Being an employee was complicated for me. Life in Paris with a child was a real challenge. I needed space, nature and freedom. I spent too much time on the metro and at work, it was really difficult for me to see my child. Life was too expensive.
I believe ultimately everyone has a gut feeling or inkling that’s telling them what they want to do. Whether they say it out loud or in their head most people have something that when asked if they could, they would do for the rest of their lives. If that thing in your head isn’t what you’re doing right now, as successful as you maybe you’ll always be left with a what-if.
I did not consider a career change until the position became available. After seeing the increase in domestic violence cases rise on the news and social media I decided I wanted to try and help and make a difference where I could.
Hazal is a journalism postgraduate. Born and raised in London, the 24-year old was faced with a painful choice during the UK’s third lockdown, along with many other struggling graduates and realised that changing her career was her only option.
I was very underconfident for most of my life and, it was only when I studied coaching, that I became confident – in my late forties.
My first office job was fantastic. It gave me my first taste of travelling and the opportunity to experience different work cultures. But at some point something changed. I learnt meditation from a Buddhist monk as a way to deal with Multiple Sclerosis, a condition that I been living with for the last 23 years.
I believe it is essential to allow for change. There have been quite a few for me, but out of all the changes – although I remained in the arts, I have evolved and found new levels of thinking, creating and facilitating others.
Over the years, I have fostered a deep appreciation of the world and how geography influences differing cultures, physical processes and ultimately, the future of our planet. Geography is a subject that is crucial for students to understand; to learn how our world has developed, and ultimately to appreciate that they are the custodians of their own fragile inheritance.
Transitioning from a career of service based on camaraderie and teamwork to one more self-oriented, requires a shift in mentality. In the military achieving a team objective can result in a life or death outcome, something that, does not usually apply to civilian life.
My first job was as a Bank Clerk in Lisbon. I still remember the branch manager being very surprised and wanting to talk to my mom once I told her that I wanted to quit. It was very kind of her to do that because she also had kids my age and didn’t want me to make a wrong decision that I would later regret. But it was nevertheless funny that she wanted to talk to the mom of a grown-up man.
