4 Concerns about study
Exercise
Let us continue this process of thinking, writing and sifting. As we have suggested, many students approaching study have worries about what lies ahead. Let's look at some worries that students have expressed to us. We will give you six statements; identify any that apply to you on a list, and add others you may have. Identifying these helps towards a constructive assessment of your own situation. Again, rank them in order:
I have not written an essay since I left school, and that was 20 years ago. Will I cope?
My work has got more demanding since I began studying. How shall I find the time to fit the study in?
I do not know anything about music or philosophy or classical studies. Will I be able to manage them?
If I'm honest, I have often taken things up and not finished them. Will this be different?
What shall I do if everyone knows more than I do?
I think my partner won't like me doing it.
Other feelings I have are…
With your rank order in your mind, write your responses to the statement below:
I feel anxious about studying the arts because…
Discussion
Again, we are not so interested in the number of anxieties: you may have only a couple, or you may wish you had space to write a dozen! It's more important that you identified them, and put them in the order that seems most important to you. Although these are personal reasons, the process you have gone through – of thinking, sifting and placing your points in order – is good practice. It is a vital preliminary stage in constructing an argument, which is an essential skill you should be developing as you progress your studies in the arts and humanities.