So much to do, so little time!

 I have been very busy for the past few weeks, I am trying to juggle studying with the rest of my responsibilities, but it is not easy. Specially now, when my depression had came back. And it cam with a bang! I wasn't expecting it, but I presume you never are.... How can you be prepare for it? When you life is good you don't expect to feel like that!

 I am suffering with it for so many years now, I know all the 'tricks', I know what I should do, still it is hard. I am really trying.
There is so many positive things happening in my life. I would like to mention that my place at the  OU Students Association Conference 2014 is secured now, my tickets are booked and you will be able to meet me there!!! ( If you are going of course). That's something worth getting excited about right?  I would love to know how many of you is going!! It is happening only every two years and I just can't wait!!  So if you are going , please give me a shout :) 

  TMA 3 has knock me down a little bit. I can't help but feeling lost when I work with numbers! I hope you all had a better experience with it than me.   TMA 4... Makes me feel like : 
- Now, you are talking!!!! 

I just love comparing theories. I don't know why... Before you say anything... Yes, I am one of those sad girls who love to study :D 

I have to say that the nice thing about studying with The OU is that they help you so much! I mean, if you are going to look at the Assignment Booklet, they are practically giving you the whole structure of your essay.  And majority of the answers. 

MY volunteer work with OU is very rewording, I've managed to help to sign for a degree 14 people since I've started. I can believe that I have the opportunity to possibly help someone to fulfil their dreams, do something they never thought they can do.  It makes me feel all warm and fluffy inside. 

 I come across as heartless and cold person. I say what I think without even one thought about : 
- How someone will react/feel after listening to me. 
But the real truth is : I am big softy. I cry on Bambi, I spend majority of my time thinking how can I help people, I would give my last pound to someone in need. I am spending 80% of my time listening to people, solving their problems and it makes me feel good. 
Like I've mentioned before the place I live in, doesn't have many opportunities, not only for young people but for anyone. 
I had very emotional moment last week, when one person has received confirmation that her place on the course was secured. She gave me such a huge hug, it was hard to breath :) 

I am not sure if I would feel that good in a brick uni.... It is also my small therapy...  I would like to encourage everyone to get involve with this project. Who knows? Maybe it will make you feel the same as it makes me? :)

News update!

 First of all I would like to apologise to everyone who is my regular reader for my absence!   I really wanted to drop at least few words but I really couldn't. I was very ill, and I've spend most of my days in bed, not only neglecting my work, hobby and blogs but also my family, friends and uni work! It is so hard sometimes knowing that you have so much to do but the pain is stopping you every time you try.

 Few updates and news.
  I know I've started my blog with weekly follow ups on the work list, which you can find in Learning Companions, I will still try to do that. I am not sure what I will do about post about TMA's, we all are far into the course by now and I don't see much point to remind us basic informations on how to write an essay.  I am sure that we all are able to follow our tutors feedback. What I might do instead is a list on one of the sides of my blogs, with the list of post with the basics. I might find some more useful informations as we go and post them or even put some of the tips from my tutor feedback.

If any of you, would like to read about anything specific plsea drop me an email, or message on facebook.  If you disagree with me, or have more informations, which are up to date, please contact me as well. The last thing I want to do is to share wrong informations and give bad advice. If you message me at least I will be able to change it. I hope that all of you know that I am only human and I make mistakes ;)


 I am now officially involved in the  North and Mid Wales OUSV project , I am waiting for all my materials and as soon as I will get to know all the ins and outs I will do a post about.

That's not all!

 I am also having a pleasure of being a student reps with BPS !!!!! I was so happy when I have received an email informing me about it.

And the best news I had...  I was offered to write an article for the OUSV Newsletter, which is due out next month!

It is pointless to say how much I love writing! But I would never imagine that I would EVER be able to have the opportunity to write so well in English and be bale to be involved in so many amazing things.

Which just proves me that choosing The Open University as a uni to do my degree with, was one of the most important and right choices I have ever made!


 I will still give a 100% on my blog write useful tips and try to share with you all of my experiences :)

Oh! If you have a blog about how it's like to be a student yourself, drop a link to it in comments. I would love to know how everyone else is getting on with OU!

