When I was eleven years old I started secondary school having failed my 11 plus, which meant I couldn’t go to a ‘better’ grammar school. I remember my dad called me after my first day to ask me how it went. “It’s great! I want to go to Oxbridge when I’m older!” I vividly remember saying this while riding my bike around the local park. He laughed, no doubt finding this rather unlikely. If I couldn’t pass basic comprehension and arithmetic, how on earth was I meant to pass an Oxbridge interview, let alone get the grades to get in!?

The years went by and I was put in the top bands for all subjects. Still, I finished secondary school without achieving any A*’s, and had even gotten a U in Physics. I attended college to do my A-Levels and prepare me for university and again, though I applied myself, I still didn’t have the grades or the belief to apply to Oxbridge. Even though I was put in the group of students that the college selected to apply for Oxford or Cambridge, I shied away from the idea, resigned to going to a lower-band university.

While I was in my second year of undergraduate studies, I discovered The Secret. I was amazed by the idea of positive thinking and action manifesting situations previously thought impossible. So I began to apply it to my life. This was a long process; I had a hard time at university with various personal issues involving a cheating boyfriend, an insecure housemate that ended up getting with said cheating boyfriend and severe unpopularity in the friendship group my closest friends hung out in. All of which had spiralled me into a phase of anxiety and depression. By in my final year, I’d decided that I’d had enough of all this negativity. I sought counselling and took anti-depressants to boost my mood, and they worked like a dream! I was immediately put into a much more positive vibration and came off of the tablets within three months so I could embrace my newfound love of life without medical interference. I took action, and with The Secret safely processed in my healed body, both emotionally and physically, I turned my sights to what I was to do as a graduate.

Writing has always been a passion of mine. When I was going through the turbulence of events in my personal life, I threw myself fully into it, finishing my first book, starting another, and writing a script which I later produced into a short-film. I knew writing was my life purpose and decided that I had to take it seriously.

I looked at various courses online and though they all looked great but most of the universities were focusing solely on writing a book. I’d already done that! I wanted something that would test my abilities and force me out of my comfort zone, so I could explore all avenues of writing, specifically screenwriting as I wanted to be a television producer. Something inside of me told me to check the course for Oxford.

Hesitantly looking at the website and I realised that their course was perfect. It had modules in prose, screenwriting, poetry, nonfiction and playwriting. I knew I had to go! I applied, spending hours on my application when I wasn’t doing casting-calls for my film or studying for my finals. All the while I was feeling happy and content and I knew that I was the perfect candidate.

Then, three weeks after my application was sent off, they asked me to come for an interview. I went for the interview on the 1st of March 2016 and though I did well. I knew it wasn’t my best performance but I didn’t let any negative thoughts disturb my previous calm. When I woke up the next day, the 2nd of March 2016, I had an email waiting for me in my mailbox. Accepting me onto the course!

I was so happy, I cried tears of unrelenting joy and called all my relatives right away to let them know, including my dad. I am now studying at the university and not only am I incredibly grateful and thriving, I am also financially secure, as Oxford is only half an hour away from where I live!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rhonda and The Secret team, but most importantly thank you to the Universe! It truly is an abundant, loving life and reading the stories on this website is what has given me the confidence to act upon my intuition and never doubt myself!