It’s 1:25am, and some friends have gone home after a night of pizza, and Cards Against Humanity. I’m sitting in bed after saying good night to Hannah (my flatmate), and all of a sudden, my mind starts reeling.
And I cannot seem to figure out why.
Since the last post, things have changed slightly – but as I say that, things have also gotten worse.
I’ve come to realise that not everything is going to turn to shit as soon as I give in to them. Yeah, it might happen, but at least it’ll be a story to tell someday. It’ll be an experience that I’ll learn from, and it’ll give me knowledge that I might impart on someone who really needs it.
Speaking of stories to tell, Hannah and I have been invited to speak at our old high school, to a year twelve class of about 15 or 20 students. We did it last year, and it was something that I think we both really enjoyed.
We told them of our experience at school, as ex-students it was a bit strange to tell them the things we remember of the place they’ll be staying for a little longer.
We also told them how we came to study at Wintec, and how we came to the decision of the degrees we’re currently studying. Of course, our processes differ from each other, which give the students a range of choices, and that there isn’t always one way to do something.
At least that’s my thoughts about it.
To be honest, this year’s talk will vary slightly…
For one, it’ll be a year since we did our first talk. Hannah has her impending graduation, and I still have another full year of my degree left. Hannah and I have both done a lot more since last year, and we also moved in together (last year we were living in different places) – which will probably provide a new perspective to our talk.
I think it’ll be okay. We’re doing it this coming Tuesday (don’t worry, there will definitely be a post about it), and while we’re there, we’ll be visiting some old friends, and some old staff that we had while we were at school.
I’ve also felt inspired since the last time you heard from me, which is something that rarely happens, so I try to revel in it for as long as I can.
I was in class on a Monday morning, and my tutor is talking to us about effective website layouts (and other stuff I can’t remember fully), and where someone would go to find certain bits of information they’d be looking for (whatever the purpose).
My tutor asked the class (as we were all once prospective students) if we found all the information we needed before taking the next step in enrolling and getting into Wintec. She had opened up the discussion to all of us, and I had piped up and said no. Whatever information I couldn’t find on the website, I had to talk to someone else about, and had to go find it myself.
This got me thinking…
Now that I’m actually studying at Wintec (and have been for the past two years), maybe I can somehow find prospective students, talk to them about their study options, places they could go, and qualifications they could obtain. I could be a student representative, and give my opinion (as a current student) as to what they could do.
So, with this new-found confidence and inspiration, I go home and think about it some more, then talk to a friend about it. They were very encouraging and receptive of what I had to say, and suggested that I go and talk to a tutor (I ended up going to the one I had for my Monday morning class) about it, as they could probably lead me to someone who’d be able to help make that dream into a reality.
I make an appointment with said tutor, and tell them about my idea. They were also encouraging and receptive (which was a great sign!), and brought in another tutor to discuss what I had just said.
Long story short, they both really liked the sound of what I had to say, and decided to put my proposal to someone who knows a little more about it. Now I’m waiting for an email back to talk about my next step, and what needs to be done in order for me to do what I want to do.
In other news, a friend of mine was nominated for an Adult Learner Award at Wintec for this year. I am beyond proud of her, and what it means!
She invited me to the awards evening, and I was saying to her the entire time that she was going to win the award in her category. She kept trying to play it down, saying she was happy to just be there and be nominated.
Well, she won her award, and her sister, a tutor that came, and I gave her a standing ovation as she walked to the stage to receive her award.
With all of this in written form, I shall sign off and get some much needed rest before Hannah and I head back to Tauranga for a week.
Stay tuned for what comes after our discussion with the high school students!
With love,
Tessa
Tessa
