Hi, I'm Mary-Ann and I've done a Diploma in
Psychology with Child and Adolescent issues
through Open Polytechnic.
I wanted to build a better future for myself
and my children and I wanted to find a job
that I was passionate about and working with
youth has always been something that I'm passionate
about.
And psychology - I just love the way people,
you know, what makes people think, why they
do what they do.
It suited my circumstances because I started
my studies when my youngest was one, so being
a single parent with no vehicle, it would
have been too hard - impossible really - to
have gone to a learning centre.
So, with Open Polytechnic, I could study in
my own time, I would do the mother thing during
the day.
At night-time, when they were all in bed,
I studied.
I would study until 3am in the morning and
then I'd be up at 6am in the morning, because
my second to youngest has an in-built alarm
clock of six and she wakes and we are on the
go.
In my first paper actually, because my Mum
got diagnosed with lung cancer, so I was actually
going to quit my studies, because she was
actually only given three months to live,
so I was going to focus on family rather than
[study], but her push was, you know, "I'm
doing this, you still have to put a future
through, so I still expect you to study".
And that was quite hard at the time, but in
hindsight, Mum's still here, so she has seen
me do all my studies and she has seen me graduate.
Bearing in mind, my first paper, which was
general and applied psychology, the dictionary
was my best friend and that was not for every
second sentence, that was for every second
word.
I mean, it was just a completely different
language to anything that I had used.
So, my first goal was the Diploma, but for
my first paper it kind of narrowed down to
'let's get past this first paper', because
there was just so much to learn, but I think
it was so interesting, it just helped me go
through.
I left school when I was 14 and I noticed
that in my studies, the form of writing I've
really had to struggle and pick up, so I'm
trying to instil into my children they can't
leave school until they've gone through 7th
form, which has so far happened.
And, because I've studied, my oldest daughter
is now at university.
They're kind of accepting and knowing how
important education is.
I'm a determined person.
What got me through was the fact that I was
on a Work and Income benefit and we've struggled,
so I think the struggling of that side has
just kept me - when I've been really tired
at 3 o'clock in the morning - its the motivation
to know that I'm making a better future for
my kids.
And my youngest, because he's the one who
always saying I'm the best Mum in the whole
wide world, so if you need motivation, just
look at him.
To know that you started three years ago at
point A and now I'm actually, done, you know,
yay!
