the final countdown

My second and final year of my Masters started this week - if last year flew by, I sense that this one will go just as quick, and I'm determined to savour it this time around. Looking back, the first year seemed like a blurry dream and I really want to feel like I've sunk my teeth into everything possible while I have the privileged (and globally, relatively rare) experience of higher education. I love learning and am looking forward to learning more about my chosen elective in mental health. We'll see how my 'takes one to know one' philosophy works out... :)

Also, today I met with an agency who have agreed to take me on for my second year practice placement, to start in January; they're called the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and they work with asylum seekers who have experienced torture, assisting with everything from clinical and legal documents needed for their asylum claim through to case work and long term counseling to help them deal with their torture experience. I'm REALLY excited about this placement - they do such vital work with a client group that the government offers virtually no assistance to. If you get a chance, have a look at their website. I'm really impressed with their ethos and holistic approach to helping people who have come through such horrors to navigate their way to healing and a new life.

In other news: the life drawing is going well - I'm still churning out fairly bizarre interpretations of limbs, but am enjoying every last scribbly minute of it. It also gives me a funny new way of seeing bodies - suddenly I'm grateful for that sagging boob or find myself longing that the model would only have a few more rolls of chub to work with!

Tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary! Perhaps I'll do a separate post on that..I also realised/remembered after my last post that this blog is somehow linked with facebook (no doubt something to do with Andy's clever computer hijinks), but I think I'll try to take it off if I can - that way hopefully only the people who really know me and want to hear about the random ins and out of life will read it and I won't clog up people's feed with my ramblings. So, in future if you want to read this find it at www.andyandmillay.com !