Lifestyle | When I became a grown-up ~ 1/4 life crisis

There are many milestones in your life that are meant to make you 'grow up' and become an adult. Going through puberty as a teenager, at the tender age of 16 you can get married and join the armed forces, when you're 17 you can risk your life and the lives of others by driving, at 18 you can change the future of your country by voting and at 21 you can adopt a child! But what really makes you a 'grown up'?!

I've always been quite naive and young, I think mostly because I look incredibly young so people automatically talk to me like I am a child and I mirror them with my answers. However, in the last 6 months I have felt myself change and grow as I've come to realise what is important to me in life and they are all very different to what was important to me when I was 18 and deciding how to go about my future.

When I was 18

• Get into my university of choice to study Costume Making
• Become a costume maker for Theatre/Film
• Have a role which sounds impressive when talking about it in conversation
• Make lots of friends
• Make my family proud

Now I am 23

• Re-train in Digital Marketing 
• Gain a role that can support me financially
• Save to buy a house
• I want to get married and have children (another reason to save & gain a well paid job)
• Be happy
• Make my family proud

When I had finished my GCSE's my first thought was I guess I'll be doing A Levels as that's what my best friend was doing and I enjoyed going to school with her! However, my mum explained to me how I'd do so much better if I did a BTEC, as exams weren't something I succeeded in. So thankfully I listened to her and I moved to a college in central London to do a BTEC National Diploma in Fashion Design. It was a subject I had a huge interest in, most of my lessons were practical, it was entirely coursework based and it was a much needed stepping stone from being at school to going to University. I decided that I loved the sewing and construction of clothes a lot more than the design side and I was always more interested in Haute Couture methods, so I applied to study Costume Design and Interpretation at University. I thoroughly enjoyed my first year but by the end of second year I knew that I wasn't interested in perusing a career in the costume world. I wasn't finding the projects overly exciting and I didn't enjoy any of the work placements I did. I finished my course with a 2:1 so technically I knew I was able to do the job so I then went on to do a few more interns. Again, I could keep up with the work but I just didn't enjoy being there, it didn't make me smile and I wasn't excited about going in each day.

It was about this time that my anxiety kicked in and I started to feel incredibly down, as if my friends didn't already have a job they seemed very sure of what they wanted to do. A year after graduating I got myself a job in retail, which I am still in, and I do really enjoy it! I have a knack for selling things and as someone who spent their childhood playing shops I feel very comfortable in a retail environment. However, I know in the long run I want to be in a more creative role with more sociable working hours!

I have always been interested in digital marketing, I just find it fascinating how brands are having to constantly evolve to keep up on to date with social platforms, whilst simultaneously maintaining their relationship with their original customers who probably aren't online. One of the reasons I run my blog and the social sites that come with it is so that I can learn more about social media and I just really enjoy it! So in hinde-sight I should have made the sewing my hobby and focused on social media for my career but it's not too late for me! I decided that I wanted to retrain and give myself the best shot in having a successful career, so I am doing a Level 4 course in Digital Marketing which promises to get you ready for an entry level role. The course sounds like all my dreams have come true and I cannot wait to get started!

So what was the point in telling you all of this?! You're never too young or old to decide what you want to do with your life, don't feel pressured to go into the career your degree was in and don't worry what people will think if you decide to go back into education. 

KEEP SMILING