Once upon a time there was a girl who was quite good at most things. She went through her life doing things that seemed like a good idea; things that she was told were ‘useful’ or ‘grown up’ or ‘respectable’.

One day she realised that the things she was doing were not making her happy. She wanted to go back to creating things, not just manipulating things that others had created. She wanted to be able to put her heart and soul into something and give it to the world. She wanted to do something she loved, not settle for something she was quite good at.

The girl decided to quit her job in an office, where she was well respected and praised; where she had been promoted twice. She decided try to live without her reliance on material wealth – she didn’t need that new pair of trousers, or that new book. She decided that she wanted to work to live, instead of living to work.

That girl was me. This is my journey of self discovery. this is my attempt to break free from the socialisation that money = success, that having a good job is desirable even when you hate it, that art is a waste of time and not a viable ‘career choice’. I am going to try really hard to find something I enjoy doing and do that whether or not I’m good at it (especially at first).

I want to take you on the journey with me, I want you to help me see that what I’m doing is worthwhile because it makes me happy, to refocus me if I start doing things for praise instead of for pleasure. This will be the start of a new era for me – whether it is a permanent change or just a step along the road is yet to be seen but I’m excited to be taking the first steps to a more authentic me.

This is the first attempt to drop the mask and really show myself. It’s scary but I wouldn’t swap it for the world.