I'm finding it hard to believe ...

Life I accidentally over smiled at someone this morning. I was in the postgraduate common room jotting down some information about a seminar and this girl walked in. She smiled, probably surprised to find someone in there at the time of day. I smiled back. And smiled. I put my diary away in my bag and I was still smiling. She was beaming too, but in that way which people feel the need to when they're unsure what else to do. When I saw the glint in her eyes I realised that my grin was becoming a bit creepy. But I couldn't stop it? So what happened? I carried on. Right out of the door.

First course lecture today. Falstaff and Gandalf Go To The Movies which considers the adaptation of fantastical texts to the screen. It was one of the most entertaining hours I've spent in a college, utterly engaging from beginning to end, the story of the lecturer's passion for his subject from a young age. It began with a montage of some of the film and television series we'll be watching at the course screenings over the coming weeks. I was quietly emotional.

It was another moment when it dawned on me what I was given the opportunity to do. I remember at school when someone asked what I'd like to do at university, and I'd told them that I wanted to study film. It was a pipedream; I was effectively told to give over and go and study librarianship instead. And yet here I was seeing Tom Baker crouching behind a chair in a scene from Doctor Who -- and it's part of my education. It's the last thing I could have imagined at new year when I promised myself I was going to change my life and do something with myself. I think I may be in heaven.