I Feel Incredibly Lucky (Even When It Doesn’t Look Like It)

Over the past few weeks — actually, since early December — I’ve been feeling sorry for myself.

Freelance work hasn’t just slowed down; it has evaporated. After 11 years of building a career on independence and initiative, I’ve found myself dusting off my CV and entering the job market again.

That process has been humbling. Many advertised roles seem worlds away from my skill set — heavy on programming, light on language. It has forced uncomfortable questions: Did I choose the right path? What did I know at 19 about what I’d want decades later? And why do we expect teenagers to decide so definitively?

There’s a bigger conversation there for the tertiary education sector.

But this past week, something shifted.

I attended the first day of Meetings Africa — an event that has quietly shaped part of my professional journey. A few years ago, I was sent there to cover it for a MICE publication. I remember feeling completely out of place. I didn’t know the industry language. I didn’t know the players. I wasn’t sure where I fit.

But over time, something remarkable happened. I began to understand the ecosystem. I built relationships. I even bumped into my old high school biology teacher — now a PCO — a reminder that careers are rarely linear.

This year, I attended representing an industry organisation. And people welcomed me warmly. Genuinely.

That feeling — of being recognised, of belonging — did something profound. Even a recent job rejection didn’t sting the way it might have.

At the same time, I’ve been mentoring a 17-year-old author. She arrived with five A4 pages. Together, we shaped those beginnings into a 101-page A5 novel. Seeing the first printed copies — courtesy of TW Publishers — felt quietly extraordinary. Next week, her book launches at Exclusive Books.

Moments like that recalibrate perspective.

So here’s what I’m learning:
Scarcity in one area of life does not erase abundance in another.
And sometimes, when work dries up, meaning deepens.

It’s not about forced positivity. It’s about noticing where growth is happening — even if it’s not where you expected it.

And for that, I feel incredibly lucky.