My new life as a student has been an eye-opener, incredibly challenging, but at the same time very rewarding. I am realising and cherishing that I can do and learn something new. Over the past few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my current unit of study, forcing me to be brave and put my written words out in the public domain.
It felt intimidating to put my writing out in open spaces in the form of a blog. I had to make myself vulnerable, put on my big girl pants and just put myself out there. I have built up a profile for myself in the public domain so often I had to come to terms with how do I add a sprinkling of that person into my blogs that the public will view while I transition myself to a new career. I found this aspect more challenging as the course progressed, but it has given me an insight into my potential. This semester has challenged me to take my digital marketing hat off, especially with this subject. I often find myself looking mistakenly through this lens out of many years of habit.
Recently I was asked to write a foreword for a book, and I had more confidence in my ability to write and put myself out there because of this subject. I would like to continue blog writing post this subject, whether this is just to reflect on my learning journey as a Researcher or to continue to advocate for those living with endometriosis. Thank you to my Lecturer for providing great constructive feedback and giving me the confidence I needed to contemplate this digital direction for my future.
I have a digital footprint from my previous work and have experience connecting with others in this digital space and utilising it for promotion and positioning in the marketplace. I learnt that I had portrayed myself in a particular way online and often to the detriment of not having my voice heard. Not having a voice may also have something to do with being a 51-year-old woman who, through conditioning all her life to be a good girl and don’t upset anyone, you kept quiet. Being an advocate gave me a topic to share my voice and a cause to put my energy and passion behind, but was my voice heard? Surprisingly by putting myself out there and finding a different side to myself, and just possibly I’m starting to find my voice.
This experience has taught me that you are never too old to learn; keeping up with technologies, trends, and algorithms have been challenging, but I enjoyed it, and I finally got Twitter! After many years of using social media for work and pleasure and understanding the target markets for all of the platforms, Twitter was the one I couldn’t quite work out. I get it now, and there is no turning back!
This unit has given me a broader context to digital research and views it through a consumer lens. As a new researcher, I can now look at the ethics around data accumulation, its storage and the responsibility of its use. I like using the digital space, and researching digital aspects may come in handy for future research if I was to say; research what platforms are best to use for education purposes for different groups of endometriosis patients.
This unit of study has allowed me to look at data generation and how and why it’s being used, stored and how it targets my family. I understand that we are generating vast quantities of data every day in our lives, giving way to researchers for individual companies to align or target information, including products, to utilise the data we create daily. I like the idea of knowing more about this space for my future research and how I can apply it.
Deciding to continue blog writing throughout my studies and possibly beyond, I have realised that I haven’t had the time or opportunity to reflect for the past decade. I have been so busy looking forward I didn’t take time to reflect. Taking the time to reflect on this subject and others has shown me the value of this practice and one which I look forward to continuing.
Looking forward to you joining me on this learning journey.
