Since this is the first post on my blog, I'm gonna bore you a little bit with my antics as a wild, care-free 20-something and how I ended up coming to live in Spain. It all began in London..
I moved to London to "make it big" in August 2014. After graduating in Manchester a few years before that and with absolutely no clue whatsoever of what to do with my life, I found myself taking acting classes with a local group in Leeds, my home city. I was convinced that if I wanted to get anywhere as an actor that I'd at least have to go to London. So I did.
I'd got a diploma in personal training after I graduated university and I'd worked in various gyms and instructed classes. It can be a really fun job, and I was good at getting clients. When I moved to London I quickly landed a job in one of the big gym chains and I managed to build up quite a following in one of my classes, it was there that I met a gorgeous Spanish woman who had come to London to learn English. At the time I didn't know that I was about to enter a whole new world of culture, language and adventure.
I was convinced she was the one who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, so after 2 years in London making student films, taking acting classes and working in shitty jobs; I packed up, took a CELTA course in teaching English and moved to Spain. I'd never really had a passion for languages in school, but that's probably because of the way they were taught. Nobody ever tells you that it might be the most useful subject you ever study and that it could take you around the world (duh!).
I discovered that I quite like teaching and I was good at it (perhaps it runs in the family). The first teaching job I had was in Sevilla, teaching university students. Sevilla is a truly beautiful city but in the summer it's ridiculously hot, so much that you actually can't really go outside during the day. I got used to it eventually and loved going out by the river at night or having BBQs after work on my roof terrace with cold beers.
After some time living in Spain and going through a break up, going back to England and then back to Valencia, I stayed in Valencia teaching there for a year and then I went to Madrid for 6 months. After a thrilling 6 months there, I thought I was done with Spain and I needed a fresh start, so I left.
I found myself back in Leeds, bewildered about what to do and somewhat nostalgic for another adventure. I carried on teaching English and on the side I started a career in online copywriting. After firing off CVs to a few jobs, I found myself with an offer from a tech company in...
Yep, you guessed it, Spain! I was convinced that I was done with Spain.. I'd lived there, learned some of the language and that London was where I should head on back to. I thought I should pick up from where I left off, but I still felt there was a part of me that could easily go back to Spain and really get to grips with the language. Add to that the high living costs in London, I decided to take the job and off I went, only this time I was going to Barcelona.
Things didn't go to plan in at the new job in Barcelona, so off I went back to teaching.
Since then, I've stayed in Barcelona teaching and building an online platform for people who want to learn English online. I've made some great friends who are always a blast to go out with on weekends and paint the town red. I don't have any plans to leave just yet either and I want to carry on learning Spanish.
I think the problem with most millennials is that a sense of entitlement has been engraved into us and a lot of us want a "have your cake and eat it" type lifestyle. I think a lot of us wanna swan around the world taking selfies and hooking up on Tinder whilst having all the benefits of a stable job, marriage and life. We're spoilt. But is it our fault? That probably is me a little bit as well, I have to admit, and while it's a little disappointing to think I may never own a home or be a famous actor starring alongside Cillian Murphy in the next Netflix series (although I was in a scene with him in Peaky Blinders ;) ), we live in a world where it's possible to do things and go to places that past generations could never have even dreamt of, like working online from anywhere in the world, but for now I think I'll stay a little while longer in Spain and see where it takes me.
The glass is half full.
Hasta la vista, baby.
See if you can spot me :p
No comments:
Post a Comment