High everyone,

It's January 2026, new term's just kicking off, and I'm sitting here in London thinking F..., how did I end up doing a degree in Creative Writing at Birkbeck? If you'd told the younger me, the one laying bricks in the 80s or dodging trouble across the world, I'd have laughed in your face. But here I am, a mature student, fourth year in (started with the Foundation Year back in 2022), chipping away at modules and actually enjoying it most days.

Let me take you back a bit. Life wasn't pointing me toward books and essays. Grew up in Warrington, got into the building game young, then music promotion, travelling, the lot – Europe, India, South East Asia, America. Had some wild times, some dark ones too. That stint in Jamaica's General Penitentiary? That's where the writing really started brewing, even if I didn't know it then. Came out the other side in 2003, got deported, sorted myself out, threw myself into the London music scene (Notting Hill, Portobello Road vibes, managing bands, the whole thing). Wrote a few books along the way – "Nightmare in Jamaica", the "Bums Rush" flash fiction series, "Notting Hill Ponces" – all pulled straight from the life I've lived. No fancy MFA or posh school; just scars, stories, and a keyboard.

By 2017, though, I was ready for something more structured. Did a few creative writing courses at Chelsea Theatre, loved it, and thought – why not go bigger? Birkbeck caught my eye because it's made for people like me: evening classes, full-time or part-time, mature students welcome, no pretending you're 18. Started with the Arts Foundation Year in 2022/23 – Perspectives and Possibilities Questioning the Contemporary World – proper eye-openers. Built the confidence I needed to jump into the actual BA.

Since then, it's been a steady slog (in a good way). In 2023/24, I tackled Storytelling: Narrative Archetypes, Introduction to Playwriting and Poetry, "Fiction Workshop 1, and "Writing for Film and TV". Last year (2024/25), "Narrative Methods" and "Scriptwriting Workshop 1" (the 30-minute script one). Now in 2025/26, I'm into the heavier stuff: "Fiction Workshop – The Contemporary Novel" ( grinding those chapters), and just starting"Creative Nonfiction" (0% but buzzing to get stuck in).

Progress is slow sometimes – life doesn't stop for deadlines, and I'm balancing it all with everything else. Some modules are done, others are just beginning. But that's the beauty of Birkbeck: it's flexible, it's real people, not just kids straight from school. The workshops, especially getting feedback on your actual writing, seeing how others read what you've poured out – that's nerve-racking.

Why bother at this stage? Simply: I want to improve. My stories come from a gritty place – working-class grit, dark humour, the raw stuff – but uni's teaching me craft, structure, how to make it hit harder without losing the edge. Plus, it's proof that you can start over. Doesn't matter if you're 20 or 60; if the fire's there, you can chase it.

If you're reading this and thinking about going back to education as a mature student, or wondering if a foundation year is worth it, do it. It changed everything for me. Without that first year easing me in, I might not be here typing this.

What's next? More modules, more writing, hopefully finishing strong and turning it all into something bigger – maybe another book, maybe scripts, who knows. I'll keep posting updates here on the blog as I go.

Thanks for reading. Drop a comment if you've got your own comeback story, or if you're on a similar path – always up for a chat.

  
Tommy Kennedy IV  
London, January 2026

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