2023 in Review: Getting promoted, buying a house, quitting to freelance, and more

I thought last year was a big year, but this year seems to have topped it. It’s like a ride I didn’t prepare to be on, but it’s happening anyway.

In 2022, I got married, became British, and got a full-time job at J.P. Morgan.

Come 2023, I've surpassed my own expectations with achievements that sometimes feel surreal to me.

If you’re new here, I moved from Vietnam to London at 17. Soon after that, my family business went bankrupt and I got used to taking care of myself. I was on a visa for 10 years including 5 years in school and 5 years in corporate London. I’ve had careers in financial services and online media as a content creator, writer, and producer.

Now that I’m no longer restricted by a visa, I’m exploring a new territory. That said, the efforts of the past years have not been in vain. I’m not starting over again from scratch. The investments I've made in myself in big and small ways are now paying off.

Success might look easy and even out of nowhere, but it's the culmination of a decade's worth of dedication and unwavering perseverance.

1. Getting promoted at J.P. Morgan.

*Me moderating an event at J.P. Morgan London office*

I joined J.P. Morgan in Marketing last year and, within about 6 months, I was put up for a promotion. It was confirmed at the beginning of this year. J.P. Morgan has a yearly promotion cycle and, usually, you have to work there for at least one year before being considered. But I suppose exceptions can always be made. I’m grateful for the managers who went out of their way to make it happen for me.

It was my first time being in a role that came naturally to me, which was a contrast to my time at my previous company. I was no longer a fish being asked to climb a tree. I could finally swim freely, and I just knew what to do. I was good at my job and found it easy to get better at it.

Even though on paper I’d never worked in Marketing before, my experiences, both in and outside of my corporate jobs, had provided me with skills that were directly applicable to the role at J.P. Morgan. It was clear I wasn’t a junior person and deserved the promotion.

Outside this achievement, I also did many things that I was proud of there, like leading teams, being placed in the top 3 of a marketing hackathon, facilitating a live event, and so on. I frequently stretched myself and made connections that were both beneficial for my career and genuine. And so, all in all, my time there was net positive.

Looking back, I’m grateful for it!

2. Becoming a homeowner in London.

In 2022, I got married to the man of my dreams. We’d been thinking about buying a home together for a while and were casually looking for it. Earlier this year, by a series of unexpected events, we stumbled upon our dream home: A spacious Edwardian house with a well-loved garden in West London.

The moment we walked inside the house, we immediately fell in love with it. We just knew.

It’s truly amazing to be with someone you're completely in sync with like that.

We put in an offer in January and, by March, the house was ours. Full transparency—I could have never become a homeowner in London at this age without my husband. Though, my having a corporate job and income did help us.

Having a permanent home makes me feel a lot more rooted. In my home with my husband, my sense of belongingness is 100%—I can be fully myself. Out there, I accept that my sense of belongingness fluctuates depending on various factors, and that’s fine.

3. Getting bylines in my goal publications and making it to their most popular lists.

In 2021, I pivoted from writing for Medium to pitching to paying publications. Business Insider and BBC Worklife were on my list of goals. For a long time, I didn’t know how to get commissioned by these websites since I’d never written about business before. But I figured it out anyway.

I still remember my first story for Business Insider—it was about my friend’s thriving business. From then on, I understood better what they were looking for.

My latest article for them this year somehow made it to their most popular list at one point, and the interviewee even reached out to me after the article went live.

She said, “Thank you so much for the wonderful article. It's reached so many people. I was hesitant at first, but I'm so glad that other people can be motivated by my story. I appreciate you reaching out to me and doing such a great job with this article.” Her message made me so happy! That’s exactly why I do it.

I’m not in it for the money. I don’t see myself making meaningful income from journalism. What I love is being able to give a platform to inspiring voices and spot stories that others might not know about.

For BBC Worklife, I’d been pitching to them for almost 2 years and got rejected repeatedly. But I persisted. Finally, this year, I got a yes. Since then, I’ve worked with them a few times. One of my articles made it to their most popular list, which was a lovely surprise!

@ellennguyenofficial Ahhhhh! Ever since I started publishing online, I've had a few publication goals, and BBC Worklife was one of them. The moment I had my permanent residency in the UK and could freelance in 2021, I immediately pitched to them. Rejection. Rejection again. Rejection again, and again. For 2 years, I didn't land a single pitch! 2 years! During this time, I kept writing. I wrote frequently for other outlets such as Business Insider, Refinery29, News UK, and so on. I reached out to other writers for coaching. Then in May, this year, I pitched again to BBC Worklife. Giving up is not really my style. And they accepted it! I literally shrieked and jumped around the house when I saw my article live on the BBC.com homepage. I thought, ok, I had my byline, I'm happy now lol Then the BBC editor reached out to work with me again. And again. I've just finished my 3rd article for them and they even increased their rate without me asking. And today, I saw my article ranked 2nd on the most popular list. I know this means nothing to most people, but given my journey coming from Vietnam learning to write in my own time, it was a real joy to me. Life is sweet when you set and achieve goals that are personal and meaningful to you, not goals borrowed from others. There might be obstacles in my way, but if I really want something, I'll go for it, and I'll take whatever I can to reach as far as possible for me. And remember sometimes failure is just delayed success. Keep going! #freelancewriting #freelancewriter #journalist #byline #writeroftiktok #success #inspiration #nevergiveup #lifeintheuk ♬ bad idea right? - Olivia Rodrigo

