Growing up I’d regularly watch University Challenge with my Mum and Dad. I never stood much chance of getting the questions right and they were often too hard. The picture and music rounds were my favourite and I could sometimes get the questions right. I have a memory of watching it with my Dad one evening while my Mum was out. It was actually recording to video while we watched it. When my Mum got in about half an hour later we re-watched the episode. The udea was that I’d seem really clever, even though I’d just be recalling the answers.
As I got older I got better at being able to answer questions but I still sucked at exams. Plain and simply. If it was a simple question (for example what year did World War II start in?) then I was fine. If it was more complicated then some reason I’d go to pieces and then 20 mark essay questions would just knock me for six. I swear in my History exam the war started after it had finished because I got in such a knot. I find that I can’t recall the information in the right order or if I can then by the time it reaches the page it only makes sense in my head and not to the person reading it back (how anyone keeps up with me I have no idea!)
But knowledge excites me, I love to learn about new places and opportunities, I love to read books and now websites and blogs. I have been known to intently read the ingredients list on cereal packets and then look up what the ingredients are, just to see what certain things to do my body. Yes I’m a nerd, yes I’m a geek but I don’t mind. The idea of putting all the random pieces of knowledge I have to use by being a QI Elf kind of excites me too. Also the possibility of working with like minded people.
