My life so far hasn’t been all that adventurous or dramatic. I have been in education for all 21 years of it. So to sign up again for another year must mean one of two things: either a) I have gone barmy or b) I have found something I really want to do. I am going to stick with B, and that’s why I have signed up to do the Msc Archaeology course at Bournemouth.

To tell you the truth I am thrilled about next year. I just received my conditional offer, and that means (so long as I meet the condition) I get to study things I have wanted to for the past three years!

But what things? Well primarily zooarchaeology, and animals and diet (one unit). So bones and how and why they ended up like they did. Which is actually a lot more fun than it sounds (if you bear with me).

This semester I have been studying Animals and Society. Which is, on the face of it, about animals and how they are used in society. Look a little deeper and it tells you so much more about the people themselves. And that is where my interest comes in.

A pigeon skeleton from the animal bones lab

Some people love to argue that human remains are the most interesting thing to study, because they are the real people who walked and laughed and lived on the earth however many years ago. But I would argue something slightly different. While yes, they are the person’s remains, they aren’t them, if you catch my drift. A person is not just bones, but someone who laughs, who eats food, who keeps pets. And by studying the animals we keep, we can see so much more of the people, if they didn’t eat sheep, if they kept chickens as pets, if they kept and cared for the dog with a short leg that they loved anyway.

And that is why I want to come back to Bournemouth. Because I want to know more about animals, I want to know how they related to people in terms of diet. Because, at the heart of it all, I want to know about the people in the past.

So why did I actually choose BU? Apart from all of the above? Three reasons. Firstly that the way Bournemouth teaches, and the numerous chances for hands on experience suit me both as a person and as a dyslexic. Secondly, the special needs support offered is brilliant: I get all of the help I need to continue doing the course I love. And finally, and rather sappily, because I am happy. I am happy studying in such a wonderful place, with an incredible community and in a beautiful part of the country. And I am not ready to give all of this up just yet.