On Friday, 31 July 2026, I had one of those moments that makes you stop and take stock of your life.

I was invited to serve as an External Panellist for the PGDip students at AFDA.

And honestly?

It was humbling.

Not because I didn’t believe I belonged in that room.

But because, somewhere between listening to the students, engaging with their work and contributing my perspective, I had this very quiet realisation:

I’ve come a long way.

There was a time when I was the person sitting on the other side of the table.

The one learning.

The one asking questions.

The one looking to people with more experience for guidance, perspective and validation.

And then, suddenly, I was sitting on the other side.

Being asked to assess.

To challenge.

To question.

To contribute.

To bring my own experience and expertise into the room.

And that feeling stayed with me.

I have grown into an expert.

There.

I said it.

And perhaps that is one of the most uncomfortable things about growth.

We spend so much time working towards becoming better that we sometimes forget to pause and acknowledge when we’ve actually become.

We keep chasing the next qualification.

The next role.

The next achievement.

The next milestone.

The next version of ourselves.

Until someone gives us an opportunity that makes us realise:

Wait… I actually know some things.

Not everything.

Definitely not.

I’m still learning. I hope I always will be.

But I have accumulated something over the years that cannot be taught in a textbook alone.

Experience.

I’ve sat in the rooms.

I’ve made the mistakes.

I’ve celebrated the wins.

I’ve navigated difficult conversations.

I’ve led teams.

I’ve built strategies.

I’ve watched industries change.

I’ve reinvented myself.

I’ve learned.

I’ve unlearned.

I’ve started again.

And somewhere along the way, without even noticing it, experience became expertise.

That realisation was probably the most humbling part of Friday.

Because becoming an expert doesn’t mean you stop learning.

If anything, it makes you more aware of how much there still is to learn.

But it does mean that you can now sit at the table and contribute something meaningful to the conversation.

And perhaps that is what this chapter of my life is really asking me to do.

Own what I know.

Own the years.

Own the lessons.

Own the experience.

And, importantly, share it.

Because if I’ve learned anything from my career, it’s that knowledge becomes even more valuable when you use it to help someone else find their way.

So, to the students I had the privilege of engaging with at AFDA: thank you.

You probably don’t realise it, but you gave me something too.

You gave me a moment to pause and recognise my own growth.

And as I continue this journey towards 50, I’m realising that perhaps the biggest milestone isn’t the number itself.

It’s being able to look back and say:

“Look how far I’ve come.”

This is #Project50.

A year of discovering, learning, reflecting, becoming and, perhaps most importantly, finally giving myself permission to acknowledge the woman I’ve already become.

The woman who now sometimes finds herself on the other side of the table.

And that feels pretty special.