Officially a Postgraduate + New Beginnings!

Hi everyone! It has been a while since my last blog post, and I am so excited to be writing again. Last week, I printed, bound, and submitted my dissertation. I felt so many emotions whilst hitting that submit button on Turnitin. I couldn't quite comprehend that one year had gone by so quickly and that I was now officially a postgraduate! Whaaaattt seriously?! All my hard-work had paid off and I was a few steps closer to becoming a clinical psychologist. After submitting my diss, I had to prepare for a conference, where I would be talking about my research and what I had found. To be honest, the last few days in Bangor were a blur. I was running around packing my bags ready to vacate as well as doing the last bits of preparation for my conference. I would of course miss my lovely friends too, so I had to make sure that I spend some quality time with them before saying my final goodbyes.

The night before I left Bangor, Anisha and Suki came over to mine. I hadn't known them for long, but the three of us share a beautiful friendship. We chatted, laughed, and reminisced our time together. Us three have a lot in common and it's quite rare to find people who match your vibe. Whether it be travelling, chatting, or even going out to grab a Subway, Anisha, Suki, and I'd be in it together. Anisha and Suki are two of the sweetest souls I have ever met, and I will miss them a LOT. The following day, I met my dear friend Veronica. Being an ambivert, spending time with Veronica gave me a lot of peace and happiness. I fondly remembered our time together, and making good food. I leant how to make THE best Dominican fritos and bacon pasta with Veronica. Goodbyes are hard I thought as I got on the train back home, but we had promised to meet up when we could and to stay in touch. It's crazy thinking that if I hadn't chosen Bangor Uni, then I would have never met these lovely people, and made all the precious memories.

I'm about to share some REALLY REALLY good news now. Ahhh I'm so excited to announce this!! So, I will be starting as a Trainee Psychological Practitioner in the NHS in September. Eeeeekkkkkkk. Literally, I am sooooo excited. My dream job. All of this happened a few months back actually. I think it was late May, early June. I knew for a fact that I wanted to continue with Psychology and to work as a Clinical Psychologist. So, it only made sense that I actively try and secure a job as either an Assistant Psychologist or Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner. I spent a good week or two applying to every single PWP role that was available on the NHS site. The waiting was the hardest part, and I would freeze literally every time that I got an email from the NHS. I applied to over 20 places and had to deal with 16 rejections and 2 interview invites. Seeing that the PWP role is extremely competitive with very few spaces available, I was over the moon when I was invited for an interview with Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The interview was daunting. I prepared for it like it was a life/death situation, and to make things worse it was at 9am on a Monday morning (sigh). I knew that I wanted this job so badly, so I did everything that I could to do well in the interview. You know, I believe that God sends people into your life when you need them the most, and my friend Christy was literally a god-send. I owe so much to her and for the reassurance that she gave me. She helped me with the interviews and told me to do what I can, and the rest God will take over. 2 days after the interview, I was offered the job. I can't put into words what I felt upon hearing this news. It's taken me a long journey to secure this job, but all the hard work and effort were worth it.

I'll officially be starting my new job on the 18th of September. I feel nervous, excited, happy, worried... a mixture of emotions. But I know that's normal and I should just experience all these emotions as they are. I came across a beautiful quote on insta. It was: "you're living what you once prayed for, be grateful". How true is that?!

Trainee Psychological Practitioner - Let's goooooo