Spring seems to have sprung now. Thank god, because I wasn’t sure how many more of those white skies and minus degrees I could take. The blue skies and blossom feel like a bit of a pathetic fallacy for end of Term 2, which was a bitch of a term but overall fun and totally transformative. And now we’re all blossoming into beautiful creatives!! Here are some highlights:

1. We made our first books, and a total of four overall. I started off with a good score, fluctuated a bit, and finished off the term with the highest score which was an amazing feeling. Especially considering most of it was conceived the ‘night’ before, between 10pm and 6am (I do not recommend this).
2. I did a stand-up comedy gig. WHAT. I’ve talked about this in so many of my SCABs now, and I don’t plan to stop talking about it any time soon. I had a G&T, a glass of wine and a tequila shot beforehand and it worked wonders. And as much as I hated Marc for making me do it at the time, after the gig it really did feel like a prize. I walked on air for about two weeks after. My confidence has rocketed. That said, pitches still make me nervous. It’s not a cure-all.
3. A creative team – Soph and Soph at VCCP – asked to meet because they liked our work for a live brief of theirs. It was a bit of a pinch-me moment. I never would have expected that particular work to get the reaction it did, because I wrote the script and filmed it in about an hour, and the idea itself wasn’t received all that well in the WIP. Just shows that sometimes it really is best to go with your gut and not overthink.
4. I entered D&AD. It was really tough, and we made our lives even more difficult by choosing a horrendous brief. We ended up back at square one so. Many. Times. But in the end, our case study video wasn’t half bad. And even so, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much.
5. I was the victim of reflection slide fraud. I’m still waiting for the right moment to get my revenge on a certain Rob West. I haven’t forgotten.
6. I had my first book crits. One with the legendary Trevor of Quiet Storm, and the other with the extremely generous Christine and Oli of Ridley Scott. Two quite different reactions, and a lot of food for thought. It was really helpful to get some input from an outside perspective as unfortunately, what does well at SCA won’t necessarily do well in the real world. And yes, showing your work to advertising VIPs is scary, but I keep being struck again and again by how much time this industry seems to have for those trying to break in. Overall a great experience, and can’t wait to go back to them with a better book.
7. Let’s end on a high with this comment in my book from copywriting legend Richard Russell. Would it be excessive to frame this and put it on my wall?

Term 3 has a lot to live up to. But it’s the final push before we’re released into the big bad world, so I’m going to rinse it for all it’s worth (£4,950, in case you were wondering). Here’s to making Richard Russell swear again.

Happy Easter!

@jess__saunders