I was idly browsing google on a snowy day in December 2010 when I stumbled across the website for Catch 22. At first it seemed to me to be too good to be true - could there really be a way into journalism for young people that didn't require thousands of pounds? Surely not. But the case studies of previous trainees alongside the impressive array of media partners led me to believe in the authenticity of this venture. But what was the catch? Despite a thorough search of the site I could not find one. All that was apparently required was a hunger to become a successful journalist.
I was full of enthusiasm for my serendipitous find but couldn't ignore the feeling encroaching upon this happiness; would I be right for Catch? It would be difficult to say that a British, middle class Cambridge graduate has been in any way disadvantaged - but financially I was certainly not on a sure footing - as I was constantly reminded on my weekly trudge to that theatre of crushed dreams that was my local job centre.
The application form sat on my desk for a few weeks until I was certain I was going to be moving to London. In the post Christmas lull, as I tried to shake off the flu, I finally laid pen to paper. All of a sudden it seemed very difficult to articulate the reasons why I wanted to enter a career that I had been dreaming of since I was a child.
But a couple of days later the form was in the post, sent on it's way with a first class stamp and more than a bit of hope...
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