Another year has almost passed by, so I’ve decided to take a pause and introspect for a bit. Personally and professionally, this has been a tough year. It has been a year full of uncertainty and instability, burnout and rejections, a year to remember, but also at the same time, a year to forget.
Here are the 3 main themes of this year:
Dealing with rejection
People say you have to learn how to deal with rejection and oh boy, have I learned. Probably for the first time in my life, I was faced with rejection not only as a theoretical concept but as a very real and painful life experience.
Since coming to London, I decided that I wanted to get back into employment, but this was much easier said than done. The tech industry was going through waves of layoffs, which meant companies were unwilling to hire and competition was much higher. Most interview processes consisted of 6-7 steps and lasted anywhere between 1 month and 3 months (and in one specific case - 4 months). I applied for a couple of months, but I was not getting anywhere and my savings were starting to get thin. So, in February I decided to switch gears.
We started Simple Suite in February and in March we got our first 3 clients. It was great. This was the first bit of income that we’ve seen for a long time! But unfortunately, reality hit us very hard and soon enough money was running out again, we couldn’t figure out why our marketing strategy was not working and talking to prospects was not going anywhere. The main lesson here is that it’s difficult to start an agency when you don’t have the time, money or network to get it off the ground. Burnout was also catching up with me and in August I was ready to go back to applying again.
Living the London life
This year I had the opportunity to experience for the first time what it’s like living in London. I joined a few sports clubs, met some cool people, and explored the different London areas and boroughs. Overall, I love how many opportunities you get to do anything you want in London. You want to play chess? There are 5 different meet-ups you can join. You want to play volleyball? There are 15 different clubs you can choose from. It’s great.
On the flip side though, there have been certain things that I haven’t particularly enjoyed - the food, the weather, the massive distances between everything, and the lack of social life. Of course, no city is perfect. I’d like to think that every city has a specific brand. London’s brand is very much “work first, everything else second”. Nothing wrong with that for this stage of my life, but I don’t see London as a long-term destination to settle down in. Who knows though, life changes, everything can happen.
Going back to employment
One big change that happened in my life this year was going back to employment. Previously, I was self-employed for 3 years, so it’s a new feeling that I am still getting used to. So far, it’s been great going back to a bit more structured day-to-day, having a clear learning path and connecting with people. Also, the role is quite flexible, so it’s nice to keep a level of flexibility while still working for someone else.
Random moments to remember
- Paula and I went on our first ski trip to Bulgaria!
- I decided that I like taking pictures with my phone and posting them on Instagram. I guess that makes me officially a photographer now
- Went to a summer wedding of H.
- Had an amazing summer holiday in Corfu
- I turned 27, which means only one thing - I am getting closer to 30
- My sister got engaged
- I received the best birthday gift - a surprise visit to London from my entire family