Reading · Accepted Society | An Intellectual Life

It was a warm, stuffy kind of day. Barely a breeze coming through my office window at home. I sat in front of my work laptop, staring out at the road, not listening to the jumble of corporate speak that is going on; ‘this is the most efficient and effective method’, ‘what is the value-add of this project’, and ‘what is the cost and risk associated with this decision’? Goodness, just get me out of here!

This was more than just a boring day at work. This was a call for something deeper, a curiosity-shaped hole burned into my chest from years of sitting in the same meetings day in, and day out. The same shite, different day. I had had enough. It was time to make a change.

Curiosity drove me that day to look up the Trinity College English Literature night classes and the Oxford Lifelong Learning Department. Curiosity had me creating my own reading lists from university curriculums, curiosity found me on YouTube listening to lectures whenever I had a moment. Little did I know that by following those curiosities, my entire life would change.

Trinity night classes, turned into short courses online, so too did my part-time undergraduate certificate, turn into a part-time Masters at Oxford, all while continuing to work full time at my legal corporate job at Google. If you had told 5 years-ago me, the woman who sat in those meetings day in and day out, that I would have quit my reliable job to pursue a PhD full-time, solely dedicated to my research and building a community for the intellectually curious, I would have thought you were absolutely delirious! But here I am.

I’ll admit that 2026 has been a really weird year. It’s been a year of significant change to my identity and the way I perceive my value. It has been a year of challenges, and a year of growth, but it has also been the year where I have felt more like myself than I ever have felt in the past. As I have continuing to make curiosity and learning a part of my everyday, I have found that part of myself that had been buried beneath years of corporate-speak.

So, here I want to challenge you to take yourself Back to School in September. It doesn’t matter if you are actually returning to school, taking the kids back to school, or you’re working a 9-5; if you are curious at all, this is your permission slip to follow that and take yourself back to school!

🎨 Live an Artful Life

Katy Hessel’s wonderful book, How to Live an Artful Life prompts us to pay attention and look at the world anew. So pick a photograph, a painting or a historical artefact and take the time to really look at it. Ask who created is and why, and reflect on your own reactions to the piece.

🏛️ Build Philosophy into the Everyday

I have adored reading Sophie’s World, which brings philosophical concepts into the day to day activities of a young girl’s life. Sometimes, when we are faced with an difficult situation, it is interesting to examine the different philosophical lenses through which an argument can be made. Challenge yourself to look at a different viewpoint. For example, I recently looked at the creator economy and consumerism through the lens of Stoicism. We can learn so much from stepping out of our own thoughts.

✨ Expand your Understanding

Reignite your love for learning be enrolling in an online course. There are a number of courses that range from history, literature, physics, coding, languages, etc. The world is your oyster here! I will be running my own online course; the first instalment of ‘Your Renaissance’ where curiosity will change your life for the better. The course will be an Introduction to Interdisciplinary and Critical Discourse, and requires nothing except for you to show up, and commit to opening your mind to new ideas. Early-bird sign ups are now available and you can learn more here.

📖 Close Reading & Marginalia

Once you’ve finished a book, go back and read the first page. Read it out loud, read it again, and make some notes in the margin that strike you as interesting; where does the tone shift, who is the narrator, what has the author said and left unsaid. You will be surprised how many notes you make.

✍🏼 Write Every Day

Put the phone away, turn off the tv, close the laptop, and pick up a pen and paper and write for 7-minutes without lifting your pen off the page. Even if you don’t know what to write, I can guarantee that by the 3-minute mark, you will have a ton of thoughts that float from your mind, onto the page.

✨ BONUS: Get Inspired to go Back to School

Still need some convincing? Accepted Society is hosting a two-day ‘Back to School’ workshop for lifelong learners on September 4 & 5!

Join and explore how you can become a lifelong learner with the support of an intellectual community. From a panel discussion on what ‘back to school’ means for students, independent researchers, and self-studiers, to Q&As, a Writing for Intellectual Wellbeing workshop (run by yours truly), and Kaelyn Grace Apple | Historian’s famous ‘Back to School’ reset, this event will be one for the books! 📚

Attend Back to School

Members of Accepted Society have access to community-led silent and interactive study sessions (available in all time zones), as well as dedicated skills & support group calls (such as Funding & Grad Applications, Neurodivergent Support, and our Weekly Reset for goal planning and weekly reflection)

*below are some of our interactive events. This list is not a complete list of all the events offered :) adding everything would make this article far too long

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Saturday Silent Reading Club with October (5-6pm BST)

Sunday

Accepted Society is a small business led and supported by lifelong learners dedicated to creating spaces and opportunities which run parallel to traditional academia. All are welcome to a community with open arms <3

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This is your permission slip to follow your curiosity

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