As I wrote recently, February marked ten years living away from home, and so much has happened in that time. As I come to reflect on my twenties, it has taken this decade of my life to find what I want from life and from myself.

I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for people to try a variety of things, and why it’s okay if things don’t always work out right; just take a new direction.

As we have all come to realise, what we see of each other’s lives is mostly a highlight reel because we only show our successes. But failure, mistakes and wrong turns happen all the time.

Here are some of my personal experiences:

Why it’s okay if things don’t always work out right

Don’t be afraid to admit when something doesn’t feel right

There is such a pressure as you come to the end of school to know what you want to do, which frankly is ridiculous. It is good to have an idea of the direction you want to go in, but no one is going to land his or her perfect role straight away and to be honest, would you want to?

We work for like, 50+ years during our life, there is plenty of time to try a few things and still achieve expertise in an area once you find it.

I knew fairly soon after moving to London (in 2007) to pursue dental nursing, that I wasn’t going to remain a dental nurse for long after qualification, but I still stuck out my two years training so I at least got qualified and had something to fall back on.

For ages, I considered becoming a Hygiene Therapist, before thinking about becoming an actual dentist, before realising that even if I became either of those things, my interest in the media and communications would never truly disappear.

Therefore, I took a new path and went to university to study media communications – read my Graduate Experience.

I took my driving test five times

When I failed my driving test for the first time, I cried my eyes out and the weight of failure was heavy on my eighteen year-old shoulders. I had a dream at some point between maybe my third test and my fifth, that the examiner I would pass with was a woman with brown hair.

After failing my test for the fourth time, I took a break from tests and finally got the opportunity to practice driving outside of my two-hour weekly lessons (my Mum was a Saint!). Sat in the test center for the fifth time, when a female examiner with brown hair came down the stairs I knew I was going to pass my test that day.

The message here ultimately is that tests and exams can be retaken, so don’t stress if things don’t always go right on the first take.

Not every Interview will result in a job offer

Before graduating from university, I think I got every job I interviewed for,  but there is a difference between full-time work and a weekend job for some extra pocket money.

As I explain in my Graduate Experience post, I had 10 interviews before getting my career in marketing and then a further three interviews and two job moves before finding somewhere I could settle for a while.

There are a hundred reasons why someone is turned down for a job, but not all of them are bad. Sometimes it is just fit, a person might be fabulous on paper, but the employer feels that in person, their personality does not quite fit with the rest of the office.

It’s annoying and disheartening, but it’s life and why it’s okay if things don’t always work out right. You don’t win every interview, but be assured that the right position is out there waiting for you.

Read my top five tips for how to nail an interview.

Mistakes make life

They do. Life never runs one course, decisions that do not go quite to plan so often actually turn out for the better on reflection, even if they seem like the world has ended at the time.

For example, in secondary school between years 9-11 I trained for the Ten Tors (it’s a walking expedition in Devon) so every other weekend I was out on the moors hiking miles and miles ready for the challenge in May.

Then, the training walk or two before the challenge, I had a random funny turn and ended up having to quit the walk, which was completely out of character. I was distraught.

Consequently, despite all my successful walks, this one practice expedition lost me my place in the team and I had to settle for first reserve instead, which to me was devastating.

However, the night before the Ten Tors event, I got the news that I was walking for another school who were missing a team member and I was DELIGHTED! And you know what, I had a much better time and experience walking with a totally new team.

To this day, I am still in contact with one of the guys I walked with, and for me, it just demonstrates how things have a funny way of working out for the better.

I hope you guys found some of this helpful and that you now know why it’s okay if things don’t always work out right.

What I’m wearing: Top – New Look; Bomber jacket – Very; Skirt – H&M; Boots -New Look; Choker – Choker Nation ; On my lips – Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Vampira

Until next time x