What did Hazel get up to today?

-Woke up

-Got ready for work

-Grabbed an almond tea

-Worked on a report (90 pages and counting)

-Had leftover pasta for lunch

-Did three gym classes (Body Combat, Fitness Yoga, and Body Pump…overkill, even for me, but I’m not here this weekend and wanted to fit in my gym sessions)

-Oh, and I handed in my resignation.

Yes, yes, another job bites the dust. My CV/resume is pretty colourful because I’ve had quite a few jobs in the last decade. The good thing about this is that I now have a wide range of experience in multiple sectors. Another good thing is that from each job I’ve gained a better perspective of what I want/don’t want out of a job. The bad thing is that it’s taken me a while to figure out what I really want to do as a profession and as a result, I haven’t been able to hone skills in a particular area, so rising up the ranks and getting a senior position won’t be happening for me anytime soon.

But I’m hoping all that will change! For the past year I’ve been toying around with the idea of taking an intensive computer programming course. I love the start-up/tech industry and know that’s the direction I want to head towards but I’m sad to report that my current skillset just won’t cut it. For what I’m looking for, I’ve basically got the technical skills that are equivalent to that of my grandmother (with dementia). Programming bootcamps are all the rage at the moment and I’m just itching to be a part of the cool kids again. Ok, I jest, but after months of research with a dash of soul-searching I decided that taking a fully immersive course in Web Design and User Experience would be a great way to combine my love for marketing along with technology.

Enter…Startup Institute! As of yesterday at 4pm my placement in a 2-month immersive program Web Design course was confirmed. And the cherry on top…I’ve also been offered a 50% scholarship! And the cherry on top of the cherry…the course is in Berlin! Although the idea of moving away for the course was initially hard to digest the thought of it now has me pretty excited. Berlin’s a modern and vibrant city that’s a melting pot of cultures and fresh ideas. They have an ‘anything goes’ kind of attitude that seems to be attracting many technology companies to set up camp. I thrive off of other people’s energy and everyone I’ve interacted with at Startup Institute is so passionate about what they do and what the program has to offer that they’ve got me jumping off walls with excitement. That feeling of a weight being lifted off your chest because you feel inspired and you’re doing something good for yourself – it’s incredible. For awhile I felt like I was wallowing in complacency and that’s something I’ve always sworn to myself not to do. I knew I had to get out of that situation before my rut was too deep to dig myself out of.

I’m in!

I have to keep on taking plunges in life. I love exploring new depths and seeing how far I can go. I’ve only got one life (none of this after-life business for me) and living one that’s etched with regret isn’t something I really fancy doing. So Berlin, heeeeeeerreee I coommmeeeeee!!!