Date: 29th Sept 2023
I think this is the first time I have maybe ever sat down and actively thought about my future and my plans for said future. I'd never bothered before because I always thought I had no future worth fighting for but times have changed. I'm actually excited to be thinking about what I do want to do in the next 5 years and instead of doing what I normally do on here and ramble about the past (whether that is recent past or distant), I thought I would turn the table and discuss my plans for the future!
Lets start at my one year dreams and work towards maybe second to 3rd year of future planning.
In this next year here are some things I know I will do:
Graduate my MASC with either a 2:1 or first class degree.
Move out of my family home in Wales
Start the peer reviewed publication process with my MASC thesis.
And my plans at the moment are to find a research role (preferably something in the creative health sphere and if I get to be super picky, something dementia/Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST)/object handling related). I'm hoping in a year I will be back in London with my friends, sharing a flat with two of my good friends and working in an academic setting as a research assistant or research lead. I'm also really open to study skills work at a university level as I'm sure we all know how much of a massive nerd I am. Literally been jokingly calling myself the 3rd MASC tutor since term 2 and my friends are also calling me their dissertation tutor or general go to tutor stand in. So I know I would thrive helping other students improve their work. It's in my bones to do it and would make me very happy as well! I'll also be keeping an eye open for PHD opportunities and plan to stay in contact with Jack to discuss coming back to UCL to (ideally) study under him and Aimee Spector to essentially continue to look at and research my current MASC thesis on museum-based CST that involves object-based activities. That's my dream PHD area because I essentially co-created the research area with Jack, the V&A museum, Resonate Arts and The Kensington Chelsea and Westminster memory service.
In my second year of future planning I would start seriously looking or prepping for a PHD. I have no idea what this entails but I envisage doing this alongside my research job or study skills support job. I'm also hoping to get my own freelance career as a Creative Health researcher up and running in year two, perhaps using my (admittedly likely dying or already dead) organisation Creative Comfort as a springboard for this. If Creative Comfort is not actually dead, the year two would also involve at least one project with said organisation and a research evaluation of it as well. I'll still be in London and still in contact with both Jack and Luna and maybe even floating around UCL speaking to the new cohorts of students on the MASC. I may also try to sell a lot of my crocheted goods in the next few years as well but we'll see if they even sell haha.
Year 3 would involve applications for a PHD programme (again probably at UCL if Jack and co will have me back). And if that gets accepted, I would start that probably full time but am flexible on that element of it. And then the next (at least) 2 years would be working away at said PHD and graduating before I turn 30 (giving myself a bit of wiggle room in case I need to take breaks or go part time on it etc).
There we go! I have officially written my dream future down for the first time. I haven't really gone into much detail because I don't need to detail it all out. I have the outline and I can work with that. And I'm genuinely so excited to enter the world, I have friends and an amazing support system and with my therapist, family, friends and newly found self confidence and excitement, I feel hopeful about my future for the first time. I'm not going to shy away from the things that make me happy and even if it take me till I'm 30 to finally reach my goal of becoming a DR and having a successful research based career, I genuinely don't care. I know I will get there, no matter how many rejections I get, there will be one job at some point that says yes and that in is literally all I need.
I wonder where I will be in a year and how much of this I will have checked off. I guess we can see? I doubt this corner of my interweb is going to go anytime soon, despite the often infrequent updates, I do like this space and what it offers to me. And the few people I've shared this with, also seem to appreciate the honesty I approach these posts with - not that the intention has ever been to share this worldwide but it's not exactly hidden either. But Luna knows it's a thing now and Jack will know it's a thing once he receives my dissertation and is officially not my tutor anymore hehe.
That's all for now xx
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