It is safe to say the odds were against me…
I have been thinking a lot lately about framing my life experiences as the strengths I have taken from them. Mindset is very important when it comes to job searching, and making sure I am doing everything I can to frame myself, my achievements, and more importantly my skills and experience which as for everyone often comes from our perseverance against adversity and challenges.
Who am I? I am a 20-year-old university student living and studying in London who worked through my studies, on my own since 18, to live out my dreams in the city, starting with studying my dream course and beginning my dream career. I am a survivor of Domestic Abuse, and I will not let any of the barriers I have faced, and still face, on my journey limit my ambition or drive. I do not believe anything I want to do is impossible, and if it appears as though it is, that wouldn’t actually stop me from trying because I am aware of how perception holds people back – often caused by other people’s belief limitations indoctrinated in all of us stemming from capitalism, and problematic schools of thought. I have strong self-belief and that is one of the main things to hold onto to achieve things. While I know how fortunate I was to have some kind-hearted friends and a wonderful tutor to support me, I had to walk my journey alone for the most part.
I never knew if or how things would work out before they did, but I knew that they had to.
I am not going to go on about all the people, including teachers, who told me I shouldn’t try and go to university or go for a difficult job/industry to enter into or expect a high-paying salary (yes, we had a class on this in school and I was told to drastically adjust my expectations).
I got myself into university. It was a near-impossible task, I had to work so incredibly hard, harder than anybody should have to (I faced many barriers because of the UK education system and gov-decided Covid-19 procedures) and it did cause me to have a severe health breakdown in the summer of A level exams.
At 18, I had saved up money from working as an assistant chef in a traditional-style pub-restaurant and I moved into a room in a shared flat in central London – this was during Covid, so I had lowered rent and cost of living prices on my side for the time being. I immediately continued with work in hospitality, this time as bar staff, and then worked a second bar job in the time that I was there. I was working full-time hours, even up to 55-hour weeks at times, I think my longest shift was 17 hours.
Alongside working to pay all of my living expenses of rent, bills, food, medication, etc, and making sure that I could pay rent (because if I couldn’t, well there was no backup plan), I also had to pay for my A level textbooks and study equipment, and I intended on saving enough for tutoring so I could provide the universities with A level tutor references like everyone student in school would have (and is a requirement through the application process), but I never got to the point of affording that in the year of living there unfortunately. One of the BIGGEST struggles I have faced was finding a sixth form/college/exam centre that would take me. No sixth form or college was willing to take me on during what would have been Year 13, so I had to find the most affordable exam centre options; I can’t remember the exact amount between the two exam centres but it was hundreds of pounds, not the kind of money someone living pay check to paycheck has. Even then that wasn’t the end of it, because I was a student, because with the private school (£27,000 a year for students to sit the A level course *not exams * there) I didn’t have parents to advocate for me to possibly hold them accountable, they disregarded me completely. On the day of the national deadline to submit the paperwork (which had it been missed, I wouldn’t be able to sit those exams and therefore even apply to university this year; there were no other options at this point in the academic year), I had been emailing and calling and they still hadn't processed my examinations. So, with 2 hours to go, I was panicking and I mustered the determination, thanks to friends of mine, to show up and speak to the staff myself, and had I not done that one thing, there was NO way they would have been submitted before the deadline. There is a longer story to this, but they told me to my face, I would not be considered a priority and I would always be at the bottom of the pile as I was only paying to sit exams (and not a student) which sounds like it makes sense generally but was really just an excuse to neglect me as a student still paying all the money I had for their services.
Results day came… I had mentally prepared for the grades, and the frustration that came from studying as hard as I could for years, but I made EVERY effort to promote myself as a student worthy of taking a chance upon; overlooking the grade-dependent conditional offers I had been made. I asked to send them my writing portfolio and gave every example I could to demonstrate how I would be an exemplary student.
Side note: An unconditional offer would have made a world of difference to me, however, they required statements and predicted grades from tutors (which I could not afford).
While one university did look into my case for me and took the time to do that, which I greatly appreciated (vs all the others I couldn’t even get to on the phone line that day or rejected me immediately due to their tight rules that don’t extenuating circumstances into account (there was mine, and sadly so many more)), there was one university who heard my story, looked at my work, offered me a place on the perfect course with a foundation year to the effect that it would be more comfortable for me given the challenges I had faced in accessing in-school education over the years) but I knew what was best for me was the 3-year course, and I fought for it with conviction. I had practised marketing myself, and my passion shone through in a way I knew I didn’t have to overanalyse when preparing for this day). I was accepted onto my current course, Creative Writing and English Literature, at a University in London, and the rest is history!
I will mention that they were right to take that chance on me! I am doing them proud, and I represent them with pride. And now that I have a maintenance loan helping me out, and considerably more support (including for being a survivor of domestic abuse); just having a support network in general for the first time. I have shown what I am capable of with these barriers removed, even though the odds in some ways are still against me (for one, Estranged and Care-Experience Students are the least likely to get into or graduate from university), I will always like my odds. I will always bet on myself. I know what I am capable of and I have self-belief even when overcoming issues that seem impossible (knowing there are not many that actually are). I know what I am incredibly passionate about and I know what I am willing to do to give myself the best life possible and make sure others don’t have to face the barriers I faced and have support when they do.
I am passionate about Law because: there should be reason to things, rules should make sense and serve everyone's best interests, there are so many things worth protecting, and there’s issues that need resolving. Also, I like solving puzzles and working with people with similar aspirations! I am a part of the legal community, without even properly stepping foot in the industry yet; that says something!
Having a support network is very important: there’s no limit to what we can achieve when we remove the barriers, and we can do that for each other as we do it for ourselves.
I am passionate about writing because we all have a voice and need to take the time to find ways to express ourselves and use our voices, and writing is my outlet to communicate what can be more difficult to decipher in the moment, especially out loud. It takes a breath to find clarity in something, and a few moments to analyse, to better understand it, to problem-solve.
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