Why I Went Back to School as a Mum — and What I’ve Learned So Far

If you had told 17-year-old me that I would one day be studying for a university degree by choice, as a mum, while home educating, running a business, and preparing to move across the world… I would’ve assumed you’d been hit on the head with something heavy.

Because back then?
University wasn’t on my radar. Not even a little bit. Tbh, I’ve never felt smart enough to even attempt it.

Life carried me in a different direction — from working in bars and bookmakers (bookies), training at a horse racing college, working with horses in Spain, building a family, starting a creative business, figuring out who I was as a person and not just who I was supposed to be. My twenties were about survival, growth, and learning through life instead of textbooks.

But then something slowly shifted.

And one day I found myself thinking:
Maybe… maybe I want this.

Not because I felt behind.
Not because I was trying to “catch up.”
And not fully because of our travel plans and that a degree will help, this decision didn’t happen in isolation — it’s tied closely to how we’re preparing for the next chapter of our lives… but also because I could finally see education as something that belonged to me, not something I was pressured into as a 17 year old being asked “so, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I’m not even sure that I am a grown up despite what my birth certificate says.

So at 35, armed with a cup of coffee, a doubtful amount of confidence, a sick feeling in my stomach and the knowledge that my brain hadn’t studied anything formally in over a decade, I enrolled at The Open University.

And here’s what I’ve learned so far.

⭐ You’re Allowed to Want Something for Yourself (and it’s not selfish!) ⭐

Becoming a mum can make your world feel very full and very focused on the little human(s) you’re raising. It’s beautiful… and consuming… and sometimes you lose sight of the things that used to light you up.

Going back to study wasn’t about escaping motherhood — it was about reconnecting with me. I felt like I could raise my head again.

Studying reminded me that I still have goals even if it is just submitting a TMA that has been driving me mad.
I still have passions (it isn’t studying the Romans though).
I still have a brain that likes being stretched and challenged (even if it does creak like an old door some days).

Wanting something for yourself is not selfish.
It’s healthy.

⭐ Studying as a Mum Feels Completely Different — In a Good Way ⭐

When you study young, you often do it because that’s “the thing you do next” after you finish high school.

When you study as a mum, you do it with purpose. With context.
With a very real understanding that time is precious and brainpower (and energy!) is limited.

And because of that, every assignment means something.
Every good mark feels like a tiny miracle. And I won’t lie that my recent Creative Writing mark was my highest yet that I shouted “STFU!” so loud that the cat jumped.
Every module becomes a piece of your future, not just coursework that you have to do, progress in getting that degree.

I’m not studying because I have to.
I’m studying because it matters – for our worldschool journey, for my writing, for my own personal growth, hopefully for my dreams, and for the example I’m setting for W that she can accomplish anything no matter her age or stage in her life.

⭐ Time Management Is… Interesting ⭐

Let’s be honest:
The idea of a mum sitting down to study for four (or more) uninterrupted hours is hilarious.

Here’s what a sliver of studying actually looks like in my house:

20 minutes after breakfast – I can’t function without caffeine
15 minutes sitting in peace before the cat lays on my knees and puts them to sleep
Reading a chapter while W works on a project
Late-night writing because my brain finally has some space and quiet
Study sessions interrupted by snacks, questions, the cat, life admin, home ed, the cat, the postman or deliveries, business tasks, and existential crises about word counts because being concise is just not my thing. The cat.

Is it ideal? No.
Is it working? Shockingly in some strange way, yes.

Studying in tiny, imperfect moments still counts and it keeps me interested.

Slow and steady wins the race.

⭐ You Learn How Strong You Actually Are ⭐

There have been TMAs that nearly finished me. Have I mentioned the Romans? …
Modules that made me question every decision I’ve ever made. I mean I don’t want to keep harping on about them but.. Romans.. and a little bit of Pugin too if I’m honest.
Readings that felt like decoding an alien language – A233 Hardy ‘Far From The Madding Crowd‘ required use of the dictionary at times.
And evenings where I opened my module site, stared into the void, and closed it again. Today. Hence this post. Productive procrastination.

