I believe in the power and skill of the individual, regardless of gender, sexuality, race or religion. It is true that some businesses still make life hard for people to progress on one or more of these areas of discrimination, but that is where choice, personality, skill and drive come in.

I believe that if I had made the choice to stay in the career I was formally in I would have achieved more than anyone would have thought possible by the time I hit thirty. This belief is based on the fact that I was in a position at 23, which one of the male ‘stars’ of the company had first achieved when he was 27. Ultimately I realised that I was doing something because I could, rather than because I wanted to and I made the decision to leave.

Where there’s a will there is always a way. Forget these articles on what to do to get ahead. Step 1 is to understand what you want to do. Step 2 is to do the learning, training and deliver the results that you need to do to get there. You will face adversity be it from jealousy, discrimination or fear, and you will have to find a way to cope with that and rise above it.

My choice is to work for myself one day. As well as eventually being paid to write (fiction, non-fiction, articles and opinion… hopefully!) there are business ideas I would like to invest in. I want to employ people I can inspire, encourage and develop so they can use it as a stepping-stone to a career they really want. I understand business and focus on profit, but it is developing people and helping them to reach their potential that inspires me. Unfortunately companies that put their people first are few and far between, and I hope one day to add to the few out there (e.g. Innocent) who understand that you deliver through your people and if you look after them they will look after your customers and your profits.

And whilst I figure out the next steps in getting there I have taken a step back of the corporate ladder, now developing communication & marketing skills in an academic environment. I hope one day to be able to provide another example of success. To show that you don’t have to follow formulas and rules, you don’t have to be driven by money and you don’t have to screw others over, to be successful.

I am still recovering from my almost lost voice, it has been embarrassing having to explain reason I sound so ill to all the people who have given me sympathy this week. There is also a slight concern that my bank balance may never be the same again, but the financial pain and physical suffering was worth it for an unforgettable, fun and crazy weekend.

What happens on a hen weekend stays on a hen weekend, so I really can’t say too much. However being the only single woman, in a majority of married and engaged ladies, meant that there was at least one aspect of good behaviour amongst the rest of the women over the weekend.

Saying that Lucy (the bride) had promised to find me a fella, after all she did meet her fiancée through me. And this weekend did introduce me to a new man (a Canadian with an appreciation for Percy Piglets). How intentional the introduction actually was is questionable. Whilst I was off buying water and getting lost, he must have stumbled into the rest of the group and found no way to escape. Being a modern ‘technical’ woman I gave him my web address… though I’m not sure giving a guy full access to my blog and thoughts prior to taking me out is really the way forward in securing a date!

Now I am almost fully recovered… and will be much better prepared for the next Hen Do (and man) that comes my way!!!