BA Blogs - Rebecca Pattinson
Rebecca is currently studying Film, Radio and Television at Christ Church University, Canterbury. Sadly, Ninja Nuns isn’t available on Youtube (yet), but you can look at her pretty photographs at http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckysmeckysmoo or follow her on twitter @beckysmeckysmoo.
It was 2008 and I was at the wise old age of 23 when I found myself wrestling with a very important decision. At the time, I was working as part of a management team in a designer boutique in Liverpool.
Behind me lay a half completed degree in Drama and Theatre Studies: an arts course I had abandoned due to a sad and sorry mixture of personal and financial dilemmas. Ahead of me, a ‘bright and shining’ promotion in fashion retail beckoned.
My career path seemed to be set, and yet, a small voice in my head had started to scream with all of its might.
Now, in my experience it is always best to listen to that niggling voice of instinct. Except when it tells you that a fifth shot of tequila is a good idea.
Or that fancying Justin Beiber is ok, because it’s not. In this instance though, the voice was loudly reminding me that I had unfinished business with Higher Education.
After finding an old prospectus for Christ Church University squirreled away in a suitcase, I set myself a new goal for the first time in years. I would go back to university to study and practice my greatest passion- Film. This was far more easily said than done. For starters, at 23, I would be at least 5 years older than the majority of freshman students. I hadn’t picked up a pen, let alone written an essay since my Drama days.
Also, although I adored films, I hadn’t actually studied any or gotten around to making any myself.*
The main set back though, was financially. I already owed around £8,000 to the student loan company. After this degree I would have over £23,000 in student debt, as well as having to pay £3,250 of my own savings for the tuition fees for the first year of the course. Faced with such a huge amount of debt and with opposition from my family, I inevitably found myself asking, would it be worth it? Should I stay in retail or should I opt for a ‘safe’ degree in law or business?
At the moment, I am nearing the end of my 2nd year on the film course and couldn’t be happier. I’ve discovered that taking an Arts degree has enriched my academic and personal development in a way that no other degree could. I’ve discovered new skills in photography and screenplay writing, produced and presented in radio shows and directed short films and television segments.
Being around like-minded students, fantastically encouraging tutors and having access to state of the art equipment is not only a film geeks’ dream come true, but valuable preparation for my future career in broadcasting. And as for the high cost of my course, it only makes me more determined to do well and make the most of my experience. To round this ramble of words up; Higher Education made my head scream and my soul soar and you can’t put a price tag on that (although £23,000 sounds reasonable to me).
*Actually, this isn’t strictly true. I did once make a film called ‘Attack Of The Ninja Nuns’ when I was 15. As you can imagine, it was dreadful and still makes me cringe.