Greetings faithful readers of my blog posts,
That is a wrap for 2021 and I’m off for a really relaxing, restful Christmas break. I shall immerse myself in regular fun filled activities, meet various chums and relatives (in smaller gatherings obviously) and raise a glass to 2021 which has been (so far) my most successful year.
It’s the year I started my PhD research, the year I piloted some new courses, which all got resounding thumbs up and ‘more please, more’ from the assembled learners. It’s the year I joined the police’s Vulnerably Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) and the year that I actually started believing in myself and the imposter syndrome voice was quashed forever. Oh yes, it’s been a dazzling year!
I’ve made some wonderful new friends, I’m looking at you Hannah and Charlotte, who have all gone on to appear in my training films. Where would I be without my star actors?
I’ve had folks from as far afield as America and Australia asking for my input and my training. If Covid would only vanish for good, I’d find myself delivering my hoarding training in sunny Australia and New Zealand! Instead, I’m up at 2am delivering it on a screen, we can but dream, eh?
I’ve sat behind my laptop, delivering via Zoom and Teams but I’ve also stretched my legs and ventured to brand new venues, new organisations, new businesses, new local authorities and it has been BRILLIANT! The only slight snag is… oh classroom how I miss thee! Still, maybe, just maybe 2022 will settle into a hybrid of classroom and Zoom and we can make that our new normal. Who knows?
It’s the freedom that I love, the freedom of choice, of taking time to research, to ask questions, to position myself where I can be heard and where I can listen to various voices. It’s that and the interaction with the learners, knowing that I’m up-skilling people to make a real difference.
I wish all of you a very joyous holidays, a marvellous Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Here’s to 2022 and climbing ever upward and onward.