A year in the UK

I want to start this by saying that I am proud of myself… 

I survived, so far London hasn’t been 150% kind to me but I have proved to myself time & again how I can remain resilient & smiley with the occasional cheeky menty b. 
 

365 day recap 

 

Number of home addresses ~ 4

Number of jobs ~ 7

Number of heartbreaks ~ only the group chat knows ;) 

Number of countries visited ~ 5

 

Settling into the UK was seamless-ish. I am lucky enough to have my brother here & having that immediate support system available was such a welcomed change. Knowing that I had floor space when I first arrived or everything went belly up was comforting beyond belief & something I don’t take for granted. I know most people don’t have the same luxury arriving in a new country. 

 

I was really excited to gather friends & create connections. I reached out on Facebook groups, went to meet ups & made sure when I was out & about to look for opportunities to talk to people. I now have a beautiful group of girls who have absolutely added razzle dazzle to my London experience & are always up for my crazy ideas. I'm incredibly happy to have them in my life.

 

Work has been a rollercoaster, I found my first ever food & bev role, ADORED it. Thought I had landed an opportunity for full time employment but it didn’t work out. Went back to the first role, found a second full time role, also blew up. Found temporary jobs & fell in love with never quite knowing what the day was going to throw me. Temp work is a blessing & a curse, the freedom of choice in role/day is obviously great but not having guaranteed hours is highly stressful. 

 

January 1st I made a permanent & exciting decision, I am meant for more than desk work & something keeps pulling me back to following my true passion - making a direct difference in people’s lives. I launched into starting my business full time rather than the occasional motivation burst & this time there is no ‘stopping’. I am also working for three temp agencies because London rent is wilding! 

 

The housing situations I have found myself in have all been so dramatic & upsetting & the reason for more than half of the menty b's aforementioned ;). I am blessed that I had a solid group around me that helped me to stay sane when I was trying to deal with it. They provided help packing, support, couches & hugs as well as pulling me out of my pity party when I needed the tough love.
 

I managed to do some travelling in 2022, Italy was a top favourite & seeing one of my best friends that I have known for five years was the best way to ring in the New Year. 2023 may have a few trips, although mostly I will be focusing on growing my business & supporting new travellers to live out their dreams. 2024 though, 2024 is shaping up to be filled with big jet planes & trains & I cannot wait! 

 

I learnt a lot, I enrolled in almost ten courses & devoured the information to teach myself everything from NLP practices to social media marketing. I also now have three certifications that allow me to step closer to my dreams. I think that I will be a lifetime learner, taking short courses to upskill & learn more about my interests because it keeps me engaged & happy. 

 

I leaned into my creativity & out of some limiting beliefs. I have always loved writing but never allowed myself to be public about it for fear of judgement from those around me. I heard a quote recently from Michelle Obama, ‘You have everything you need to succeed already, you just have to put in the hard work’. 

 

I am fully aware that people will still judge me as they are not on the same path as me & don’t understand why I am not content with the regular 9-5, but I promised myself that I will continue to persist anyway. I launched my podcast, I launched the first set of downloadable travel ebooks, I designed my business logo & I designed a full coaching program. All of those achievements I worked for & no one can take them away. 

 

I have another 365 days left of my UK visa & I’m beyond ready to see what I can do with them.