3 Months Today | Tuesday Travels

Ok, so today it's officially three months until I jet off to the merry old land of Aus, I hope you realise what I've done there, at least I think they're the right lyrics (I'm referencing the Wizard of Oz for anyone a little confused). Three months may sound like a huge amount of time. It's a quarter of the year, it's 13 weeks, 89 days etc etc. But when I realise that it was a whole two months ago that I said goodbye to Jack and we started counting down from five months, and that Christmas was a whole seven weeks ago, and that I've already done three weeks of a 14 week course, three months doesn't seem all that long.

It's also going to be a very hectic three months. I've got the remaining 11 and a bit weeks of my course to get through (yes, that's 11 more weeks of shorthand but really that's the one that goes the quickest). In that time I've got to find five stories for my reporting portfolio, I've got get my head around about 67 law for my media law exam, workout the best 'NCTJ way' to write a story, figure out the in's and out's of indesign and get to 100 words per minute in shorthand. The scary part is the reporting and law exams are now only six weeks away, in perspective think how quickly school summer holiday's used to go.

Once I've hopefully walked out of Brighton Journalist Works, alongside my fellow classmates but importantly, new friends, with a gold standard NCTJ diploma, I'll be heading off to Chichester Observer/ETC magazine HQ to do a week's work experience. Call me an eager beaver, I don't care. With a trip to Australia on the horizon I wanted to get my work experience sorted and out of the way. It's one thing I can put on the CV before heading off and that's definitely a bonus.

However, that week is also my last week before I get on the plane to the other side of the world. So alongside meeting real life deadlines that you really can't miss, going out and about reporting, writing things that will actually be published and continuing to travel everyday to a nine to five, I'll be sorting myself out to travel all those thousands of miles. Alongside all that stuff previously mentioned I've got to work out how to get at least three months of stuff into a 70 litre rucksack, whether or not I really need that whole list of things for my hand luggage and whether to risk the nail file.

To be honest, I need a to do list and I need one soon. I've still got a couple of bits to do before what I'm taking can even enter my mind and I keep thinking of things I need to remember but not writing them down, something I should really get into the habit off.

So three months, a long time, maybe not as long as I originally thought. Sigh.

N.B I suggest it's not long enough to get everything done, but I'd get it done in a day if meant getting out to Aus I CAN'T WAIT.