Page 3 - Student: dazed And Confused

INTRODUCTION

I'm not going to lie - enough people are doing that to you already. My student days weren't
the best days of my life, and anyone who tells you they were the best of theirs are lying.
And if they try to convince you they will be the best of yours, well they're... you know the
drill.
I spent seven years at the University of Birmingham and five of those were on a Creative
Writing degree, which I graduated from in 2009 with a 2:1 with honours. The most powerful

feeling that came over me on that ceremonial day - relief. I had worked so hard for so long
and I could never see the end but suddenly, here I was - 25 years old with a diploma in my
hand that I couldn't believe was real. Sometimes, I still can't quite believe the years of toil
and graft are over but my photographs prove that they are. I can't believe that I did as well
as I did because some of the other students seemed to work so much harder than me but
the success I've had proves I deserved it.

University is expensive, long, depressing at times, slave-driving and full of stress and change
when you're totally not ready for it. Not lying. There are always parties and you can skip

lectures without getting detention; life outside the lecture theatre is buzzing. Also not a lie.
But students rarely have time to take in much of that in - not if you're determined to get
the best degree you can.
Which I did.
About half of my course was dedicated to proper creative writing, stories, poems and such.
The other half was more theory based, studying writers and techniques. I didn't like the
theory parts because that didn't seem important - still don't actually - but they had to be
done. You can't pick and choose which assignments to do. Imagine how easy uni would be
if that was true... I could have coasted five years just making stories up ! But you can't just
cruise it. Twenty seven grands worth of fees and you just drink them all away or something.

No. For that kind of money, you want to work. Make it worth something.

And that's kind of the reason I wanted to put this book together. It is to help any student
who wants to read my ramblings on any given subject or maybe who just want to reassure
themselves that their grades could be worse ! I will include the assignments, both creative
and critical, that I have. Where possible, I will also include tutor comments and the mark I
received. Not all of those comments were deserved - some were downright bitchy and kind
of stupid really - yeah, I'm still bitter and twisted about the whole deal but there it is. Over
now. Oh, and in case you start wondering, I skipped the first year. That's why there ain't

one