Before I left the JET Programme and Japan in July, I decided that I would spend my last few months making the most of my time with my students, colleagues, friends and family. I didn’t want to spend my time hunched over my desk – submitting job application after job application – when I knew that I had so little time left with the people I had grown to love in Joetsu.

However, there was one job that stood out to me, and that I couldn’t resist applying. It was the only job description I had seen that seemed to match so much of the interesting experience I had gained in Japan: creativity, event organisation, welfare, social media… Suffice it to say: I didn’t get the job (would I be writing this now if I had?) but it helped give me a little taste of the rejection that is sure to come when you start applying for jobs.

Why am I writing this now? Well, one of the few skills I didn’t possess when I applied for the job was experience with WordPress. I know that that isn’t what let me down, but having always wanted to try website building it seemed that getting turned down for the Dream Job was the ideal opportunity to turn rejection on its head.

susicastle.com started in a lovely little community centre café on Wednesday 5 September (internet was down at our house) and suffered a few mishaps in the last three days I’ve been building it, but it’s been great experience already and it’s very satisfying to start something you’ve always wanted to do. I highly recommend it!