Many things I expected, and many I didn't.

A lot has changed since the last time I wrote in my blog. I suppose the biggest change is the good news that I now have a job! Well, I've been offered a job, I haven't actually started it yet. One of the things I didn't expect is that, despite it not being a journalism job, I am really looking forward to starting work. I will be working as a Sales Consultant at Phones4U and have training all next week at a fantastic technological base in Birmingham, no expense spared. Although phones have never been more than just a way of keeping in touch with my friends and family for me I am looking forward to learning all about them.

Another thing that has changed about me is that I am now a graduate! Yes, last Thursday at the Lowry Centre on Salford Quays I managed to shake the Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford's hand without falling over or hurting anyone. Up until the moment we had to leave our seats and go round to queue to the stage I was fine, then suddenly the nerves just hit me and I was imagining everything that could possibly have gone wrong. Thankfully and unexpectedly, it was all fine and I had a fantastic day celebrating with friends and family. As was expected, I had a bit of a cry when I eventually got five minutes to myself. It was an emotional but fabulous day.

Having done all of these very grown up things and seemingly entering the adult world these past few weeks, it is rather unexpected for me to find myself once again sharing my house with ten strangers. Yes, I have come full circle and am now living in the student halls I started my student experience in. It's only a temporary measure while I was looking for a job and it's been fine but this is not the time of my life when I would expect to be writing notes on the fridge saying "if the bin is full, empty it, don't fill it with more rubbish." I mean seriously, that's common sense right?? But my nocturnal housemates all seem to think if we have cleaners we don't need to clean. So they don't wipe the sides after they've made toast, they don't put away their clean stuff when it's dry so it just gets dirty again and i'm pretty certain i'm the only one who empties the bin. It's infuriating that i'm back to this stage in my life but I keep telling myself that it's only for a few more weeks!

As for journalism, don't worry the name of the blog isn't going to change to "when I grow up I want to be a sales consultant". Journalism is still the aim, this is just a stop along the way. In my own time I'm going to be writing all the time, hopefully writing something I think is good enough to be paid for. Freelancing is the best way to get noticed in the field when you're first trying to break in so i'll just freelance for a year or two and it will pad my CV out a bit, I'll complete my NCTJ's at the same time and in a couple of years I'll apply for roles in journalism with a little more confidence than I currently have. I know it sounds like a bit of a basic plan but I believe it will work.

I'm not quite ready to give up on my dream just yet.