What My Master’s Journey Taught Me

What My Master’s Journey Taught Me

A reflection on my Master’s graduation

Yesterday, as I stood there wearing my gown, holding the folder with my diploma, and looking at the backdrop filled with the logos of the University of West London and the Cyprus Business School, I felt something I rarely allow myself to fully feel: pride.

Not the loud kind.
Not the type that shouts.
But the quiet, grounded type, the one that comes after you’ve walked through fire and somehow kept moving forward.

Because this past year was not easy.
This was, without exaggeration, one of the hardest periods of my life.

Balancing two full-time worlds

Working full-time while completing a Master’s degree in just one academic year is not the kind of decision you make lightly.
Especially not when you’re in a new job.
Especially not when the field you’re studying, HR, is deeply interconnected with your purpose and professional identity.

I remember countless nights when the exhaustion felt physical.
Lectures after work… assignments after midnight… study on weekends… deadlines that came faster than I could breathe.

But even at the peak of tiredness, I never once thought of giving up.

Why?

Because after every lesson, I felt myself grow.
Every lecture unlocked something new inside me.
Every topic made me understand the world of HR more deeply.
My enthusiasm wasn’t a spark; it was fuel.
And it kept me going.

A promise to myself

This degree wasn’t “just a degree.”
It was a promise I made to myself:

That I can do it.
That I deserve this growth.
That I am capable of building the future I envision.

It was also a commitment to learn everything I could about a field I genuinely love, the human side of business, culture, people development, ethics, and the impact we leave behind through our work.

One topic that shaped me deeply was CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).
It resonated with my core: giving back to society, doing things sincerely, living and leading with intention.
People feel genuineness. They feel that when something is done from a good place.

That topic reminded me of who I am and who I want to be, both as a professional and as a human being.

What this journey taught me

This year taught me two very powerful lessons:

1. We can achieve anything if we push ourselves with purpose.

We are capable of more than we think, and often, it’s only through discomfort that we meet our true abilities.

2. But we are not machines.

We cannot sprint for a whole year without consequences.
I learned this the hard way. When the degree ended, my energy collapsed.
I needed time to regain my strength, to breathe again, to reconnect with life.

Working in the “reds” might look impressive, but it is not sustainable.
If we collapse, we cannot help ourselves… or anyone else.

This balance, this boundary, this awareness, it is part of the achievement too.

Notes, organization, and the small things that held me together

One thing that kept me grounded throughout it all was simple: my notes.

Organizing them, rewriting them, relying on them, it became a ritual.
A way to create structure when everything felt chaotic.
A way to stay in control when time never seemed enough.

Sometimes the smallest habits become the biggest support.

I didn’t walk this path alone

If there is one person who carried me silently through this journey, it’s my wife.

There were days I felt like I was stealing time from us… evenings swallowed by assignments, weekends sacrificed for study.
But she saw my passion.
She knew how important this was for me.
And she supported me, patiently, lovingly, unconditionally.

I wouldn’t have done it without her.

My tutors also played a huge role, supportive, professional, and genuinely invested in seeing us succeed.
They didn’t just teach; they guided.

And for that, I am truly grateful.

Standing there, holding the diploma…

Yesterday, the overwhelming feeling wasn’t relief; that was the moment I submitted my dissertation.

It was gratitude.
And pride.

Pride that at 43, I proved to myself that learning never stops.
That growth has no age.
That it is never too late to chase knowledge or reinvent yourself.

Gratitude that I had the support, the strength, and the courage to walk this path to the end.

What you could probably take from my journey

Believe in yourself.
Not in a cliché way, but in the deep, honest, quiet way that carries you through storms.

There will be days you want to give up.
There will be days you collapse from exhaustion.
And that’s okay.

- Break down if you need to.
- Rest.
- Catch your breath.

Then bounce back, in your time, in your way.

No one knows your strength better than you do.
No one knows what you carry inside.

Believe in yourself first.
Everything else will follow.

Spyridon
Growing with intention, one reflection at a time.