But every time I submitted something hard?
Every time I pushed through a topic that made me want to cry?
Every time I got feedback I didn’t expect?

I realised:
I’m capable of more than I thought. And I got pretty decent marks on them too!

Studying as a mum builds a quiet kind of resilience — not loud or dramatic, just steady and determined. I’ve been through sleepless nights, the terrible twos, teething and tantrums, a 2000 word essay is nothing now (with proper planning!).

⭐ You Become a Better Role Model Without Even Meaning To ⭐

I don’t study to impress my child, but she notices. She sees me learning new things, making mistakes, trying again, juggling responsibilities, and setting goals that sometimes feel bigger than me. She watches me read for pleasure and push through the tougher material (looking at you, A233), carving out moments of focus in the middle of everyday chaos. She sees the frustration, the small victories, the discipline it takes to keep showing up even when I’m tired.

Without me saying a word, she’s learning that education isn’t a phase that ends at eighteen when you turn an adult (UK obvs), it’s a lifelong choice, something you can return to, pursue, and reshape at any age, for any reason. She’s discovering that growth isn’t always graceful, but it’s worth it. And maybe one day, when she faces her own mountains, she’ll remember the nights I kept going, the times I persevered, and she’ll know she can too. She sees me choosing growth, over and over again, and that quiet example is more powerful than anything I could ever tell her.

⭐ It Helps Shape Our Future (Literally) ⭐

My studying isn’t some cute hobby I squeeze in for fun or something to do to pass the time, it’s woven right into the beautifully chaotic life we’re slowly building. It gives me real academic grounding, and plugs straight into our worldschooling plans like a missing puzzle piece. It will strengthen my blogging (I’ve even set myself a schedule and plotted posts) and the personal writing I cobble together between spilt pepsi-max cherry and a mountain of custard creams, deadlines, and life happening loudly around me. And it will hopefully open doors for remote teaching – the kind of work that can follow us across borders, time zones, and whatever wild idea we chase next. At least that is the plan.

This isn’t a “nice little extra.” It’s load-bearing. It’s foundation-level. It’s part of the blueprint for the future we’re quietly (and sometimes chaotically) constructing, one study session, one module, one crumb-covered moment at a time.

⭐ You Don’t Have to Do It Perfectly — You Just Have to Keep Going ⭐

Some weeks, I’m on top of everything.
Some weeks, I feel like I’m drowning in TMAs and pages of readings, post-it notes that no longer make sense, highlighter pens without lids, sticky tabs stuck to my hoody sleeve and never able to find the pen I’m writing with.
Some weeks, life gets messy, and study takes a backseat because my brain has tapped out.
Some weeks … everything flows, and I feel like Jack on the bow of The Titanic.

And all of that is okay.

You don’t have to be the perfect student, the perfect mum, the perfect business owner, or the perfect anything. You cannot spin all of the plates at the same speed all of the time. You have to allow yourself to breathe. You just have to be someone who keeps going — slowly, imperfectly, gently.

That’s enough.

You are enough.

⭐ If You’re Considering Studying as a Mum… ⭐

Do it.

Not because you should.
Not because you need to.
Not because you’re trying to prove anything.

Do it because you want to.
Because your dreams matter, even now.
Do it because that tiny spark in your chest still matters. Your dreams matter, even now. Especially now, when life feels loud and messy. The perfect moment won’t arrive; stop waiting for it and create it.

Studying as a mum is chaotic and exhausting and weirdly beautiful – empowering in that “I’m holding everything together with stubbornness and dry shampoo but look at me go” kind of way. Some days you’ll feel unstoppable. Some days you’ll feel like your brain has left the chat. Most days it’ll be a blend of both.

And if you ever doubt yourself, just remember: if I can do this with a business, home ed, moving plans, the occasional meltdown, and a brain held together by caffeine, chaos, lots of snacks and pure determination…
you absolutely, unequivocally can, too.

You got this.