'm going to write about. For some reason, it always stifles my creativity, as I feel as if I've been boxed in if I write what I'm going to do before I do it!
If I had to write a brief plan of a story for my school work, I'd do the story first, then write a précis of it afterwards, just to keep the teacher quiet. But you could always guarantee that, if forced to write one first, I'd make a complete hash of the story afterwards  - something I'm trying to avoid with this course as, if I can pass it, I can actually claim my BA - the first person in my family to achieve this!
But I'm actually greedy, as I want to go for the BA Honours, which means just one more course to do - something I've already booked up for to start this coming October! Lol


I'm just hoping, and praying very hard, that I'll be well enough by then to cope with the new course, as I've chosen E301: The Art of English, a level 3 course that,

 'looks at creativity in the English language: from everyday language use (conversation, children’s language, letter writing, online chat) to ‘high culture’ literary language and new kinds of media texts. You’ll consider how ‘verbal art’ works in a wide range of texts, and the extent to which the seeds of literary creativity may be found in more routine uses of English. The course has an international dimension too, enabling you to explore language use in different parts of the English-speaking world, and should help you consider your own daily experiences of the English language.'
(Open University http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/e301.htm)


I have to admit that I'm a bit apprehensive, as the students already doing it say it's a hard one, but I've always been fascinated about how we use language, and so would love to learn more about it - and the point of me doing all this studying is to stretch my mind more than I have been, and to keep my mind stimulated, as I've so many problems with short-term memory loss, and my doctor thought that studying would help - which it has done.
My doctor was very pleased with my progress, up until this course, when my health has taken such a down-swing, but he told me he was glad that I was having a break between courses, as it will give me time to recover somewhat, we both hope!


But I have to confess that I dread the finish of my degree as, if I'm hit with all the changes this government is making for the ill and disabled, then I won't be able to afford to continue doing any more courses after this, and there are so many 10-pointers that I would love to do, just to keep my hand in, so-to-speak :(


I guess it's just another of those things I'll have to cope with when it happens and, in the meantime, I guess I need to get back to my studying! :)