That's all for today, I hope everyone had a good time with TMA 2 ( will post about it tomorrow ) and you all are getting started with the TMA 3 :)

TMA 01 - marked

 I think many of us was very inpatients, curious and a little bit scared in the past few days... Of course... Our first assignments were due to be marked.

  I was one of THOSE people who were refreshing theirs OU website very 20 minutes on the 25th of Feb, hoping that her mark will be there. I wasn't aware, that our tutor has 10 days to mark it, plus all those posts on my facebook, people saying : Oh, I had my TMA marked! - wasn't helping. 

So what did I do?  ( if you are reading it : Please, DO NOT DO IT AT HOME, as it is not safe! :D ) 

I have e-mailed my tutor.... Basically saying : 

- oi! where is my mark ! 

 Of course, I've written it in more polite way, but the principle of the message were the same. I WANT my mark! Guys... Don't do that.... EVER.... I am sure I was marked down 5% because of that :D ( that was a joke! ) .

 I had e-mail back of my tutor explaining that they have 10 days to do it, and she usually waits but she will mark it today for me........ Yes, cold sweats, hearts palpitations and a word : f***! came out of my mouth very loudly. 

Very quickly I have send her a message back, apologising and explaining my rudeness! I was telling her about my lack of knowledge about those 10 days, and I was making sure that she will know, that I will not do it next time... Still.... those bloody 5 %.... I am almost sure... Just can't prove it...lol   

 Now seriously, between me and you guys : I have a lovely tutor. 

 I am always looking at this the way I am looking at any kind of relationship : 

- It will take time to get to know each other, to be able to know what the other person wants from us. 

This is so important to remember, especially when it comes to a relationship you have with  your teacher. Doesn't really matter ig you are a student, in primary school or on your A lvls. If you don't know your teacher, you don't know what they are looking for in your work. And this can never work. 

 So back to my mark. After an hour, I had an e-mail from The OU, saying : 

- Your TMA was marked.

tam, tam, taaaaaaammmmmmm ( very dramatic music). 

I've logged into my account and there it was, staring at me, smiling and almost saying : 

 Hello, is it me you're looking for????   'Cause I wonder where you areAnd I wonder what you do...

( as my favourite youtuber says : 'whatsupp lyrics references!!!' I am so cool sometimes I could die! lol )

 Now,  I've read a lot of comments about, how students feel; about their marks and tutor. I was involved in lots of discussions, debates.  So hold on for a sec, bear with me and try to follow as it might confused you.

 I will not tell you what mark I had, not because I am ashamed of it , I just don't feel that it is my place to post it. There might be some people who have lover mark and feel uncomfortable about me, moaning about my score.
So lets just say my mark was XY%

 I passed.

And I can't help myself but think :
 I am NOT happy with my mark!

I was aiming for a higher mark that I had. I am not going to lie to you, I was bloody disappointed...

 I thought to myself if I can't achieve A on this essay, the easiest one, first one. How the hell am I going to do it with the hardest one?

 Few thing you need to know about me  : I am a planner and I have to feel in control, I am also very ambitious.

That was what use to keep me sane. I was an A* student, I had scholarships and that was one of the things which was keeping me safe. For those who read my personal post, you all are a little bit aware of my life, for those who haven't you can find it here. Throughout my childhood I was proving myself that despite what my mother says, I am good at something.


 'Thanks' to that I ended up being a control freak lol It is helpful from time to time, for example I came to this country knowing only three sentences :
- Sorry, I can't speak English.
- F*** off
and :
- Don't touch me like that!
:D
  Yes... I know.... I use to walk around with a pen, notebook and a dictionary. If I couldn't explain something, I was simply drawing it.  I remember my first phone call to job centre, I had to apply for my NIN, I was sitting in my kitchen with a dictionary, laptop ( google translator) and I was arguing with  a lad on the phone that I do not need a translator, and it is his damn job to talk to me in my own speed and bear with me. I've told him that if he can't do his job properly he can put me through to someone who can.
We've talked for over three hours.... But! I did it. I've managed to tell him exactly what I needed, without having to talk to someone who would translate it for me. I was very proud that day.  I wanted to learn to speak. I mean, I LOVE to speak! Living in a different country and not being able to understand 'local people' would kill me! lol
 I don't understand foreigners who live here for 5 to 10 years and they can't speak.  I feel ashamed when I am meeting a Polish person, they live here, but they ask me to translate for them.  I did, at the beginning, but then I've realised something: You, Brits are lovely people. If you could, you would give your heart away, but sometimes you are too nice! Because you are making it so easy for others, making them feel welcome and doing the 'job' for them, you are enabling them to bloody learn.  To whichever office I went, they were passing me a piece of paper with translated question, they've need to ask me. What was their surprise, when I was pushing it away saying : Thank you, but I am fully capable of speaking to you in your language. I am in this country five years now, and people who just meet me are still surprise that my English is SOOOO good. No, it is not. You are not praising yourself for being able to speak, don't praise us. ;)
 English is so hard to learn, that's true. It is like you just love making your life difficult for yourself :D But it is not impossible to learn. ;)


