Today while talking about feelings with my wife, I came to understand myself a little better. For a long time I’ve had a strong, negative reaction to words of reassurance or support. I’ve often felt like they’re not helpful or constructive when I am having a difficult time with something. It’s been more of an issue Read More
Today I Got A 94
Today I was informed that the preliminary result was in for my programming portfolio, worth 80% of the final grade for the programming module of my Data Science Apprenticeship. Going into the system to check the result and feedback had my anxiety way up, I was sure I’d done at least as well as the other Read More
The Highly Sensitive Person
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been reading Self Compassion by Kristin Neff and it has already helped me feel better. My wife subscribed to Scribd recently and has been listening to audio snapshots of books, so I recommended Self Compassion as one to try out. Following that, she recommended a book to me, Read More
I Only Wish I Had More Time To Study!
I’m enjoying studying again and I am even enjoying studying maths. I wrote the other day about how I used to be good at maths, but had fallen behind and given up in my school days, then labelled myself as ‘bad at maths’ thereon. But being ‘bad at maths’ for me mainly meant, “I can’t be Read More
Surely If I Just Try Hard Enough I Should Always Be Able To Succeed, Shouldn’t I?
In my downtime I’ve been browsing through some books about emotional self-care. One of them is Self Compassion by Kristin Neff, and there was a sentence that really resonated with me in an early chapter. “Surely if I just try hard enough I should always be able to succeed, shouldn’t I?” For me, this sentence conjures Read More
Provisional Grades Are In: Passing So Far!
Provisional grades from my Data Science apprenticeship so far show that I am not only passing, but passing with a high mark on some of my submissions! The most recent of these, a portfolio combining learning, professional writing, reflection and programming, is something I am especially proud of. I can’t help but look back to the Read More
There Was a Time When I Was Good at Maths
When I turned 16 I dropped out of school. I’d hated the experience since I started secondary school at 11 years old and it had only gotten worse from then. Dropping out was a huge relief for me. I went to community college the next year to study for and take the GCSE exams that I Read More
Can I Get Enough Of Studying?
Last week was my latest contact week with the university, where we spend 3 hour sessions with the tutors going through tasks they’ve set out and asking questions. The week before that I took off as study time to work on my programming portfolio. This week, I went tutor hunting and have booked myself tutoring sessions Read More
It’s Dangerous To Go (Into Maths) Alone! Take This (Tutor)
That’s a reference from the first Legend of Zelda video game, for you non-gamers out there. This morning I woke up early and finally took the step I’ve needed to take for a while; hiring a maths tutor. I’ve been scraping by in the Data Science degree, but there are some particular areas that I’m not Read More
Progress in Data Science degree
As the end of my first year on the Data Science degree apprenticeship approaches, I’m realising how far I have come. I mean, before I started this degree, I thought that machine learning was like a really smart macro recorder! This week I’ve had some time with my tutors and they’ve been giving us quizzes that Read More