“What is your aspiration in life? Oh, well my aspiration in life would be, to be happy” - Beyoncé
I thought I’d give a little introduction into my life, as to where I am now and why I have chosen the path that I am in.
My name is Sabrina (yes, my parents named me after Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and basically I made this blog as a little place for me to get lost into. When I write, it brings some type of joy to me. But over the last few years, I kinda lost touch to that creative side of me. So, I thought, why not create a blog and hopefully I can recapture that passion I once had when I was 10 years old writing short stories in my bedroom.
Let me start off with giving a little mini biography. Well I’m twenty-two years of age and I’m unemployed. The End. Ok, there is a bit more to me than that. I am a recent undergraduate from Birmingham City University where I studied Fashion Business and Promotion (BA Hons). I’m currently job hunting for a job in Fashion Marketing in London.
Why fashion you may ask. Ok you’re probably not asking, and you don’t care but I’m gonna explain it anyways.
It all started when I was little kid (cheesy). I’d say, about 6 or 7 I wanted to be the next Louis Vuitton. (Sabrina Dhesi...I see it catching on). I used to have a kid sewing machine where you probably could sew two pieces of cotton together and that’s it. I remember it being purple with a pink foot, bed and hand wheel.
Ever since then I wanted to be a fashion designer. In textiles at school I’d always excel. I took it for GCSEs and got an A* in coursework (let’s not talk about exams...that can be for another day). But during GCSEs I rediscovered, let’s call it, a hidden talent. My childhood years of writing short stories finally meant something. I also had a passion for English; language and literature. I, again, received A* in my coursework at GCSEs.
This point in my life, I’ve grown up a bit and bypassed that fashion designer dream and introduced fashion journalism. So, I decided that I wanted to take Textiles, English Language, alongside Sociology and Psychology for A-Levels. This is where life got a littlllle interesting.
So, if I wanted to carry on at my school that I’ve been at since year 7 I’d have to study my Textiles A-Level at another school down the road as there was only me wanting to study it at my current school. The downside of studying the subject at the other school is that it would clash with my English Language periods. Keep in mind, these are the two subjects I really want to do. Then I thought I’ll have a gander at the college near me and see what they have to offer.
I went to the open day at York College and I went to all four subjects and I think I looked at business as well(🤷🏽♀️). Loved them all, but textiles. Their course was more about prints and patterns and fabrics and eurgh not a fan (course at school was more fashion based). So, I was going back and forth thinking what the hell am I gonna do. Then I think it was results day I was like; I’ll just carry on at my school and hope for the best.
I got given my homework I had to do for first day back. I went on holiday week before I started school. Was doing my English Language homework by the pool. Then I got chatting to the family I was like I don’t wanna do this. I got to thinking, surely there is another route as opposed to A-Levels. I hopped onto the York College website and saw that they had a Fashion & Clothing Level 3 Extended Diploma which equates to either 3 or 4 A-Levels. I researched into their module and course layout and it tickled my fancy.
The day after I got home from my holiday, I went to York College and spoke to the course leader to see what it was about. LOVED IT. I signed up there and then. But this course also gave me an option (wasn’t recommend cos of the workload but I said what the hey) to study English Language. And so, I did. Started the week after doing the course I love and the subject I have a passion for.
Fast forward to second year. I now have a change of heart. I was struggling with English Language. I felt like I wasn’t prioritising it enough and the Fashion course workload was A LOT and I mean A LOT (my creative students out there you’ll know what I mean). My dream of being a fashion journalist was coming to end...queue the violin.
(here are some pics of a few garments I made at college)
This point, it was university choice time. I wanted to pick something that is an all-rounder where I study a bit of everything in fashion. Then I thought, nah, I have an interest in the business side. The marketing, PR, promotion, merchandising side. That’s where I came across Fashion Business & Promotion course at BCU. I also looked at NTU, Northumbria, UCLAN, Huddersfield and Uni of Chester. Hated them all, but BCU. Sorry. I applied for BCU, had an interview and got an unconditional offer (I remember, I was sat in the library at college with my friends and bursted out crying).
Fast forward four years and its present day. I’m sat in my bed writing this blog post. It was a rollercoaster of a journey. But honestly. College was the best time of my life; I met the best people there (kinda cringe I’m not affectionate) and I just had a laugh all the way through. Don’t get me wrong, I love fashion designing and making my own clothes. But I see myself more in the business side of fashion as opposed to design...who knows, I’m still young.
Present Day. I’ve been unemployed for about 3 months now (thanks to coronavirus it’s a little bit difficult at the moment). After uni I took a month off to breathe and then got a job at my local Designer Outlet working for Guess. I quit there in January, did not like my managers they were awful to me and to some extent, racist.
These last few months, my family have been telling me to change my field as I’m not getting anywhere with fashion. But what’s the point in doing something I get no joy from. I’d rather have all these no’s in something I enjoy as opposed to a yes in something I despise...does that make sense? So now I am just taking the time to re-do my CV and zhuzh up my portfolio and hope for the best. But also, to recapture that passion I had when I was a kid that I get when I write.
That’s a little bit about my interest and aspiration. And like Beyoncé said, “my aspiration in life would be, to be happy”. 10/10 recommend that song - Pretty Hurts.
Sabrina X