A knock at the door. There stands the postman with a big brown box. I accept it with a smile and a word of thanks. I am excited. I look at the box and gauge its weight. But I am busy with Saturday morning stuff and so I put the box by the bread bin and, savouring the thrill of anticipation, I continue with my tasks.

And what is in the box I hear you cry. A belated birthday present? Some eagerly awaited book from Amazon? No. It’s my Open University course material. I knew it was on its way. I had seen from my virtual pigeon hole that it had been dispatched and the fact that it says “The Open University – Urgent Educational Material” on the box was a bit of a clue.

And so there it sat by the bread bin all day. There were some quiet periods when I could have opened it and had a look at its contents but somehow I needed to enjoy the moment, linger over it, taste it. And quite a large part of me was nervous about opening it – like an envelope containing important news. It is almost like a Pandora’s box. If I don’t open it then I still have the option of turning back, continuing life without adding to it the complications and pressures that studying may bring. The requirement to find still more time in my already bulging diary. And the risk of failure, which whilst not in the forefront of my mind, is a fairly frequent visitor.

But if I do open it then that is the start of something new and exciting that may widen my world in ways that I cannot yet anticipate, introduce me to new people and new skills and take my life in a different direction.

And so, at a quiet moment when everyone else was occupied I take myself off with my box and quietly, cautiously open the box. Come on Imogen. Dive in. The water’s lovely.