Change is never too late

When I sat down and contemplated the topic that my blog should be based on, I simply sat back and thought to myself, ‘I can’t believe that I’m actually doing this’. The reason for doing so is most likely a result of the change that my life has undergone in two short years.

Around two years ago, I stumbled upon the Juice Academy in my search for a new job after being recently made redundant, and was lucky enough to attend the following boot camp. After introducing myself to the employers and the other applicants, it became apparent to me that I didn’t possess the skills or experience that would persuade any potential employers to take on myself over the other applicants, with that being confirmed at the end of the day when I wasn’t taken on. I can’t deny that I was incredibly frustrated and disappointed that I wasn’t selected, but instead of giving up and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to attend the boot camp one more time with the skills and experience that I was lacking at the time.

A few months later, after much thought, I decided to enrol myself to Access Creative College in Manchester, where I studied Creative Media for one year. Within that time, I gained experience in video editing, photography, image editing and writing, with the Juice Academy being my motivation and drive while I was learning. Every assignment, every task, every lesson, every late-night studying, I always told myself that the hard work will pay off to keep me going, with that advice working as I finished the course with a qualification in Creative Media.

A couple of months after finishing college, I returned to Juice one final time with the hope that the skills I developed in the two years since I last came would change my fate. Despite being familiar with the structure of the boot camp, I was still full of anxiety and self-doubt as to whether going back to college was worth it or whether I had wasted time doing so. After a few minutes (which felt like hours) of waiting, my number was called up, and at that moment I could feel all the anxiety, doubt and worry disappear as if they were never there. As I was walking up the stairs to meet my new employer I was contemplating who wanted to take me on, with my hope being that it was sports media company Checkd Media, as football is one of my biggest hobbies and passions.

That’s when I met Callum from Checkd Media where he told me that he’d like me to join them as an apprentice, I must have broken the record for the number of times a person has said ‘thank you’ in five minutes as I was overwhelming with joy and gratitude that I was taken on.

On my way home from Juice, I had an epiphany that I was walking the same route toward the tram station that I did two years earlier and it dawned on me the change that had occurred from being rejected two years prior to being selected on that day. I couldn’t help but feel pride and accomplishment that my decision to return to College and develop my skills paid off and allowed me to achieve my goal.

Having read this, you may feel like I’m flexing and showing off (I am a little bit to be honest), however, the main reason why I wanted to share this with you is to show and motivate you that change is possible. If you find yourself in a job that you hate, lacking certain skills or experience for something or believing that something you want isn’t achievable, you can change that. I know it’s a cheesy saying, but something I always say to myself when things don’t go the way I expect is ‘A life of oh wells is better than a life of what if's’. The reason why I tell myself that is to persuade myself to take risks in an attempt to benefit and improve myself. I urge you to do the same, if there’s something you want, have the bravery and strength to take the leap to try and achieve it. Despite some things appearing to be impossible at times, you can surprise yourself at how much you can accomplish and how much you can change your situation and fate.

Once you take that first step to change, you will be surprised at the journey that step takes you on.

By Ben Leith, Digital Marketing Apprentice