Heather Moore
My journalism journey began when I heard Andie Anderson say “I work at Composure” in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. That film made me want to write for a living.
I always had a creative flare and my English teacher had always pushed me to my limits when it came to creative writing.
As a child, my vocabulary was always vast. In year two, I would use big words that would confuse my class teacher. So much so, she felt somewhat upset by my abilities, so tried to tell my parents I had Dyslexia and potentially Autism. This was clearly untrue and I continued to write regardless. A little girl on a mission, shall we call it?
“I have always written and found myself getting lost in my own ideas”
The Beginning of my journalism journey
Journalism isn’t something new in my life. I have always written and found myself getting lost in my own ideas from around eight years of age. However, a career in writing or journalism didn’t fall into my lap like I’d hoped.
When it came time to choose my path, I told my parents I wanted to be a journalist, to which my mum responded: “Well come on now Heather, that’s a very unrealistic goal. Why don’t you get a proper job like, nursing?”.
The sad reality was, I listened to her, so off I went to university where I completed a degree in adult nursing. I graduated in 2012 and secured my first job on a respiratory ward. I have nursed ever since and, I can’t say I’ve disliked it, because that would be a lie, but at the same time, I can’t say I’ve loved it, either.
Choosing my path
I took a short sabbatical from nursing in 2016 to study, you guessed it, journalism. Were my parents thrilled? Absolutely not! Did I care? Not one iota, because at the ripe old age of 26, I decided to follow my own path. That was until my mum was diagnosed with lung cancer just as my final portfolio was due to be submitted.
“when your heart lies elsewhere, something has to give”
I had passed all of my exams – media law, sport, public relations, news reporting. I’d had work published in the Liverpool Echo and online on Purple Revolver. I’d successfully interviewed authors, the homeless, my local MP. However, when it came time to submit my final portfolio, my head fell off, and I ended up not passing on that one thing.
Where I am now
Back into nursing I went and I’ve been there ever since. I became a ward sister, gained a wealth of knowledge and experience and worked through a pandemic, even while on maternity leave with my third child. Despite this, I just never felt like I truly belonged there.
“I have learned to follow my heart”
I loved my job. I cared deeply for my patients, my colleagues were phenomenal and I was in awe of how we always managed to pull together as a team. However, when your heart lies elsewhere, something has to give.
In June 2023, after going off sick with stress for the fifth time, and finally realising that enough is enough, I made the decision to leave my job working in the NHS after 16 years. Do I miss it? Every single day. Do I regret my decision? Definitely not. Will I ever go back? No.
That said, I cherish what I had while I did that job, and I’m proud of myself for doing it. After a battle with my mental health, I have learned to follow my heart and take my head with me.
I’ve since been working voluntarily with a local charity doing content for them, while also signing up here at Empoword Journalism and updating my CV to reflect what experience I have. I know that this time I will be able to follow the path I was meant to follow all along.
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Featured image courtesy of Tatiana Syrikova via Pexels. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.
