Wherever you are in the world tonight is a time for reflection, celebration, memory making and looking forward with optimism to the year that lies ahead.  As I sit at my computer with a glass of red close to hand – well, I need to toast what’s been and what’s before me somehow, right? – I thought I’d take a little inspiration from one of my favourite bloggers and have a think about what I’ve done in the past year to make me feel proud.

There’s no doubt that 2014 has been a year that has challenged me, at times daily, to get out of my comfort zone and try new things in pursuit of the longer term goal of a career in the media.  When I think back to this time last year I had just booked a one way ticket to London and, while excited, I definitely recall an underlying terror that made me wonder if I had made the right decision.

After a shaky start and more than a couple of teary phone calls home I finally managed to get some work experience at a company I admire.  I had 5 days to impress and I worked solidly to try and be as useful as possible.  On my last day it paid off and I was asked to help out as a production assistant on a shoot that weekend.  I jumped at the chance!  I had the best day running about in the thick of the action and got such a buzz from getting a glimpse of how a shoot is put together.  I knew then I had made the right decision to move a few months earlier.

Remember waaaaaay back in January when I had to submit a piece of writing as part of an application for an internship?  Well fast forward a couple of interviews to March and I was offered the job.  I spent three months working on See Change Films’ communications strategy and helping out with film training workshops in West London.  We worked in partnership with Families Forward in Ladbroke Grove to help a group of young people express themselves through film.  A lot of the teenagers we worked with started off the film training course quite shy and reserved but as we all got to know each other and they began to feel more confident in their abilities they really blossomed.  I’m proud to have played a small part in their film training experience.  Toward the end of the summer the group held a film premiere showcasing their work and received some great recognition in their community for the great work they created.

When my internship ended in June a friend told me that a company in Soho were looking for new staff so I bit the bullet and applied.  While I didn’t get the job I originally went for I got a trial shift as a runner that turned into a job offer by the end of the day.  The work was fun and yes there was a lot of running about!  Just prior to starting this job I got an email from a Producer at the company I did my work experience at to say she had recommended me to her old boss.  I had done a little research for her and she thought I’d be a good fit at the company.  I was amazed to have been remembered!  I went for coffee with the owner of the company and a few week’s into running I got a call to say she would like me to come and work as a researcher on a documentary she was making.

The next 5 months were an amazing learning curve and I got the opportunity to learn and work on a huge variety of tasks from casting to location scouting, coordinating shoots in the UK and abroad and going on location to work on each UK shoot.  It was such a whirlwind and I loved it but the biggest thrill was seeing the finished product air on television in December.

December has been a bit of a funny month – another challenge!  I went from going to a job everyday to finishing my contract and experiencing the industry’s ‘quiet time’.  I sent a lot of CVs out and met with different companies but the majority of projects in the run up to Christmas were already staffed and the remainder were on hold until the new year.  It was a tough adjustment but something I just had to grin and bear while making the most of the downtime to write and have visitors!  I also got to come home early for Christmas which was lovely though my waistline does not thank me for the amount I have eaten these past two weeks!

2014 has been a great year for Tales of Adventure – thank you for reading and following me, even when I’ve been a bit haphazard with my posting.  It’s been lovely to discover new faces and places through blogging and I’ve definitely learned a  lot!  Believe it or not it’s also been a great source of comfort to read about other people taking leaps in pursuit of their goals – reading your blogs has helped keep me sane – and on track – and I’m excited to see where we go from here in 2015.  In the meantime, here’s to a happy, healthy 2015 that takes you all closer to achieving your goals!

Happy New Year!xx