So, back to my original point when I saw my mark I burst into tears, run to Matt ( my partner) and said to him :
- I shouldn't study, I am just to stupid!

 He read my feedback, saw my mark, shook his head and said :
- You're one, crazy lady/
lol Yes, I love him too.... I needed that, to be honest I felt sorry for myself for two days about that mark. I was going over my assignment, reading it, analysing it and saying to myself :
Why the hell I haven't had an A?!!!

I wasn't blaming my tutor.  How could I ? It was me, who was writing it, not her. She just has that unpleasant job where she has to mark me.
  Like I've mentioned before : I've read loads of things about it. People were upset with their tutor, because they were marked down. The were upset with other students because they were having higher score than them, but they were still unhappy about it.

The thing is it doesn't really matter if you have 38% or 75% - You are allowed to be unhappy with it, because each one of us has different ambitious, plans. Someone can score a B, but they wanted to have an A. You had a C and can't stand that someone is moaning about B? You would kill for a B? They should be lucky?
No. This is not how life works. So what that you would love to have B? Maybe, just maybe they want to have the best score because in their head that's what they can do.
I use to hate when someone was saying to me :
- Oh, you know you should be happy with your mark, I had only 'bla bla bla'.
I don't care what you had! It doesn't make me feel better. I want a bloody A!

And again, if you are happy with your 38%, because you were sure you will fail big time - good for you!!!

I guess what I am trying to say is ;
Don't go to hard on other people, don't blame anyone about your first score.

No one can help you with it, and your mark is equivalent to your knowledge, maybe next time you can work a little bit harder on your essay structure, or understanding the question.
 That's why we have a feedback from our tutors, to learn, to get better.

 Doesn't really matter if you are jealous, or you think your tutor marked you unfairly.

I've spoke yesterday to one of my 'module' friends, we both were unhappy with our marks, and help each other to go through the 'FIRST MARK'.
 We felt sorry for ourselves, we've support each other.  ( Thanks B ;) )

I think it is really important to take your first mark easy. On the end of the day, some of you haven't done any uni writing in few years. Personally I was studying with a brick uni last year, but I didn't knew what OU is expecting from me.
 Most important : talk to your tutor. The are the one who can help you improve your work, help you understand.

 From here we can finally start. We have our first feedback, we can learn from it, we know what to look for in our next assignment. Plus by now I am sure every one of us has made at least one uni friend, so we can have someone to rant to. :)

I hope that all of your marks, are a starting point for you, and I am sure you've all done the best job you could at the time, and now you can only get better.
And if you are absolutely happy with your mark : Well done!!!!!!! High five!!! :)

Sorry if today post was a little bit chaotic, I have teeth infection since Friday, I have flu since yesterday, I had a phone call from my Gp saying that on the top of Ankylosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia I have Restless Legs Syndrome ( another non-curable condition) and I have phoned my mother, which never makes me feel good, yesterday I've overdone with my painkillers, so I had a 'date with my toilet' - basically I've spend most of my night with my head in it. My poor dog was shaking and freaking out, not knowing what the heck is wrong with me. He have spent the whole time with his head on my knees, he would leave my site. Matt was out so I had to call him and ask him to come home, which always makes me feel rubbish ( I hate that I am the reason that he can't have an evening out, without worrying sick about me)...So as you can see I have a lot on my plate right now... I am hoping to feel better soon thou :) I so don't like to giving up....

