I'm the kind of person that always needs something to keep their brain busy in order to be happy. I don't deal well with long periods with nothing to do, and I love a challenge. My three years of undergraduate study (in psychology) are amongst the happiest of my life so far because I've always enjoyed studying and learning. So I'm taking the plunge back into it and have signed up with the Open University. For those not in the UK, it's a distance-learning university that offers a range of courses and options.
Here's what I am going to learn about: the sun, planets, stars and their life cycle, galaxies, the origins and future of the universe, exoplanets, the expanding universe, dark matter, dark energy, black holes and astronomy skills. I'm excited! I never really appreciated science whilst I was at school but since leaving it I've become a lot more interested in it, physics especially. It'll be strange completing assignments again but I'm going to give it a good go and hopefully fit it in around my work responsibilities.
I'm excited too because it feels like a positive step for myself and my happiness. It's nice to do something where the only reason for doing it is because I want to!
If you went back to studying, what would you study? Is it something you can see yourself doing in the future?
This is amazing! Astrophysics is so fascinating, it's just sad that the teachers at school never really have the time to teach science in a way that makes the students interested in the subject instead of just in their grades.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will enjoy your course, learning simply for the sake of learning is a joy all of its own.
I'm sure I will enjoy it, although it's been 10 years since I last did any physics! I'm looking forward to learning again :)
DeleteGood for you! I've thought of it often, but I still don't have enough time in my day. I'd love to dig into social/cultural/linguistic anthropology at some point.
ReplyDeleteAnthropology would be a fascinating thing to study, I've always been a bit tempted by archaeology too (I could go on digs in exotic places!). To be honest I don't have much time in my day for this but the workload is only three hours a week, that's why I picked a low-credit module. Easing myself back into it slowly!
DeleteThat sounds awesome :) Wish I could do something like that (but should probably focus university for now ;)
ReplyDeleteYou will miss university when it is over! I hope the course is as interesting as it sounds....
DeleteSounds like something interesting to study! Right now I'm currently in school working on my masters in library science, but I would love to be able to go back and study more Russian literature. At the same time, that's not going to be something I can afford to do for a very long time, lol.
ReplyDeleteooo...Russian literature. I'd love to study that too. :)
DeleteMasters in library science - I'll be jealous when you are a librarian! Russian literature would be interesting, maybe something for the future? Luckily the open university is very reasonably priced, and it's pay as you go so much more affordable than a traditional university.
DeleteThat is so cool- I studied Earth Science and Geology in school and it involved a bit of Astronomy. I love it. I hope you have fun with it. I use to listen to a lectures on tape while I was painting and decorating. I always love to learn something new.
ReplyDeleteRight now for myself I am back at school taking courses in Interior Design. Something I have wanted to do for 20 years.
Earth Science is something I'm interested in too, and biology. Learning something just for the sake of learning it is a joy.
DeleteWell done on doing the Interior Design if it's something you've always wanted to do. Are you enjoying it?
I've been wanting to get around to more science studies so I will look forward to what books you recommend on those subjects!
ReplyDeleteIf I had subjects to study I think I would wish to learn Latin and Greek and be more familiar with European history. My history knowledge is a bit scattered over the globe and the ages.
I'm sure I will be snowed under with physics textbooks soon enough and looking for light relief in chick lit!
DeleteLearning Latin and Greek would be awesome, that's something not a lot of people can do. My history knowledge is very scattered too, I have no sense of when events took place relative to each other.
I'd like to formally study just about any subject. Gaelic! Quantum mechanics! English literature! Musicology! I'm signed up for the computer science 101 course that is free nd online through Stanford, which I think will start next month.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, it's hard to pick something. I had a hard time choosing my undergrad degree because I wanted to do it all! Good luck with the computer science course, we'll be studying at the same time :)
DeleteVery exciting! I really enjoy listening to courses through The Teaching Company. My eduction was heavy on math and science, so I mostly listen to history and literature now. They aren't credit courses, but CD's of prominent professors lecturing in their area of expertise... anywhere from 12 to 40+ 30-minute lectures per course.
ReplyDeleteI will be doing a similar thing as the OU is all distance learning - I'll be sent DVDs and textbooks. I don't think the credits matter, I'm not doing it for the credits but because I want to learn something new.
DeleteIts so cool to take up astrophysics Sam. Hope you have a awesome time studying it. I wish i could take up some writing courses, i aspire to be a novelist someday.
ReplyDeleteI hope I enjoy it too, I think I will :)
DeleteBeing a novelist is an amazing thing to aspire to. Are you writing at the moment?
That sounds great! It's so important to do stuff for you. I would love to add some more unemployable degrees to my repertoire - music and history. :)
ReplyDeleteMy psych degree is pretty unemployable too, or was until I used it to get on a post-grad teaching course. Music is something I have no feel or talent for, but history would be great.
DeleteHow exciting! I often fantasize about going back to school after I retire. Or maybe once my kids are in college. I think I'd study medieval history, but there are so many things I'd like to go back and learn, it would be hard to choose.
ReplyDeleteYou should, Susan. I'm doing it before having children, I imagine it would be hard to find the time afterwards! Medieval history is something I know hardly anything about.
DeleteOh my gosh, this sounds wonderful! What a fascinating subject, and so marvelous that you are doing it for the sheer enjoyment of it all (though I've no doubt there will be some insight or learning you can carry over into your teaching in some way....) bravo, and enjoy!!!!
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