Reflections and Resolutions

As I sit at my desk waiting for 3.30pm and the first class of my taught Master's course to roll around, I can't help but look back over the last three years, and start thinking about how I can make this academic year even better.  I have been very lucky to have had such an exciting and positive experience as an undergraduate Classics student.  I met wonderful friends in my halls and on my course, and experienced independent(ish) living for the first time.  I got involved with clubs and societies, contributed to The Undergraduate Journal (www.theundergraduateexeter.com/), and even took up a new sport (www.exeterpoloclub.com/)! The cherry on top of this fantastic experience was definitely being elected President of the Exeter Classics Society (exeterclassics.wordpress.com/) in my final year.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be starting my Master's year.  After some confusion with my timetable, I have enrolled in some very exciting courses (even one on dragons!), and I can't wait to start writing my thesis.  As this is something of a fresh start, I thought I should make some resolutions for the new academic year:

1. Be more organised!
This is a very obvious one, and probably something that every student promises to do at the start of each year.  Obviously this will apply to academic life as I attempt to avoid the feared all-nighters that plagued my undergraduate years.  I hope it will also apply to my personal life...helping with the little things like doing grocery shopping and actually getting up in the morning...

2. Be healthy!
Again, a common one. Everyone talks about the whole 'healthy body, healthy mind' set up, so perhaps there is some truth in it.  I aim to eat less junk when writing essays (Vale, Domino's Pizza), and also actually go to the gym, rather than just wearing gym clothes to campus because I got up too late to do my hair in the morning...

3. Do more extra curricular Classics related stuff!
For those of you new to my blog, and for those of you who aren't new but haven't picked up on it yet, I love my subject.  I really can't get enough of it, and my desire to study in some form or another creeps over into my personal life. 

I'd like to continue to be involved in the language mentoring scheme run by the Exeter Classics Society, which provides a great environment for students to mentor each other and keep their language skills sharp.  I'd also like to contribute more to the HiRise translation project.  I did a post about their work (stimulosdeditaemulauirtus.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/latins-new-frontier.html) when I first got involved with the scheme, but due to the stresses and pains of 3rd year, I wasn't able to contribute as much as I would have liked.

I was introduced to The Ancient History Encyclopaedia (www.ancient.eu/) by a friend and fellow Classicist.  For those of you who haven't encountered it, it's a really incredible online resource which covers pretty much every aspect of the Ancient World, with photographs, definitions and articles contributed by members of the public.  I've just sent in my first submissions, and I hope to be able to contribute to this project regularly throughout the coming year.

Classics and Ancient History PhD student at the University of Liverpool, working on Lucan, Necromancy, and Civil War. Generously funded by the AHRC NWCDTP. Also enjoys music, polo, and gin. For more information, head here: www.nwcdtp.ac.uk/current-students/student-profiles/elaine-sanderson/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts!

Image

Learning to Love…Ovid!

 In light of yesterday’s Grand National, I thought I’d turn to a Latin poet whom I have recently come to appreciate.   I first encountered Ovid at around the age of fourteen, when I was handed his guide to picking up women at the racecourse, taken from his work Amores, as a translation exercise.   I was slightly alarmed to be presented with a text which advocated spying on women as they watched the horses go round the track, and sneakily groping people amongst the crowded stands, and so pigeonholed Ovid as a rather immature, trivial and tedious poet.   It’s safe to say, we got off on the wrong foot. Photo by Greg Roberts. Grand National day 2014.  I wonder how many race goers took Ovid's advice to heart... I ran into Ovid again at AS level, with Book VIII of his epic poem, The Metamorphoses being assigned as a set text.   Once again, I was far from overwhelmed.   Reading his portrayal of the various exploits of Scylla and Daedalus, I felt that this was an extremely fo
Image

The Importance of Going Outside

Ever since I was a secondary school student revising for my GCSE exams, I have been reminded time and again by well-meaning people of the importance of taking regular breaks when working.  Carefully scheduled 5/10 minutes here and there to break up the monotony of sitting at a desk, staring at books/screens and scribbling notes.  As a PhD student, I thought I was doing pretty well with this.  I often get up to make warm drinks in the kitchen next door or walk a few meters down the hallway to collect documents from the printer.   And yet, I kept finding myself angsty and frustrated, at times even a little claustrophobic, as I sat at my desk, working away on a project I continue to find exciting and stimulating.  Right now, I'm not at my most stressed. I'm not chasing nine different people trying to tie ends up for a conference, I'm not simultaneously working on four completely different assessments, and though my mental health has been iffy as of late (cheers for that, depr
Image

Summer of Classics 2015: Sicily and the Valle dei Templi

Every year, the Exeter University Classics Society organise one of the highlights of their calendar: a trip abroad to visit various ancient sites.  A wonderful post-exams treat, these trips allow students to visit sites and see artefacts studied as part of their courses, develop and broaden their perspectives on the Classical World, and catch up with friends after weeks of isolation in the library.  This year's trip to Sicily was a lovely way to round off the final year of my undergraduate studies, and mark the end of my Classics Society presidency.  Organising and managing students can be challenging at the best of times (trust me, it's like trying to herd fish!), so when you throw in flight bookings, risk assessments, and passports, everything becomes that bit more complicated.  Eventually, our adventure got underway, thanks to the hard work and limitless patience of some very dedicated committee members.  We embarked upon a glorious Sicilian adventure, travelling in style i