Ever since I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication in 2017, I always knew I wanted to go to grad school eventually. But before then, I sought to gain work experience to help me figure out how I wanted to further my education, and in what specific field I wanted to do so.
Three years and a global pandemic (which included two years in lockdown) later, I recognised my privilege to have found my voice as a writer – both in marketing as my day-job and in editorial as my side hustle — for local and global brands, and as a full-time employee and freelancer. But I wanted more: I wanted to complement my creative work, especially in marketing, with informed strategy.
While I’ve always entertained the idea of going to grad school, I knew I wasn’t ready to go just yet, after just having worked for a year. But then, in 2018, I halfheartedly attended a Master’s fair organised by QS in Manila to get a feel of what was out there to evaluate my options. I listened to university presentations, wandered through numerous booths, and picked up every pamphlet I could find. I was overwhelmed, but thought it to be a valiant effort to have gone anyway.
It wasn’t until when lockdown restrictions started loosening up that I decided 2021 would be the time to seriously scout for options. And so the search for a Master’s programme that would instil strategic thinking in me, while still honing my creativity, began.
Having done an exchange semester abroad in Lille, France during my college years, I was fixated on returning to France, to hopefully master the language alongside pursuing my degree. I was adamant about narrowing my search to schools and programmes in a major city, where I could take advantage of the network I knew I would have access to. That left me with strictly limiting my search to Paris.
I read through school websites and perused each of their marketing programmes, with hopes of finding one I thought resonated best with my goals. I was getting impatient as I’d always find something about each programme that I didn’t really like. That was until I found where I’m at now: the MSc in Marketing and Creativity from ESCP Business School, the world’s first business school, and one of Europe and the UK’s leading institutions.
The catch? Most of my schooling would be done in London, with only just one short academic term in Paris.
But only three months in Paris aside, the programme was exactly what I was looking for. It ticked the box of being in a major city (and not just one, but two!), and it specifically highlighted strategy combined with creativity. Plus, tying in my ambition of being a socially impactful storyteller and eventually a Creative Director for a brand, the Managing for Social Impact, as well as Branding and the Creation of Value classes excited me the most. I was also drawn by the requirement of undergoing work placement during the last term, as I figured it would heighten my chances for post-graduation employment. It was almost a no-brainer to apply.
Aside from the typical school documents, IDs, and my CV to prepare, I had to reach out to my work manager (I chose the one from my first job as it’s where I worked the longest) and a former professor for referral letters, as well as write my own motivation and creative essays. While I recognise that the £22,200 (P1,584,960) tuition fee, plus rent and other living expenses, and visa application fees, among others, were a hefty price to pay, I am privileged to have been able to lean on my family for financial support.
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Once the application had been submitted and I secured an interview a couple of weeks later, it took about a month to hear the decision I’d gotten into the programme.
Nine months later, I was on a flight to London (with my mom who helped me settle in), having left behind a job I loved, deciding if this was all worth it. I’d been to the city as a tourist a couple of times before, and while I was physically prepared for the middle of winter, I wasn’t mentally ready for it. My mood always matched the dark and gloomy skies, and getting back in the groove of attending classes after having been out of school for six years was quite taxing. Yet, I kept reminding myself that this is what I wanted and that it would take me to where I want to be.
My days were filled with morning to afternoon classes, with the occasional group meetings to get work done after. I had a part-time job with my university to earn a little extra to spend on the weekends. Needless to say, I was exhausted, and the 40-minute commutes to and from school seemed like my only respite.
On another note, I got lucky with housing and lived in a flat with two girls who were a year ahead of me in the same programme. We became fast friends and still remain as such until now. Another bonus was having one of my closest friends from back home and one other that we met during my exchange in Lille years prior, living in the city too. Plus, I’ve gotten along well with my classmates and found lifelong friends in them, despite being the only Southeast Asian in my class of 62. All these people have become my home away from home.
And so as I started getting used to being back in the classroom and figuring out my routines to get schoolwork, chores, and social obligations done, the weather started getting better – as did my mood and my outlook towards London. I got better acquainted with the city and found myself loving life in London more and more. So much so that when it was time to pack up and make the move to Paris after seven months in the city I’ve learned to love, I was resistant.
While the prospect of studying in two major cities is enticing, logistics weren’t all that easy. Apart from having to acquire two separate visas to study in London and Paris, flat-hunting and finding your footing in a foreign city were hard enough — even more so having to do that twice in one year!
Throughout my three and a half months in Paris, I’ve decided that while the city is beautiful, it’s somewhere I didn’t see myself living any longer than that one semester I had to be there. It didn’t afford me the same (pleasantly surprising) comfort that London did, nor could I get a good enough grasp on the language — so much so that I kind of gave up trying.
But, what made the move to Paris worth the while, despite it being a requirement for my programme, was doing so with my classmates-turned-friends. We knew we were making yet another big move, but the strong support system made it a little less scary. Though the workload in Paris was a lot lighter than our London terms, the hunt for work placement for the next term is what plagued us — even more so for me, who very much limited my options as I stopped at nothing to find work in London and nowhere else.
After a gruelling one and a half months spent solely focusing on the job search by applying to countless openings every day, shamelessly messaging alumni and recruiters on LinkedIn, and attending the occasional networking event whether online or in-person, I finally landed my work placement at a marketing consultancy that I was excited about. For a while, despite having to pack up practically my whole life again, it seemed unreal that I was going back to London; I couldn’t wait.
Now that I’m back here, working a four-day week, alongside doing my thesis on a topic I love (cult behaviours around Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour), I’m happy with where I am in life. Living in a different part of the city now and having an overall different experience than what I had last year (working vs. attending classes almost every day), I still find myself falling more and more in love with London each day. Now the goal is to stay here for as long as I can, with a job I enjoy doing.
While last year turned out to be a very transitional year for me, I acknowledge all the hardships I’ve gone through have brought me to where I am today:
- leaving a job I love and know I had so much potential to grow in
- being away from home, my loved ones, and all the comforts Manila could offer
- pivoting my career to pave the way towards my dream job
- navigating this new way of life (almost) on my own
And yet now I’m living a life that’s more than what I envisioned for myself. I know I’ve come a long way both literally and figuratively, and keeping an open mind is what kept me going. I always thought I’d end up in France for at least a few years, but living in London the first time changed all that, and for now, I couldn’t be happier.
I don’t know for sure where I’ll end up career-wise in the near future, but I’m hoping it’ll be just as happy and fulfilling as it is now, if not more. And while the journey was never continuously an uphill slope, along the way, I’ve picked up some nuggets of wisdom that got me through:
- Always revisit your why, especially when things get tough—it’s the best source of motivation.
- Challenge yourself and push the bounds of what you’re capable of. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself writing my thesis on Taylor Swift, among other things.
- Don’t be afraid of putting yourself out there. It’s what got me my newfound lifelong friends and my current work placement.
- Learn to lean on the people around you. The world is still filled with good people who want to help you.
- Always be open – to others, to failure, to growth. They’ll redirect you to paths you didn’t know you wanted for yourself, and you’ll only keep dreaming bigger dreams from here on out.
