"The years I spent at Bangor were transformative, and the catalyst for further transformation. The various nebulous elements of what made me me solidified into a whole that was incredibly different to what I was before.
As dramatic as it sounds, that is the power of independence, chosen family, and a nurturing environment that is only accepting of all your weirdness and nuance. Prior to university, my academic life was punctuated by a deep unhappiness, born from all the usual cliches of high school and finding myself against a constant inability to fit in.
The joy of university, and especially Bangor university, is that diversity is a defining element. People from all over the world are brought together through a love of learning and a love for Bangor itself. You are not forced into a place defined solely by locality, where fitting in becomes a constant struggle, and a struggle that everyone engages in.
Looking back now, I think it started to ‘click’ when I was a few weeks into my first year, doing laundry and drinking a cup of tea while waiting for the dryer to finish. Alone. Just looking at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. It was peace, but also – for the first time, I believe – the sense of being on the right path. From there, the momentum built, and my confidence grew. My friendship group solidified in place around me – a strong, support system. Bangor became a sort of sanctuary, an almost timeless bubble where I could be myself and follow my passions without judgement. Every single one of my lecturers, professors and tutors were welcoming and constantly drove me to reach my potential. The lectures, even 9am lectures, were engaging and who can say anything but praise about PJ Hall and Main Arts?
One area I wasn’t expecting to play such a huge role in my current life was….Public speaking. Oh, how I hated the thought of doing it. How I learned to love it through weekly, mandatory (ahhhhh!) impromptu and prepared speaking seminars called POPs (Psychology Oral Presentation Skills) And now, I am invited to speak (publicly, in front of people, ahhhhh!) all over the country. The only reason I can do that is because of those sessions I eventually grew to love. Even first thing in the morning at 9am after a very late night. Looking back, I had a lot of 9am starts.
After graduation, my life’s path went on a wild series of unknowable turns. I eventually landed a job in a magazine publishing house, and then worked my way up through the editorial team to become Head of Editorial and Senior Editor. I’ve overseen communications at a construction company and currently work freelance as a creative. I’m a writer. I’m an author. I’m an artist. I’m a speaker. I’m a consultant. I’m multifaceted, I’m restless. I love to learn. That hunger for information was born in Bangor’s halls.
I published my first book, The Wyrd Less Woven, in 2024, and then my second, Valkyrjur: Servant or Master?, in December of the same year. I had been working on Valkyrjur for several years prior, chasing various rabbit holes until I felt they were near exhausted. I had given talks on the topic, and slowly refined it into something I was – and am – incredibly proud of. I’ve been signed to do the sequel with my publishing house, and it’s looking to be even larger than Valkyrjur. The Wild Unleashed: The Other in Norse Myth aims to delve into the aspects of the other – Jotunn, Risar, Troll, Seidworker etc – and how they influenced the cultural zeitgeist and religious practices of the early Medieval North.
I also spend a lot of my time volunteering, especially in the interfaith and religious space. I’m on the Committee and Board of Trustees of the Pagan Federation, Committee of Asatru UK, and Board of Trustees of PaganAid. I believe strongly in building safe, inclusive spaces in faith groups, and work to help other faiths incorporate such spaces in their institutions. I have been interviewed by the BBC on the back of the latest census results (which indicated that LGBTQIA+ individuals were more likely to be part of a minority religion), and otherwise consult on how to make organisations more inclusive of religious minorities, and to promote the inclusiveness of my personal path. I’ve spoken at all sorts of events on these elements, as well as my areas of interest (Valkyries/death deities in the Nordic sphere/ the ‘other’ in the Viking Age/Pre-Christian religious practices in the Medieval North).
Now we are in 2025, over ten years since I graduated. I’m looking at doing my Masters in Medieval History, destination unknown. Hilariously, while I think doing a history degree (my original plan growing up) may have been more helpful for the current leg of my journey, I wouldn’t be where I am now without doing the degree I did. It’s oddly serendipitous, in things coming back around to relevancy. Older interests reigniting when the time is right.
Bangor is still a part of me. I miss it every day. I look back at it with only fondness, remembering who I was before and who I am today."
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