Terenia Taras
MALLORCA forces you to re-evaluate who you are and what you want in life.
After moving here at the start of the COVID crisis I was forced to put my professional life on hold.
After running a successful PR company in the UK and having over 20 years’ experience working in the media, I along with everyone else followed the stringent restrictions, which for most professions has been devastating!
Since then, aside from writing my regular column, I’ve done some work for the British press, mainly news stories related to COVID and its impact on the tourism industry.
My original plan here was to continue with the PR business, but having had nearly a year off from it, I discovered it’s not something I really want to do anymore.
In England there’s not much else to do but work your ass off and since before I left school I’ve grafted.
My first job, at the age of 15 was in an ice-cream van, which put me off ice-cream for life after eating so much of it.
I went on to do a variety of jobs including silver-service waitressing and bar work. I’ve worked in retail, did a short stint as a croupier and trained as a financial adviser for a firm in London. One Christmas I was even a Santa’s helper in a Grotto. Fun? Not!
It was only when I was in my early 20s after travelling that I got my shiz together and trained as a journalist on a local newspaper.
From there my career took me to the News of the World and the Daily Mail in London working at the sharp-end of journalism. Since then, I’ve written for the Times, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sun, Express, Mail on Sunday and many magazines.
Whether it’s midlife contemplation, I’m not going to use the word crisis as I refuse to be a stereotype. But since I moved to Mallorca and during the pandemic I’ve had a lot of time to think!
Did I ever really enjoy the past six years since I started my PR business, or was it simply the best option at the time? Working from home and being a single mother, it was a good fit and being self-employed is generally more lucrative.
During that time I did miss working as a journalist though – especially the excitement of being involved in the news agenda and having to drop everything at a minute’s notice to go cover a news story.
But do I still want to be a journalist, or am I just looking back with my shades on?
I don’t think I’m that same person anymore. If given a choice between hanging out in Magaluf covering the shenanigans of our British tourists for the Sun newspaper, or not, I think I’d prefer not.
I’ve done it, and one thing for sure is, there’s not much new in news really. You do end up covering the same stories, just the details change.
Be it train crashes, kidnapped kids, some celebrity or high-profile person sleeping with someone they shouldn’t, and personally for me the worst of all, reality TV celeb stories.
I’m clearly missing something about reality TV because I just think it’s the most dumbed-down TV ever created. Even COVID, which has been a fresh hell for all of us including the media, is now over saturated.
So back to Mallorca and what I should do long term? I’ve yet to find my niche here, but whatever I end up doing it won’t be about money or ego. I’m at a point where perhaps for the first time in my life it will simply be because it makes me happy.
You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @tereniataras
