On Friday I handed in my final project for my Masters in Magazine Journalism at City, signalling the end of a pretty crazy year.It’s been a tough one, both personally and work-wise, but also an incredible one.

I moved to London at last, met dozens of other wonderful people and brilliant journalists (oh hey #teamzine!), interned at one of my favourite publications and landed my first ever paid job in journalism. I also worked harder and longer than I’ve ever worked before – and that includes three years at Cambridge and the three jobs I held down last year.

Finishing my MA has put me in a reflective mood. Looking back on the past year, I realise that the most important lessons I learned about confidence and opportunity are also those which helped me get my job.

When I turned up at City last September, I never would have imagined that nine months down the line I would be working at a specialist medical magazine, let alone working full-time before I’d even finished my course.

I wrote in September that I wanted to seize opportunities and try my hand at everything. For the first time in my life, I can truly say that I’ve done that. I’ve stopped being scared of work experience and all the meeting new people that comes with it. I’ve stopped doubting myself and my skills – often the only real difference between a struggling journalist and a successful one is their level of confidence.

My ‘say yes’ attitude culminated in me accepting full-time work with 6 weeks of my Masters still to complete. I was terrified to accept a job at Pulse but I’m so glad I did. I’m happy here, learning lots every day, and am grateful to be in the rather unusual position of being employed straight out of university.

I’ve broadened my horizons, and developing new areas of interest has proved valuable. I arrived at City with an interest in women’s rights, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Already strong on the politics, I decided to build my knowledge of the health side and chose a health and science journalism module. That led to a work placement at the British Medical Journal which, in turn, undoubtedly helped me to get a job at GP’s magazine Pulse.

Trying my hand at new things and diversifying my skill set also helped get me a job. One the suggestion of one of the Hacks, I taught myself the basics of video shooting and editing. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up in the Multimedia Editor role on XCity Arts & Culture, one of our annual magazines at City. And when I came to job interview, it was my online and multimedia experience that really stood out. Now shooting and producing online video is part of my day-to-day work.

If I could do City again, the only thing I’d do differently would be to do more of the same – more trying new things, more building new skills, more going beyond my comfort zone. So if you’re embarking on a masters in the autumn, don”t be afraid to say yes – you never know where it’ll take you.