Open University Experience // Weeks 1 & 2

Picture from my Tumblr page (I use Tumblr strictly for study motivation)

I cannot believe it is the end of my second week of uni... It has flown by and I have gone through so. Much. Material, you would not believe!! A230: Reading & Studying Literature is seriously a hefty amount of work but, I actually kind of love it (so far)! I've always known I love studying English, but I thought I was more of an English Language girl, but oh my word, English Literature is so interesting! I've only studied one of many (many) texts at this point and I already have so many notes with many different criticisms too! This is the nerd inside me but I love reading criticisms... UGH! Anyway taking a step back from this overly raving rant about English Lit. I will go on to tell you all how my first two weeks of being a second year student at The Open University have been.

Here's some details about my student profile:

Age:20

Amount of credits taken this year: 120

Amount of credits taken last year: 120

Modules I'm studying this year: Creative Writing (A215)

                                                                                          Reading & Studying Literature (A230)

So, the first week had me studying the first act of Othello... I went so in depth here! Actually impressed myself with how much reading I could do. I followed the study guide and picked out a small collection of the additional reading resources. I went to town on these criticisms. Highlighters at the ready and of course, coloured pens! I'm loving the Papermate InkJoy's by the way, my favourite colour is the darker green (if you care).

I find my Creative Writing module a bit more laid back than the Literature module. I like to do the activities in my room when I'm feeling in the mood! The first week of this module was all about freewriting and clustering. I didn't like the thought of either of these techniques in the beginning to be honest. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and really don't like the thought of scribbles and messy handwriting... But, hey ho, I went with it and actually got some good results with the techniques. Love this clustering malarkey, especially for writing poems.

The second week is now coming to an end and Othello is probably one of my top Shakespeare plays. I really have come to grips with the text and just can't get enough of it. My opinion of Othello is that he is a strong, noble man who has come so far from where he started (slavery). I believe Iago bullied him completely into believing Desdemona was unfaithful. Iago is an amazing villain. What a brilliant character Shakespeare created. There are so many different thoughts I have about him: is he jealous of Othello's power/relationship? Or is he jealous of Desdemona's relationship with Othello? There's definitely some homoerotic suggestions in this play, which is really interesting for the time the play was performed.

My first couple of weeks back studying have been great, I love being back into a routine. Before the module started I was nervous to start A230, but now after starting with such an amazing play, I can't wait to carry on with the workload.

How are you finding your first weeks back at uni/college/school?

Thanks for reading!
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