Hello 2020, A New Decade

Hey there! Good evening.

It has been a while since I have written a blog post on my website and I wanted to change that. I’m going to be honest, it was tough thinking of content to post on a weekly basis and I think that’s what contributed to me stopping last Spring.

Since then a lot has happened so I wanted to write a little 2019 summary post and let you know what is happening in my life. I have reflected on the past year and having been reminded of just how much I did in 2019 by my Photos app on my iPhone, I was blown away!

To start the year I was beginning the transition into a new career path. I had been creative director at a print studio in my hometown for over six years and had made the decision to step away and focus on my part-time endeavours. This was the beginning of the best Spring and Summer I have had in a while. Instead of leaping from one full-time job into another I decided to reduce my consumption, purchasing, subscriptions and services instead. I was in a great position to be living with my parents at the time so I didn’t have to think of rent or bills so much and had the freedom to take some much needed time off.

By really taking a close look at everything I was spending on a monthly basis and pairing this down to the things that I truly needed or brought me most enjoyment, I was able to free myself financially. I was able to spend from February to September doing what I loved, walking my dog Bailey, visiting the seaside, seeing my grandparents and taking time for me. I had a couple of trips planned for California in August and Ireland in September so thought I would take my time in deciding what to do next.

I started putting my feelers out for new job opportunities in June and July of 2019. I send a few emails and submitted my cover letter and CV to two companies in particular. Before I had the opportunity to reach out to the other couple I had set my heart on I had a response from USA Summer Camp. I have spoken about this company and program on my blog before and they are who I used to work at camp in Minnesota myself. I have been working for them five seasons remotely from Pembrokeshire and a position had recently become available in the office in Birmingham.

Before I knew it, I was looking for an apartment to rent and getting myself ready to move to the second biggest city in the UK! This came about just before I was heading to California so I was fortunate in the fact that most estate agents and tenancies can be applied for and completed online as I did mine from the USA. I knew when I returned home I had about five days to pack everything up for the move as I had my mum’s wedding that same weekend and then was heading to Ireland for a week before having to leave.

California and Ireland were spectacular. I love the US and had a great time with my friend Zoe at Disney’s D23 convention again in Anaheim. The weather was beautiful and it was a really memorable trip. With Ireland I was blown away by the country and I had never been there before! I have never felt so compelled to move to another country in my life as I have with Ireland. I fell in love with the scenery, locals and culture there all at once.

My mum’s wedding was so beautiful and I am very happy for her and Mark. They had a lovely small ceremony with closest family and friends before an evening reception in the same venue. The Tudor Lodge is such a special place for us as we had spent a lot of time there with my Godmother who sadly passed away in 2011. It felt really nice for the wedding to take place there and we couldn’t think of a nicer setting.

After the wedding and the Ireland trip I moved the very next day to Birmingham, mum and Mark took me there. I managed to move with only a car full of belongings (as I don’t actually own that much anymore) and the apartment was already furnished. It was such a big adjustment but I think being so busy with the trips and wedding beforehand definitely helped. I had no time to overthink things or get overwhelmed by the prospect of moving four hours away and to a totally new city (and country!)

The new job is everything I imagined it would be. I love the people I work with and the office is such a nice environment to be in on a daily basis. It has been hard work and I have had a lot to learn in these first few months and I look forward to getting back and increasing my knowledge as the season progresses and we get ready to send applicants out to summer camp for the job of a lifetime!

Christmas has come around so quickly as well, it seemed like the last half of the year just flew by. I went back to Pembrokeshire for almost two weeks and enjoyed unwinding and seeing everyone again. As I look forward to 2020 and what this next year and decade holds I have some exciting things to share and I wanted to be able to do that freely on my blog. I am not setting a schedule or quantity of posts and hope that this helps me to continue to share my latest updates!

Have a fantastic start to the New Year. Thank you so much for reading and I look forward to sharing more with you soon! – Glen.