TMA 01 (cut-off date: 24 February 2014)

 Word limit : 750
Font size : 12
Space between lines : Double ( I couldn't find it in my assignment booklet, so I've asked other students)
Worth : 5% of your total mark.


 So here we are :) I couldn't wait any longer so after my first tutorial and few corrections, I've submitted my first TMA yesterday. I am not sure if I feel stressed or more excited at the minute.

 Just wanted to do a quick check list for all of us, if you haven't submitted your TMA yet, it might be useful.

BEFORE USING ANY OF MY TIPS, PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR TUTOR FIRST!

Different tutors might have different expectations and I don't want to give anyone wrong informations!
All things I am writing about were checked with MY tutor.

 Ok, lets start our check list :

• Go back to the activity in LC1 pg.26. Think if there is anything else you could add to your essay
• Make sure that you do not go over your 10% + or - of your word count.
• Your name, personal identifier, TMA question and references on the end of your work, do not count into the word limit
• References used inside your assignment do count
• Make sure you've written your self reflection
• Make sure that you are COMPEERING your street to the City Road
• If you struggle with your references, go to your assignment booklet pg. 14-15. Basically all you have to do is copy the one from there. 
• Do not submit your self reflection as a separate document! Just put it on another (new) page of your assignment. 
• Put your word count at the end of your TMA
• proof read your assignment before sending it- I've made a few silly mistakes and I am glad that I've checked it before I've send it. 
• If you have used any websites to get information about your street : reference it on a separate page as a  Secondary references 
• Make sure that you have 3-4 examples of benefits or loses. 
• Do not introduce any new ideas in your conclusion! 

 Please don't stress nor doubt in yourself. We all spend lots of time, put lots of effort into our assignments and I am sure we will all do great.  After all this assignment is to help us, getting use to the whole TMA writing and I am sure that our tutors will not be to harsh on us, they will leave constructive feedback, and we will be able to learn from it.
If you've done everything on the check list, don't sit there and think :
- Should I submit my TMA?

Just do it! If you are going to think about, you will start doing corrections, by doing this you might destroy good piece of work, for a sake of doubting in yourself. If you haven't came up with any new ideas by now, there is no point trying go think about them.;

I wish you all first pass :)

Tips for your first TMA.

 I hope you all are doing grate and this TMA is not giving you any problems. Ok, so I've decided to cover few common questions. :

1. Does the title, and references are part of my word count? 

No. The only text included in your word count is your main text and references made within. e.g :

( as Babette has written in her blog, ' I've decided to cover few common questions'  ( www.beingmaturestudent.blogspot.com, pg 1 ) 

2. Can I use the rule of 10% + or - word count?

The best way to do it is to ask your tutor. Some of them are allowing it, some not.  

3. How to write my references? 

If you are writing in WORD you have actually a choice to put your references in in different styles, including the Harvard one. All you have to do then is write author, page and year and word will do it for you. 

4. I am stuck, what next?? 

 Put it away, go get yourself a drink and relax. Come back to it the next day. 

5. How to write my introduction? 

Imagine that you will introducing yourself? What would you say? Probably your name, age , if you are a parent, where you working and what are your hobbies. This is exactly how your TMA introduction should look like. You telling the reader your question, what information they will find in your essay, what you are basic your work on. 

6. How to write my conclusion? 

It simply summing up your whole work. So if you have proved that most people is loosing, then you have to say it and explain why is it that way. Don't go over 5 sentences. DO NOT INTRODUCE NEW POINT OF VIEWS! 

7. I am going over my word count!! 

Some of the words you can just simply change for example : 

Instead of writing: 'ask for' say ' request' , or ' It is clear that' use ' obviously' . 

Take your time, write few drafts and come back to it. You might have new ideas, views. Don't stress, there is no pint for that. What's the point of studying if you are not enjoying it?? 

Thesaurus should be your Bible ;) 

Make a plan. 

Go to the activity I've told you about in my previous post.

If you have opportunity use program called Inspiration 9 ( Look pic underneath). 

Print out all audio and DVD transcripts. 

And the most important : ENJOY IT ! ;) 

 

Pic taken from http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2013/04/proofreading-checklist-for-the-basic-essay/