Let’s go back to March 2022, I was struggling and I had a lot of personal issues which were starting to affect my ability to both work and practice at the best of my ability, along with a noticeable decline for me in my studies too. I won’t go into detail but I was experiencing grief and bereavement and I needed time. Time to heal. Time to let go and grow. Time to be myself and move beyond the anxiety and worries. And to get support with this, I turned to my tutors. They supported me, guided me and helped me to find myself again when I was lost in a dark place. They provided opportunities to talk, signposted me to useful organisations, and perhaps more importantly, listened. It became obvious that from time to time situations occur during our lives that cannot be helped and there will be time we need to lean on each other.

When I enrolled with The Learning Institute, I thought that I’d never need Mitigating Circumstances, I’d always be the model student who submitted their assessments on time, if not early. Well, it doesn’t always work like that. By applying for and getting Mitigating Circumstances, I gained the time I so desperately needed. It became apparent (actually it was completely and utterly obvious) that there was no shame in putting myself first, and that was only reinforced further by the words of my tutors and fellow students. It meant I could worry and stress less and take time to ensure I was submitting quality work. My writing and assignments improved and by the end of June I’d been awarded my best grades of the year - of course it’s not about the marks but they don’t half help.

So, on the 28th July, I finally submitted my final assignment, which I can’t lie, I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with. To be able to say I did this, I’ve achieved and I got there without any detriment to myself, feels amazing. Of course, I haven’t learnt of my grade yet so I may be speaking prematurely, but nevertheless, I did it! We all did it, every single student has had their own journey and one they should be immensely proud of. There’s been tears, wine, storms (literally!) and an unbelievable amount of laughter. A journey with a group of people who have helped shape us in to the individuals we are now, and I wouldn’t have wanted to do this without any of them. I am so proud of each and every one of my friends for their academic achievements, their professional development and their personal growth. We are not the people we were when we all shyly met in September 2020, on a computer screen of all places, we are so much more now and this is not the end, it’s only the beginning (to paraphrase Danny from Grease). Here’s to the Class of 2022, we did it!!! Right, now the gushing is over.