How things can change in four years

This time four years ago, I would have been right in the middle of my group project at Bath. It consisted of two very long translations (by the standards of a student), one Japanese to English, a business news article, and one English to Japanese, a catalogue of electronic components. My group (consisting, I think, of Chiharu, Yumi, Rina, Chiho and me) were spending all day, every day, at the (very empty) library, sat around with our laptops, carefully going over every single one of the 20,000 words in each document. As with the rest of the time doing my Masters, I was working really hard. I was focused, studious, and although ultimately not very good, absolutely determined to do my best.

Excluding a few years off while I worked at the Inland Revenue and dabbled with the idea of accounting (which if nothing else at least put me in good shape to do my Tax Return), this is how it had been for a decade. I wanted one thing, to be better at Japanese, and I really applied myself at getting there. Then, within a year of finally landing my dream job of freelance translator, I was no longer studying it, and have not done since my last exam at Bath.

Two things happened really. Firstly, within a couple of months of working with Japanese, I realised that I'd probably learnt more, and become more fluent with it than in all of the previous decade put together (maybe an exaggeration, but it certainly felt that way). There was no longer any need to study! As it turned out, working was more effective a form of study, than studying ever was. I guess it continues to be, as I'm infinitely better now than I was a few years ago.... which makes me wonder how I ever got paid to do this back then, but anyway.

The other was receiving £25 in Amazon vouchers for my birthday in 2008. I bought Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, The New Space Opera (a space opera short story anthology), and The Fabric of the Cosmos, by American physics populariser, Brian Greene. The last of these, I read in about three days. It was fascinating! I didn’t really get along with the Simpsons and Mulder and Scully stories framing the various effects of modern physics, but nevertheless it was un-put-downable. I was hooked, and just had to learn more! Well, within a few weeks I was signed up for the BSc in Physical Science at the Open University, and studying the short courses S194: Introducing astronomy, S196: Planets: an introduction and S197: How the Universe works. Introductory stuff all round, and pretty easy, but a nice way into things. These short courses however, all firmly in the realms of physics and astronomy, served a useful purpose in showing me that I really wanted to study maths. It was while performing a rather straightforward bit of algebraic manipulation for the end of course assessment of S194 that I thought to myself, I’m actually enjoying this more than the physical laws and other stuff. A few days of umming and ahhing, followed by a quick phone call to a helpful lady at the OU, and I was registered to the BA/BSc in Mathematics. Which is where I’ve been since, and where I guess I will be for four years more!

My Mum often tells people that I’m never happy unless I’m learning something. I think the evidence is pretty hard to reject.