WYTHNOS UN - week one

And so it begins, my first week at University to study my Masters. This day has been a long time coming and it feels like I have been through A LOT to finally get here. Quitting my full time secure job, moving back to Wales from Stockholm, living with my mum instead of alone in my beautiful little apartment (which has still not sold… stress), reconnecting with my friends and family, setting new routines and finally the realisation that I am a full time student again!

So, you can imagine the anxiety I felt when I walked (a few minutes late due to traffic of course) into my first module Research & Practice with John Brynne. This class especially scares me because I am not so good at the writing thing.. making things with my hands, I can do but writing, in theory I should be great but in practice.. it just gets messy. It was a long class with lots of information but I felt solace in the fact I knew what I wanted to base this year of studies on. It’s something I've been thinking about for this past year and I am so excited to finally be able to put it into practice.

On Tuesday we had our introduction to the second module Studio Practice with Kayla Owen. Having a wee hug as I walked in the door made me feel comfortable and at home, in fact walking into the Art and Design building itself felt like home. I met my fellow classmates and it's safe to say I feel like a granny, I felt very aware I didn’t want to bring up that I'd 'lived abroad, worked for H&M' at the risk of sounding braggy, but I also know that it is a part of my life and my experience so in time, I will share more about me.

During this class was the first time I shared my idea for my project, Wales and Palestine - their history and their similarities. It is something that I feel very strongly about, to learn about Welsh history and how the culture and tradition has been preserved through years of it trying to be erased compared to what is happening in Palestine right now, genocide. It feels heavy. I don't know if I'm the right person to be doing this? Is it going to come across as tokenistic? I know out of everything I want to learn about Welsh culture and tradition, but I can't seem to let the Palestine part go. Much like my BA, I want to be able to shine a light on current political issues and I think I did that in the best way I could back then, but the world has changed and now it feels like maybe I won't be able to do it justice.

Kayla also presented a Shirts and Shoes project to us but if I'm honest, I felt a little bit confused about it. Where does this fit in? Are we meant to do it as a group? Does it count towards our overall mark? Or is it just a starting point to get us into the creative flow so we can continue with our own projects?

All in all it was a very good start to the course. I know I'm going to have a lot to do and I need to get my head into it. It is also an odd week, I have my friends visiting from Stockholm, it's my mums and my birthday this week and I'm due my period. I feel like absolute trash, my brain is foggy and I don’t have any energy. Time to make an action plan for the coming week but first, I think just let it all settle in. Let's leave this one a positive note with a screenshot I sent to the family group chat