I feel like I’ve waited an age to write this blog post. Waited until the right time, but there is never really a right time, is there?
But with Christmas out of the way (I sound like such a Grinch) and the lull of this in between week where no one really knows what day it is, I’ve found the New Year has crept up on me almost by surprise and it seems like the right time….finally.
This year has been extraordinary. 2015 will go down in history as one of the most crazy for me. And considering I’ve gone through child-birth, marriage breakdown and house moves in the previous two years, they were nothing on 2015.
I ran more miles than I could ever imagine, I was force-fed Jaffa cakes by a bloke called Kevin from Blackburn and I travelled to Europe in the height of summer to see a famous mouse with three little dudes and broken air con! No wonder my hair is now more grey than its ever been before.
I learned a shed load about other people, and more importantly myself. Someone posted a Lemmy quote earlier (RIP legend) something about taking responsibility for your actions. They say the truth hurts and I was devastated, yep actually devastated to hear how my actions in the past had wounded a dear friend. I only found out when moaning about treated exactly the same. Big learning curve. Thankfully the friendship survived.
So it turns out I’m not perfect. Who knew huh?
My heart was shattered into a million pieces this year. So dramatic I know but it floored me. It took a lot of support from my best friend and the threat of physical violence from my fiercely loyal sister to put myself back together. But I’ve done it. I’m back.
At this point (or way earlier) you may be thinking okay we get it, 2015 was a bit shite. But actually despite matters of the heart…….it was bloody fantastic. I became a journalist.
I’ve never been so busy. From starting January working with a novelist to writing my first guest blog in April. I spent the most perfect weekend in London and nailed a PB 10k in the blazing sunshine, repeated a week later in the bucketing rain back home in Liverpool in June.
Holding back tears in July, I listened to Pierre Berge talk with such love and pride about his life partner, the late Yves Saint Laurent at the VIP launch of YSL Style is Eternal exhibition, and viewed the phenomenal collection before anyone else.
I am now the proud owner of a genuine Guinness World Record as I strutted down the longest continuous catwalk on the Liverpool water front in the summer alongside my beautiful daughter, sister and my absolute fashion hero, Caryn Franklin.
……And requiring slightly more effort I completed my first ever half marathon in September. I’m also 100% sure I ate a shit load of jelly babies that had been on the floor…bless those Geordie kids.
The biggest challenge of the year has been going back to school. I bought new shoes and everything.
It turns out that Journalism is my thing. It’s taken me 33 years to figure it out but I’ve never had so much fun and yet been so challenged in learning. My fellow students are like family (and are family in the case of my sister) after just four months and I feel lucky to have a fantastic group to spur me on.
As a newbie I never expected to work with such influential people like Amanda Moss this year. Liverpool Fashion week in October knocked my socks off and I’m already involved with next years line up. Amazing talent being encouraged to shine is exactly the kind of business I want to write about.
Under heavy November skies the slowest train ever chugged into the NEC, Birmingham signalling the start of my first foray to The Clothes Show Live exhibition as a journalist. Working for local web mag Purple Revolver, I reviewed the catwalk shows and trade stalls and again bumped into my hero Caryn Franklin….complete with crazy-ass Irregular Choice heels!
So its now Christmas time, I’ve spent my time off revising essential media law, being barfed on (poorly son on Christmas day) and laying in bed with Andrew Marr….well his book and a brick of Galaxy.
Which is where I intend on staying, until the hard work starts again next week.
Happy New Year you legends x
Kate Reilly James 