Working abroad was a huge step, working at sea was an even bigger one. I had moments at the start, where I thought I would never pass my STCW course (sea safety, fire fighting etc, a course that is required to work at sea) I ended up having to do the course 3 times throughout my career as it has to be renewed every 5 years. I never thought at the start of my career at sea that I would become an actual uniform wearing officer. What I mean by this is an officer in a white uniform with gold stripes (Epaulettes) on my shoulders - but I did when I became the Front Office manager onboard Thomson Spirit, what a massive learning curve I did it!

Your next opportunity lies right around the corner. All you have to do, as I have realised, is to chase for your dreams and try to do your best! Look out, as your opportunities will show up after your hard work!

Take on challenges head-on. Everyone has failed at some point and everyone will fail again. Just take time to reflect on the failures. It's the only way we can really grow as humans and evolve into the best possible version of ourselves. Having an environment that allows you to fail and learn gracefully is vital to being able to deliver the best possible work we can. This is something I really enjoy in my day-to-day work: I've never felt afraid to ask all my questions, no matter how stupid I felt they were and I was always met with respect and dignity.