2015 was pretty stressful. It was a busy year and didn’t go particularly to plan. But it also included some brilliant, unforgettable moments and I learned a lot.
As 2015 draws to a close, it is the perfect time to reflect on the last 365 days and look ahead to what should hopefully be an exciting 2016.
I entered 2015 on a high after a jam-packed, productive 12 months, attending four F1 races (three as media, one as a fan), attending various events, making good career progress and also starting my Journalism degree at the University of Westminster.
So I had a lot of expectations for the New Year. Perhaps too many. It was inevitable that I wouldn’t achieve everything I set out to, but part of that was out of my control. I kept working hard and found new opportunities, which was really encouraging.
But, despite this, I struggled for motivation at times, both with work and university. Finding a balance between the two was difficult, I thought I had found it, but then it all fell apart again. Missed opportunities and a burned-out feeling meant stepping outside my comfort zone was a rare occurrence and that needs to change in 2016.
I was lucky enough to enjoy some really nice moments in 2015 with friends and family – from exploring London to travelling in Rhodes and Ibiza, a wonderful Christmas back home in the countryside and plenty of great catch-ups.
In terms of my degree, I ended my first year with a grade I was happy with (not that it counts) and went into the summer break pleased with what I had achieved. Starting back in September was stressful and warnings from friends about the work stepping up in year two were certainly true, but I have learned so much more already.
The highlight has to be finishing off a 60-odd page dummy magazine called We Are Tech. As you may have guessed, it is a technology magazine, which we had to create from scratch, including pitches to industry experts. I spent hours on InDesign creating pages and writing content, but I was delighted with my contribution and the finished product. The whole group worked really hard and hopefully we will get a positive mark.
I also joined the University of Westminster’s student newspaper, The QH, as its Sports Editor. It has been really fun so far. I’m loving the challenge of writing about something slightly different and being part of such a great project.
Looking back over my second full year of freelancing, it was a mixed bag. While some opportunities failed to materialise, I also gained some new commitments and continued on with others. As I said before, I struggled for motivation at times, but I love what I do and feel lucky to be a part of some amazing teams of people.
It was my fourth season reporting on F1 for Richland F1. I joined the website for its launch in 2012 and it is brilliant to see how much it has grown and developed over time. I have made some great friends from the project and it has been a wonderful platform to develop my skills.
I attended this year’s Spanish Grand Prix for Richland F1. One of the best moments from the trip was visiting Montjuic Park in Barcelona, the location of the city’s old street circuit, which F1 raced around on several occasions in the 70s.
It was brilliant to be back in the paddock and I also got the chance to walk the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. I stayed on for the test and while it was a completely different experience to a race weekend, was much more relaxed and I was able to watch the cars from trackside.
After posting over 2,500 articles on Richland F1, it is now time to move onto the next chapter. I have mixed emotions about moving on, as it has undoubtedly been a brilliant and hugely valuable experience. But, plans for 2016 look exciting and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
I continued to work as a freelance writer for Car Throttle in 2015, another hugely enjoyable year. I have really pushed to be more creative with my ideas and write about a wider range of motorsport categories and I feel I achieved that. CT has grown substantially over the last 12 months, from the introduction of communities to employing new staff and launching an Android app. It is a pleasure to see it doing so well and as I seem to regularly say, I’m incredibly lucky to be a very small part of the team.
I also did some work for RumbleStripNews and Formula Legend this year, writing about junior championships and Formula E for the former (something I’m keen to do more of in 2016) and F1 strategy for the latter.
This blog remains an important outlet for me but my university degree and freelance work has to come first, so it has been a little neglected over the last year. But, I have still tried hard to provide interesting content and that will remain.
The big new step for me in 2015 was joining the About.com team, as its F1 Expert. I really had no idea quite how big the company was and to be part of such a huge network is unbelievable, really. I feel satisfied with the work I have done so far, building up a page that hadn’t been posted on for several years, and have a lot of ideas for the future.
