A whole new world...of writing!

I've got to admit blogging is completely new to me. I started scouring the internet and came across a few good ones, but it wasn't until I stumbled across one particular one which, along with my love of writing, completely inspired me to start my own. It wasn't that it was based on a particular topic as such but it was the quality of writing that drew me in. Before I knew it, I'd been looking at the page for the best part of an hour reading blog after blog and smiling and nodding knowingly at the content thinking, oh my god, that happened to me last week. I suppose it was the small window that looked into this person's life which drew me in. Someone who I originally thought was a completely different person to myself turned out to be scarily like me in many ways. The writing was personal, intelligent and didn't hide behind anything. It was open and honest and if I could make this blog half as good as that, I'd be a happy girl.

So that said, here's my story so far. I only decided I wanted to become a journalist about a year and a half ago. I guess it was always in the back of  my mind as every career opportunity I created for myself, every decision I made was directed towards it. It was only when my boyfriend, Dan, said, 'Look, what do you actually want to do?', did it shake me into saying the words, ' I think I want to write, I think I want to be a journalist'. Obviously the defining moment for me was seeing the first story in the weekly newspaper that did it. The byline just underneath the header, 'By Rebecca Higgerson' and that was it. It seems funny that the first story I'd written was only a year and a half ago and things have just snowballed since then. Trust me, they haven't fallen into my lap, I've worked hard and I've still got a very long way to go but at least I'm on the right track.

When I finished University back in 2006 (Media Communications and English Studies- see journalism was always there!) I had to sit down and think what I wanted to do. Go back home? Get a job? Or do something completely out of character and pack a bag and travel the world. Just the idea filled me with a rainbow of emotions. When I told my mum, she didn't believe me. Honestly. It was only when I produced the plane ticket under her nose when she was cooking the family roast on a Sunday that she started to take me seriously. She was heartbroken but the idea was there and I had to do it.

So came the day that will be etched in my memory forever. At the age of 22 on the 24th September 2007, a year after I finished uni, I travelled at 4am to Gatwick airport to board the plane with a bunch of strangers. Little did I know that the trip I was about to embark upon would be the best decision of my life, as you will probably find out in the many blogs to come. But for the moment let me say, that the bunch of strangers I travelled with? They are now my best friends and I also met a young man who would completely turn my idea of love (or what I thought was love) completely on it's head...in a very good way!

Which brings us to today. I adore writing and am rather excited about having a blog I can pour my heart out on. I freelance for a magazine and luckily have the opportunity to have lots of my ideas published in the magazine. Keep an eye out for links to the magazine and please, anyone who is studying for their NCTJ law exam at the moment...help me out! Comments are always welcome.

Lots more posts to come!