I'm not sure I realised just how much the academic grade of my MA meant to me ... Until the time came to open the envelope!
Whatever the result might have been, it was my absolute belief that I had done this MA for myself. That I had worked to the absolute best of my ability. And that I had followed my own path and created work which was personal to me and which I was proud of.
Ultimately, this MA has instilled in me a strong sense of identity and confidence, and a conviction that all good work must come from the heart.
In this respect, the grade would seem to be of little importance. I have never been a particularly high achiever when it came to academic success, I was always far too interested in writing and illustrating my own stories to waste much effort on homework and although I did reasonably okay at school I always felt like I was on the outside, that I never really understood or saw the point in academic achievement.
This MA, however, was quite different, which was why I decided to go back to university and have another go. The clue was always in the title ... Authorial Illustration. For the first time in my life it was an opportunity to be academically recognised for being myself. And in order to be the best myself I could be, I had to push myself. I had to put myself on the line. I had to make work and write essays on the stuff which really mattered to me. I had to be honest. I had to allow myself to be exposed.
After all that, after all that joy and frustration, after all that work, to then be handed an envelope with the sum total of your academic achievement hidden inside ... Well, it felt so terrifying!
It took me two hours before I found the courage to open it. I was afraid that if the result was any less than extraordinary, that the whole experience of this MA would somehow be diminished. As it was, I got the dream result. A high distinction. I cried a bit because it truly is the first time I have ever pushed myself and won. It shouldn't really matter. I'm sure that nobody else in the world cares. 
But for me, opening that envelope was one of the best moments of my life. 
A good moment.
A good result.