I followed my other undergraduate colleagues to business school and straight into advertising. 18 years later, I found myself slugging it nine to five with less passion than a woman shovelling snow in a blizzard. Something had to give.
Fashion was still my world, however my life was more about buying it than designing it. At the age of 34, enrolling in design school would have been a humiliating arrow pointing at me, decked in a neon sign flashing “almost middle age woman still looking for dream”. So I analysed what I was already good at. I’ve always had the gift of being able to pick fashion trends and knowing where to get ‘the look’ or its duplicate locally. I’ve also always had a secret love of writing. My downfall was that I didn’t have the skills. I didn’t understand correct writing structure and my grammar and punctuation left a lot to be desired.
As my career had always been in media, I decided to stick with what I knew and seek education in the areas I needed to improve. That’s when the idea of publishing my very own women’s fashion magazine was born.
Challenge yourself
I needed to find a journalism course that ticked some very important boxes. Time was of the essence as I wanted complete the course within a year. It had to be home-based; with 2 children and a business plan underway, flexibility was also an absolute necessity. It had to be affordable and recognised as a professional and credible course and I wanted to know that others had achieved success after they had graduated.
An online search led me directly to the Morris Journalism Academy and it ticked every box. After reviewing the information package on the Professional Freelance Journalism Course, I was convinced the course would give me the knowledge and insight that I required.
The course covered everything from article angles, structure, grammar to other important aspects such as selling – ‘the art of the pitch’. The feedback and encouragement I received directly from my tutor was on par with private one-on-one tuition. Completing the course gave me the confidence to believe that I could not only be a journalist but also a very successful editor.
See your name in print
Five months after graduating from the course, I independently published my first magazine. 52 pages of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and inspirational stories collected, organised and some written, by me – the editor and publisher of i-am magazine.
Having completed The Professional Freelance Journalism Course, my career is finally travelling down a fulfilling road and i-am living my dream.
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