It’s never too late…

First of all, I’d like to start this post with an apology for the huge gap in-between my last post and this one. I have had the craziest few months as I have made a big change in my life. I’ve also turned 26, which is the scariest sentence I have ever written. I’m that much closer to 30 with a desperate urge to hold onto my 20’s. Anyone else know the feeling? I wish I could stay young forever!

This blog is all about the major decision I’ve made in my life recently. I have decided to FINALLY follow my dream and go back to University. Towards the end of September I very quickly applied to Edge Hill University to study BA (Hons) Early Years Education with QTS. The QTS stands for Qualified Teaching Status so at the end of these next, very exciting, three years, I’ll be a qualified primary school teacher!

Working within retail and management, I have been very fortunate to learn so much about myself and how I fit into the business world. I have loved working with people and built a lot of confidence professionally. However, there was always something missing. The dream of being a teacher was always at the forefront of my mind. I really felt I was destined to make a difference in someone’s life, especially in the very beginning of his or hers.

I strongly believe there aren’t enough male teachers in this world. In fact, in 2017, only 15% of Local Authority primary school teachers were male (Department of Education, 2018). That’s not enough. It’s increasingly important for younger children to be exposed to men in caring and nurturing roles. How amazing for a young boy to see a strong male role model belting out Humpty Dumpty?! If by becoming a teacher I can help to break the norm whilst enriching the lives of others… I’m Game!

In all honesty, I was petrified to restart my life again. Going back into education at the age of 26 scared me. I think it scared me more than being in the overs category of X-Factor (unless “Crying Cats” is the name of a new boy band I think it’s safe to say I won’t be featuring on ITV anytime soon). The thought of not having a stable income for the next three years was horrifying. But I’m extremely lucky that I have amazing support around me (Student Finance isn’t bad too…). Meeting new people also scared me. I was quite comfortable with the people I had in my life and thought there was no need for anymore.  I’ve never been more blind! I’ve met some amazing people in this short time who have enriched my life in ways I never imagined possible!

I think the main thing I want to say to all you lucky devils who are reading this is, it’s never too late. Don’t be scared or put off by changing your life for the better. I had to keep telling myself that going to university for the second time wasn’t a set back, but a LEAP forward into bettering my future.

My final piece of advice is to grab life by the horns, take that leap of faith, close your eyes and jump (okay, that’s enough clichés now!!). But seriously, I urge everyone in the world to take a chance – it’s the best thing I have ever done!

Obviously, I haven’t lost my love of fashion and I still want to make time on my site to talk about my style and my fashion loves and top tips, but I just needed to get this off my chest. In the mean time, here are my top five looks for university in the past few weeks… can you spot my love for phone cases?

Thanks for reading!

RXRX