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January, February, Summer...Christmas...sorry, what?! Where the bloody hell did 2018 go? I'm not sure how this has happened but the last 3 months have gone by in an absolute flash. So what have I got to show for it?
I may have neglected my blog, but I have been beavering away in the background on my podcast "This Sister Speaks" (have recorded 11 epic episodes so far) and have managed to do a fair bit of client work. This has ranged from nailing the voice and webcopy for an awesome graphic designer and possibly the loveliest floral studio, to writing blogs about family ski holidays for Amamaya (FYI, I've never been skiing...). I'm loving being able to pick and choose what I want to work on, and most importantly WHO I want to work with.
I've written a piece about sustainability and start-ups for the amazing About-Times - a new online journal created totally by women - and I've been running their Twitter page. (If you're not already following us, go and have a look! @times_about on Twitter and @ abouttimesnews )
And I got to meet some of the phenomenal women involved in the journal at the celebratory drinks last week! So lovely to have conversations in person, not over Insta or WhatsApp! Sarah Rose Gregory and Sara Allen set this online journal up and it's going from strength to strength! Edition 3 is out on Friday, edited by Nicola Washington and it is looking spectacular so far.
And on top of all this I've had some really exciting stuff happening in my political life (did you know I'm a Councillor?). In November I was invited to visit Parliament by Peter Heaton-Jones MP as his delegate to the 50:50 #Ask HerToStandDay, where 300+ women descended upon the House of Commons to celebrate 100 years of women being allowed to stand in elections. It was a great day, with politicians across parties coming together and empowering women to learn more about being politicians. I was able to shadow PHJ for the whole morning, after a 1:1 tour of the Commons and House of Lords, watching a debate on Rape Myths and Juries - which was totally fascinating.
Then on Friday I was elated to receive an email from Maryam Ali - Senior National Women’s and Equalities Officer for the Labour Party - who wrote to tell me I've been accepted onto the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme. Mind. Blown. I am so lucky to have gotten a spot; there were over 1000 applications last year for 57 places. It also means I need to stop thinking I'm not good enough. To have earned a place, I must show potential...right?
Anyway, 2018 has been a whirlwind of a year and seen some other milestones too! I'll share those next week (if I remember!). How has your year been? Share your wins with me! What have you learned?