I live in Dublin, Ireland, where I've lived for most of my life. When I was a much smaller, I lived in the UK and Northern Ireland.
When I finished school, I studied Education in Trinity College, Dublin, and taught primary (elementary) school children before working in the community with at-risk teenagers who had dropped out of formal education. I've also worked with young people with physical disabilities, and I've lectured in third-level/university. I've completed degrees in disability management, business adminstration, procurement, and statistics.
I have lots of interests. I love travelling to see other countries, and have travelled through Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North & South America. For one whole year, I travelled around the world, living out of a backpack, and was fortunate to visit amazing countries and meet many interesting people.
I've hiked in a great many countries that I've visited. I've been lucky enough to trek to the Incan city of Macchu Pichu in Peru and through the foothills of the Anna Purna mountain range in Nepal. I've crossed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand and climbed Table Mountain in South Africa. I've also hiked in Argentina and the isolated country of Burma.
I like to swim, run, and workout. I ran the Dublin City Marathon twice. That's 26 miles, or 42 kms! It was really tough but I enjoyed the experience immensely and am very proud for having completed it.
I play classical flute and traditional Irish flute. Ireland has a rich cultural heritage and music plays a large part of Irish life. I have a piano, which I love, but I'm not able to play it very well: I just have fun with it.
I enjoy cooking and dining out with friends. My favourite cuisine is Middle Eastern, followed closely by Italian or Mediterranean food.
Books, reading and writing have been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I've loved writing since I was small. I wrote my first poems when I was six, and stapled them into a book with a cover that I illustrated myself. I wrote about my friends, my dog, and my family. I still have this first book. I also still have my creative writing copies from when I was 12- and 13 years-old. It’s funny to read them now.
Lots of young people ask me about how to make their writing better. If this is something that interests you, check out my webpage of Writing Tips.
©Jane Mitchell. Website updated 2022.