4. Quitting my full-time job to freelance at another team at J.P. Morgan as a video producer.

*Me in my garden (Photo by Khoa Do Photography)*

This one wasn’t on my bingo card this year—Yet, it’s been my favourite career move ever!

When I was still in Marketing, I got to work with the video brand team and I absolutely loved it. I was so excited when I visited their film studio, seeing all the professional equipment. When the creative director found out I did everything myself from writing, scripting, editing, and animating, we had a chat and it led to this freelance opportunity.

It’s been almost 2 months since I started with them, and I really enjoy it. I currently work from home, which saves me almost 1.5 hours of commute. It’s worked out perfectly.

I’m proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone yet again and making the jump even when nothing was certain. Right now, I don’t know fully what next year will bring, and I’m embracing it!

5. Growing my Instagram account to over 11K followers.

In mid-June, I started to be serious about growing my social media accounts. I’ve been posting every single day since then and have grown to over 11K followers. It’s not a big number, but the progress makes me very happy.

For a long time, I struggled to build a platform like this and, finally, it happened. My engagement is pretty high and the community is so lovely. You can read about my journey on the blog.

So far, I haven’t agreed to any partnerships yet, even though I’ve been asked to do a few. Social media is not my main income stream right now, so I want to be cautious about what I do with it, mostly because my content is rather personal. So we’ll see! I’m more interested in growing my audiences and building digital products.

6. Making a meaningful impact on others.

I still can't believe my luck in doing something I love that positively impacts so many others. It's always staggering to hear people say how my writing and stories have changed their lives, leaving me speechless in the best way imaginable.

For instance, when I came back to Vietnam last week, I attended an event for Vietnamese people who’d lived abroad. As I was looking for a place to sit, Van (left in the photo) came up to me and seemed overjoyed to see me. She said she’d messaged me on Instagram before and read my writing for years. I recognised her from our online conversation. We chatted and hugged—I didn’t expect it at all but I was genuinely happy to meet her in person. Before she left, she gave me the sweetest handwritten note. It really moved me.

It’s such a special feeling to meet people who feel connected to my writing because my writing is, well, me. I’ve been putting my words out there even when there wasn’t an Instagram following or any following at all, yet there were people whom those words reached and touched. And then we get to meet in person. It’s all real! How crazy is that?

I’m forever grateful that I started my English blog 11 years ago when I moved to London and have continued to write and share my experiences, insights, and lessons. I definitely have benefited from others’ sharing—I’m just doing my part now.

7. Taking care of my mum and my family.

*My mum and me in Vietnam earlier in December*

Earlier this month, I went back to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with my husband. We flew my mum from my hometown to stay with us for half of our trip. We booked her a flight in business class and a nice room at a 5-star hotel. She was pleased about it, and I’m proud that I could give her a special experience that she said, without us, she would never have had in her lifetime.

For this particular trip, my husband did help pay for it. Nevertheless, I’ve been taking care of my mum for the past few years. Before I got married, I did send big chunks home to help her pay off her debts and have been giving her part of my monthly paycheck and anything she needs.

It’s very important because, by doing this, I help free her from any dependencies on my toxic, estranged father. He abandoned our family a couple of years ago and stopped supporting my mum, who quit her job to raise 3 children and help grow his business decades ago. My dad is now gone. I have not spoken to him for years. He hurt us in unimaginable ways, but as we got through it, my mum, my sisters, and I became closer and I’m grateful for it.

Closing words

2023 has flown by. It’s been quite a whirlwind. At the beginning of the year when I got that promotion, I didn’t think I’d be at home freelancing for J.P. Morgan by the end of the year. I consider myself very lucky to be in this position. To be honest, this year didn’t come without its challenges, but I did arrive on the other side better.

One of the “achievements” I didn’t list here was that I finished therapy in late summer. I’ve had 3 different therapists since I started in 2019, and I finally found one I genuinely connected with. I felt seen talking to her. And so, I was ready to end it. I’m much more mentally equipped now.

In 2024, I hope to be bolder and think bigger. I want to set and achieve financial goals. After all, I’ll be turning 30 next year—it’ll be quite a milestone. I’m excited!