Hindsight is a wonderful thing.  As my career, in recent years has become more enmeshed in digital communication I look back on my high school years and wonder just how different things might have been if my early propensity for programming had been fostered.  No one really knew in the mid 80’s that computing was going to become so fundamental to our daily lives and certainly, in small rural schools no one expected a girl to get involved.

My, how times have changed.

My daily work life is grounded in HTML, CSS, ASP, YouTube, Video streaming, and large-scale communication with organization members via a comprehensive website, RSS feeds, Podcasting, electronic direct marketing and bulk SMS messages delivered via the web.   While self-taught, I’ve honed these skills by hours and hours of experimentation and research.  My home life is spent maintaining friendships via Facebook, and Twitter and my overseas family keeps up to date with my life via a blog, Skype and a Flickr account.  Here I am embracing digital life and I couldn’t be more fascinated with where the web will take me next.

I’m passionately interested in digital culture, not just from a personal point of view, but professionally.   It could be considered an interesting stretch to wish to extend a Theology degree into an MA but as someone who has spent significant time working in an active and contemporary church, and who is seeing how modern life has embraced digital culture I’m committed to appropriating new technology to keep our organization on the cutting edge of where technology takes us next.  In the past, religious organizations have steered clear of new technology, fearing for their ‘mortal souls’ perhaps. It is my belief however, that ‘joining the discussion’ is critical to the dissemination and appropriation of new ideas and information, but equally important to maintaining our relevance to the post-modern generation of people with whom we connect.

The week has been a bit mental.

I’m spending way too many hours editing photos I took of dancers on Saturday.  A very well paid gig but which I need to upgrade my gear to ever consider doing again!! So every night this week I’ve been working on the photos till around 2am… I may even have to consider a half day tomorrow so I can get them printed on Friday…

I’ve also been trying to get my appointment with the boss of all bosses to stick.  It has been rescheduled twice and is booked again for tomorrow.  The best possible thing about the rescheduling is the following, which was waiting in my mailbox when I got home…

The University of Sydney
Faculty of Arts…

Dear Miss [er… insert real name]

The Faculty is offering you a place as detailed below…

Course of Study: Master of Digital Communication and Culture

Department/School/Centre: Digital Cultures Program.

So yeah… I’m going to be a student next year… which begs the question really.

“Dee,What on earth were you thinking?!”

[The comment comp is still running… at the rate we’re going this could take a while… I might even have time to get my photography site up before we have a winner!!]

So, Fi has been asking what the deal with Uni is, and I’m procrastinating from my epic house clean to give you an answer babe!!!  Thanks for the distraction!!!

It was nearly three years ago that I blogged this.  Having met that challenge head on and coming away with a Bachelor’s Degree in April of this year I decided 2008 was going to be one without the added pressure of completing assignments and turning in papers.  I have still been walking about the halls of academia but this time on the other side of the desk, as a tutor.

In embarking on the Bachelor’s I hadn’t given any thought to taking things further into a Master’s, I mean… what for?  To prove I can write papers?  However, I hadn’t counted on getting so inspired by the business of learning and crazier still, the business of teaching.

At grad, when I’d sat in the Great Hall at Sydney Uni waiting for my turn on the stage to get my piece of paper I was a bit bemused.  It really is a farcical ceremony and in truth, the pomp and circumstance was completely lost on me!!  However, in its course I saw people going across for their Master’s and actually started to wonder if I had it in me to take things further.

I went straight from graduation into our biggest conference of the year, and it’s easy to get excited about the future when you’re hearing all manner of inspirational speakers and the like.  So one night, after an epic day of taking pictures at the conference, I came home to wind down in front of the computer and on a whim, began to google for Master’s programmes. You know, just to see what was out there.

As an aside, you may or may not know that I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and as committed as I am to my church and my faith, I really didn’t want to pursue that further.  I started with a BTh because it was there and was only 8 papers (subjects) away.  But, truth to tell, I have no desire to be spending hours picking apart the Bible for new and amazing insights into the human condition… (I know, and I call myself a Christian…) instead, my interest is still more technology/arts related…

Interestingly, the first and only programme that I came across that night was this, a coursework (as in no major research paper) Master’s of Arts in Digital Communication and Culture at Sydney Uni.  I was immediately drawn to it, it touches on so many areas of my interest in web/blogging/development/new technology, and to the prospect of getting further into where technology has changed and will change culture in the future.  Looks totaly fascinating!!! 

Since then (April) the idea has been percolating away… I considered whether to do it part time, or full time, whether to start mid-year or next year and to date have decided to apply for the full time programme, starting in March of 2009.

Full.Time.

This will likely mean, giving up my real job, which after 7 years will be a bit of a shock to the system… (however, you lot, more than many others in my world may not be surprised that things haven’t necessarily been rosy there this year).

 It will also require finding work for part of the week to cover my expenses… so if you know anyone who’s going to need a part-time web developer/maintainer… let me know nearer the time!! I’m considering the possibility of making my business pay the bills… but we’ll see how that goes…  That may take more faith in myself than I’ve currently got…

So, after attending the Uni’s post-grad open night and hearing people talk about this degree, in wandering around the campus and feeling what it would be like to be a student there,  I have really only been able to see myself as a student next year.  [Ed. and so, she joins the lunatic fringe…]

I’m acutely aware how lucky I am to be free enough to consider doing such a thing without having to take into account the needs of a husband or family.  I’m no less desirous that these things would happen in my world sooner rather than later, but I’m not going to sit on my hands waiting for it.  In the meantime, I’m loving the chance to learn more, and to have more to teach… so, yeah… wish me luck…  I’ll let you know as soon as I hear whether the university thinks a chick with a BTh could cut it in the upper echelons of technology and cultural studies…