Kate Bohdanowicz

AS we’re eight days into 2015, it’s possibly a little too late to say: ‘Happy New Year’, but still perfectly acceptable for ‘Happy Newish Year’. So Happy Newish Year reader (or readers if my mum is here too).

I didn’t used to like New Year. It was a mixture of enforced jollity, the ensuing hangover and the realisation that my life hadn’t moved on much from the previous 12 months. I always felt I was in the same boring job with the same unfulfilling personal life.

Now things are different. I no longer get drunk on New Year’s Eve so I felt fine the next day and I’m content in my personal life. I’m also happy with my career as a whole but I’m hoping to jig things around this year.

I spent over a decade in a rut, working for the same newspaper and unable to apply for jobs because I was institutionalised and felt utterly unemployable. Now I freelance I feel differently. I’m always wondering what’s round the corner. I apply for roles that pique my interest and take any rejection (or more often than not, lack of acknowledgement) on the chin (well, sort off - it still annoys me to be honest).

I also remind myself that the reason I left a well-paid job and trained as a teacher was to enjoy a varied career combining teaching with journalism. I’m only following my own plan so If I’m not happy with something, it’s up to me to change it.

So, I think 2015 might be another year of change. Some elements of my ‘portfolio’ career I love but others I don’t. I’m not going to spend years in a role I don’t like because it grinds you down and robs you of your confidence.  Been there, done that and not going back again.

Here’s to a great 2015.