I decided to put up an ad on Reddit looking for a psychology tutor in Melbourne Australia. Turns out it was a wonderful idea as I have had so many people contact me.

So far, since placing the post, four days ago, I have found someone who has excellent grades, lives 11 minutes from work and wants experience teaching, so is happy to tutor me weekly for $25 an hour. I’ve said that I will be budgeting $100 a week for tutoring. The first session is today and I am so looking forward to it. We have spoken back and forth via text so I am positive we will get along well. Provided we do, they have said they are happy to tutor me for the year. The only unit they have said they don’t think they will be able to help me with is year three statistics which is cool.

Besides being contacted for the tutoring sessions I was looking for, I have also had a woman who lives near me let me know that she is also doing psych at the same university as me, so we have a number of classes together. With so many classes still being online due to covid, we are hoping that we can match our timetables up so we can watch the online lectures together and then revise afterwards.

Even better yet, another woman contacted me who has already completed her undergraduate degree and honours and is now doing her PhD. She let me know that she also goes to the same university as me, and still has all the notes for the classes I will be doing this year. She has since emailed them all to me, and I can honestly say, I have never seen notes like them before. They are absolutely astounding and going to be such a huge help. She has also offered to read over all of my assignments, as has my new tutor, before I submit them.

I honestly thought it was going to take me the next two years to finish my first degree because I did not study the last half of last year due to covid. Thankfully though, since talking to my new study buddy, I have worked out I can be completely finished by this time next year. So the end of trimester three. I figure if she can do four units each trimester, while working and raising her daughter alone, then I can manage to complete my last seven units over three trimesters, which is what I plan to do.

I have known for a while that I want to work in research as well as do clinical work. This is probably because I am, say, 95% sure that I want to go into the field of research where MDMA and LSD and other currently illegal drugs can be used to help people who suffer with mental health illnesses. There is a reason people take these kinds of drugs, so I would really like to be apart of helping path the way for change, since I fully believe there is so much we don’t know about how natural properties such as psychedelics can help people. I mean, I obviously enjoy taking them for a reason, and think it is insane that natural things like psychedelic mushrooms or cannabis is illegal. I understand they can be dangerous if used wrong, but so can almost anything if you are not smart about what you are doing.

I have been talking to the woman who has emailed me her notes, and she thinks what I want to do would be fantastic given how little research is going on, especially here in Australia. (Please do not quote me on this, I have not looked it up myself yet). Anyway she mentioned looking at the ‘Doctor of Psychology Clinical’ at the uni we go to. Upon looking at it, I instantly knew this is what I am supposed to do. So now this year will be spent focusing on working hard and bringing my grades up higher to apply for Honours. I believe I am currently sitting at a weighted average mark of approximately 76% but I need to bring my grades up to 80% and higher for what I want to do.

So I am now in the process of trying to get some routine in my life. This can be difficult living with pain and exhaustion, but I really believe I can do it. Plus I have my pain speaciliast working with the pain clinic I attended back in 2009/2010 to get me onto better pain meds that help me and allow me to focus while studying. I love being prescribed cannabis, but if I took it the way its prescripted, ‘Inhale every 10 minutea when necessary, up to 2g a day’ I would never ever get anything done. these days I tend to just have a couple puffs with my morning coffee before I get ready for work and then use it in the evening and at night. Hence I need something to help me throughout the day that doesn’t make it impossible to study. I really wish I could study while on it like so many others can, but I can’t and that’s ok.

Anyway, Ive already walked Boss, done my exercises, and had breakfast, so time to get ready for work. It’s going to be 31 degree celsius today so I am taking my client to the river so we can go for a swim. I have faith its going to be a great day!

As always, sending light and love to everyone out there xxx