I am determined to make 2016 an even bigger and better year. As always, thank you for the support and interaction over the last 12 months, I hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.
I entered 2015 on a high after a jam-packed, productive 12 months, attending four F1 races (three as media, one as a fan), attending various events, making good career progress and also starting my Journalism degree at the University of Westminster.
So I had a lot of expectations for the New Year. Perhaps too many. It was inevitable that I wouldn’t achieve everything I set out to, but part of that was out of my control. I kept working hard and found new opportunities, which was really encouraging.
But, despite this, I struggled for motivation at times, both with work and university. Finding a balance between the two was difficult, I thought I had found it, but then it all fell apart again. Missed opportunities and a burned-out feeling meant stepping outside my comfort zone was a rare occurrence and that needs to change in 2016.
I was lucky enough to enjoy some really nice moments in 2015 with friends and family – from exploring London to travelling in Rhodes and Ibiza, a wonderful Christmas back home in the countryside and plenty of great catch-ups.
In terms of my degree, I ended my first year with a grade I was happy with (not that it counts) and went into the summer break pleased with what I had achieved. Starting back in September was stressful and warnings from friends about the work stepping up in year two were certainly true, but I have learned so much more already.
The highlight has to be finishing off a 60-odd page dummy magazine called We Are Tech. As you may have guessed, it is a technology magazine, which we had to create from scratch, including pitches to industry experts. I spent hours on InDesign creating pages and writing content, but I was delighted with my contribution and the finished product. The whole group worked really hard and hopefully we will get a positive mark.
I also joined the University of Westminster’s student newspaper, The QH, as its Sports Editor. It has been really fun so far. I’m loving the challenge of writing about something slightly different and being part of such a great project.
Looking back over my second full year of freelancing, it was a mixed bag. While some opportunities failed to materialise, I also gained some new commitments and continued on with others. As I said before, I struggled for motivation at times, but I love what I do and feel lucky to be a part of some amazing teams of people.
It was my fourth season reporting on F1 for Richland F1. I joined the website for its launch in 2012 and it is brilliant to see how much it has grown and developed over time. I have made some great friends from the project and it has been a wonderful platform to develop my skills.
I attended this year’s Spanish Grand Prix for Richland F1. One of the best moments from the trip was visiting Montjuic Park in Barcelona, the location of the city’s old street circuit, which F1 raced around on several occasions in the 70s.
It was brilliant to be back in the paddock and I also got the chance to walk the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. I stayed on for the test and while it was a completely different experience to a race weekend, was much more relaxed and I was able to watch the cars from trackside.
After posting over 2,500 articles on Richland F1, it is now time to move onto the next chapter. I have mixed emotions about moving on, as it has undoubtedly been a brilliant and hugely valuable experience. But, plans for 2016 look exciting and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
I continued to work as a freelance writer for Car Throttle in 2015, another hugely enjoyable year. I have really pushed to be more creative with my ideas and write about a wider range of motorsport categories and I feel I achieved that. CT has grown substantially over the last 12 months, from the introduction of communities to employing new staff and launching an Android app. It is a pleasure to see it doing so well and as I seem to regularly say, I’m incredibly lucky to be a very small part of the team.
I also did some work for RumbleStripNews and Formula Legend this year, writing about junior championships and Formula E for the former (something I’m keen to do more of in 2016) and F1 strategy for the latter.
This blog remains an important outlet for me but my university degree and freelance work has to come first, so it has been a little neglected over the last year. But, I have still tried hard to provide interesting content and that will remain.
The big new step for me in 2015 was joining the About.com team, as its F1 Expert. I really had no idea quite how big the company was and to be part of such a huge network is unbelievable, really. I feel satisfied with the work I have done so far, building up a page that hadn’t been posted on for several years, and have a lot of ideas for the future.
I am determined to make 2016 an even bigger and better year. As always, thank you for the support and interaction over the last 12 months, I hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.
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