I began my degree in Environmental Science when I was 26. I went to grammar school, I did well, but I couldn’t stand the regime so as soon as my GCSEs were done, I left and went to college. I totally screwed up my A Levels (I spent the whole time getting stoned in the park) and came out of college with nothing. Definitely not enough qualifications to get into uni, and anyway I knew at that age that I’d go to uni, waste 3 years, and come out with a degree that I would never use. I had no sense of direction and no plans for the future.
I went straight into work and stayed in Devon. I was just doing poor jobs – I worked in a factory, I worked in a pub. I was going nowhere. All my friends had left Devon and gone to uni. I was just pottering along. Then one of my friends, at uni in Bristol, found me a room, I found a place on an access course (you can do this to get into uni if you haven’t got enough A Levels) and within a week I was gone.
I moved to Bristol with the full intention of completing the course and getting onto a degree. Unfortunately, I spent that year going to college but not really trying, because I met some really lovely people. I went to nights out. I went to free parties. I was so green. You put a 21-year-old in a big city for the first time in their lives and they might go off the rails. I did anyway. I finished that year with a lot of new experiences but, you’ve guessed it, no qualifications. I went into full-time work, first in a call centre and then I got a job in the Department for Work and Pensions. I was still on the phone, issuing Crisis Loans, but I had better pay and better quality of life.
After four years, Crisis Loans got axed, and we were all shipped out to work in Jobcentres. At first, I enjoyed it, but as time went on I couldn’t see it being forever. I was then 25 and finally I’d realised that I had an interest in the environment and I had always loved nature. I had no qualifications and no real knowledge.
So I hatched a plan.
I looked at getting a degree through other methods. I liked work and didn’t want to go to uni. I looked at the Open University, and saw I could get a degree in Environmental Science online, with no prior qualifications, around my existing life. I knew it would be hard work but I was ready for the challenge. I wanted to move forwards with my life and do something worthwhile.
My plan was to finish my degree in my early 30s, and see where it led me. I could suck up a job I didn’t like for a few years if the end goal was something better. I knew that office work wasn’t for me. I really wanted to go into conservation and do something for wildlife. However big or small, every little helps, and the more I learned about climate change and the biodiversity crisis in not only the UK but across the world, the more I wanted to do something to help nature.
So I started my degree with a pocket full of hopes and dreams. It was going well and I did the first two modules. With the Open University you have modules in 3 levels, with each module giving you a certain number of credits. You need 360 to get a degree. So I’d completed level 1 and was a few weeks in to my first level 2 module when I got diagnosed. It was all so much; so new. I couldn’t get my head round my condition and I had loads of hospital appointments and stuff was going on and I just couldn’t put my mind to studying. At that point, I decided to give up. I wasn’t far in anyway and I had a lot to be going on with. I was trying to get used to my new life.
So, five years later, and I was still in the same job. My condition was progressing and although my employer was more than accommodating, I was still thinking ‘is this it now?’
I rang the Open University and explained everything. The Student Support team were really helpful and I went back into studying. I knew then that I wouldn’t be able to do the conservation work I always wanted to do. My mobility was getting worse and I knew that being in a wheelchair would not be ideal for working in the field.
I don’t know why I decided to go back. I loved learning about the environment, and science and maths were right up my street. I also felt like I needed something other than MS. I wanted to do something that stretched my brain.
I’m not going to lie, it was hard work. I had some help from some friends who are clever ladies but studying at home really suited me. Because of my illness I had to frequently get up for the toilet or I had to factor in my fatigue so I could play to my strengths and fit it around managing my condition.
Then COVID-19 hit and I had to self-isolate, so I was at home on my own with nothing to do, except study. In those days I was locked alone in my house so studying gave me a focus.
The Open University was all online anyway and my tutors were great. There were student forums and ways to get in contact with others. I didn’t feel alone.
It got harder as I progressed through the levels but I had enough background knowledge to get through. My condition was getting worse so each time I submitted an assignment, I also sent in a ‘Special Circumstances’ form. I listed all my problems. At the end I was using two laptops – one to read the course material from, and one to dictate my notes into. I couldn’t write at that point. I also had to dictate all my assignments. I got a lot of equipment because I got Disabled Student’s Allowance – I went for an assessment and they provided me with some things. My eyesight was really failing so I had one laptop plugged into a big monitor so I could read my course materials.
It was an arduous task but I got there in the end.
In 2023 I finally finished with a first! It was such hard work. Completing it was bittersweet for me. It was a massive achievement but I knew it would never lead me into the job I initially wanted. I can’t work anymore, but I do know a lot about the environment. I can’t even commit to working from home because I don’t know if it’ll be a good day or a bad one.
So there you have it. I’ve got a lot of brains in a body that doesn’t operate. It is a constant source of frustration. I just want to do something, anything, to help. The climate crisis is real and it’s happening right now. I heard a great quote the other day “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds” and that’s how I feel. I cannot unlearn everything I know. It does frustrate me that people don’t live more sustainably. I could go on for days about it. It’s really easy to make small changes. If everyone just did something small, it would add up to something big. I just do what I can now.
Anyway that’s my journey folks! Ask me anything about the environment and I’m your lady.
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Tingly Badger's Journey So Far 