Ever since I was a little girl I have been obsessed with books. I remember walking home from primary school with my nose buried in a book completely oblivious to the world around me.
At that point everyone had aspirations to become a famous footballer, a singer, or even a movie star. My goal, however, was to become an author. I filled countless notebooks with silly little stories, simply because it was what I loved to do.
Then came secondary school. The books were still being read, but the stories ceased to be written. It was the fear of being judged and the pressure to be ‘cool’ which stopped me from doing what I loved. I became discouraged, I had stopped practicing and henceforth was not performing as well in the compulsory creative writing story competitions.
Then came A levels. Believe it or not, English literature was my worst subject. I was struggling. Studying English at university had been my dream ever since I could read and now an obstacle appeared in my path. It reached the point where I was scraping a pass and dropping out of sixth form seemed my only option. After all, if I can’t study English at uni, what was the point in going?
But still I persisted. Despite the endless practice essays, my exam results didn’t seem to improve which meant that the chances of going to a Russell Group university seemed slim. So the search for a university more in my reach began.
That was when I found Brighton. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw that the english course was 100% coursework, eliminating the drawback I had previously encountered. So, with my focus solely on English literature, I sent off my application.
It wasn’t until I had received my offer that my mum said to me ‘I’ve always imagined you becoming an author’ and that was it. The classic, stereotypical light bulb moment. Why shouldn’t I study english and creative writing? Why shouldn’t I follow my childhood dream? So that’s what I did.
I’m so happy studying English literature and creative writing at Brighton. I made the right decision!
Chloe is one of our online ambassadors who you can chat to about her course
Find out more about English Literature and Creative Writing
Published by