the works of Hunter S Thompson I decided on being a journalist, she just said ??no drugs??. I realised something important around this time, seeing other richer kids from my school whose parents got them work experience, and went on all these great adventure holidays to beef up their university applications chatting about their chances of heading to Oxbridge. I realised that everything I would get in life would be down to sheer hard graft with the support of my family and the inspiration from this poor community I grew up in. So I set about a solid programme of work experience at a local paper and hospital radio while studying, setting up the school paper and radio station and working at my part time job. I took a gap year spent working, saving and getting more work experience with TV production companies, the BBC, local papers all gained by pestering them continuously until they said yes. I did journalism at uni, and being an expert at being poor, was the richest student around. Have you any idea how many meals you can make with a tin of beans? I made contacts right around the country while some of the others sat in the pub and the day after my last exam moved to England to sub-edit for the Press Association. When I got my big girl job working for the government having worked so hard, having no money, looking at all the Oxbridge ??fast streamers?? surrounding me, I felt