Recently, I went through some of my old blog posts from when I was leaving Cape Town in May 08 to basically where I am today and boy am I a little shocked and proud of my growth. I don't normally give myself a pat on the back for anything and that goes to years of representing Province and S.A. for hockey to 9 superb years at Sea Rescue to making it in London. It's hard work dammit but boy is it absolutely worth it.

Leaving Cape Town to come to London, I was a isolated, definitely not independent 24-year-old little kid. Naive to a point about how tough the world can be, how lonely it can be, demanding, amazing and ultimately mind-blowing brilliant. Now I haven't travelled the world but definitely am a lot more worldy or wiser; whichever one you want to say. Yeah?

Innit

After toughing it out for 4 months and honestly thinking it was not going to work, I got the break I needed... in Government. Can you Adam and Eve it? Government. Coming from 24.com, South Africa's biggest Online Publisher and definitely most innovative media company at the moment in the S.A environment - I ended up going into the public sector where walls are higher then JHB homes and the words 'policy' and 'rules' are the norm. Well... I was right about most but I was completely off about what I thought the experience I was going to have. We had a tight digital team of 2 (my boss and I) and that was going into a new Agency - one of UK's biggest and boy did we learn. Anyhoo, details aside, I honestly thought I would be lock and loading and maybe learning a few more things and that was another assumption I was completley wrong on.

Areas which I absolutely enjoyed and were defo highlights:

• Thrown into the deep end and having to get the website live for Dec 1st was the first major thing - check.
• Start developing new wireframes (with our supplier) for the interim site involving many project meetings, usability testing, designs, mock-ups etc - check.
• Develop the social media side by using the appropriate tools for the Agency and to get their message out there, engage with stakeholders, key partners and public - check. Social Media introduced and now in growth stage of the PLC if I had to put it in those terms - check
• Get my hands stuck into mini project management with developing more functional sections on the website, new 'tools' and finally getting my hands on managing a process. Learned a LOT - check.
• Digital Marketing strategy - This is one of the areas I really want to go into and with our suppliers we developed a strategy for going forward. Since Dec 08, my boss and I had been quite reactive with the work, finding our feet and now the new faces in the Digital team have a strategy going forward.
• Learning, learning, learning. When Helena said that we should find a topic and discuss it every month (or something like that), I was honestly shitting bricks. I had no clue with regards to what to talk about, where do I find the information, what do I do? We never talked monthly. After finding my feet, we were discussing new trends, technology and tools we could use, DAILY and my passion for the industry was definitely developed by this continual learning process. Even though half the time I was probably mumbling to myself (constructive nonsense as I like to call it), a lot of our ideas were developed from us just talking.
• But I couldn't have done it without my old boss and friend; @HelenaB

Now I'm ready, grown, put on a bit of weight, done a fair amount of traveling, had an amazing experience both work and with friends but it's time to get my lifestyle, family and friends back and start growing in the industry even more around what makes me tick.

And for those that have ever read my blog posts; past and present, the title is most of the time - lyrics from fantabulistikiss songs. This one Phoenix - 1901, which I stumbled upon on the New York, I love You trailer ;)