I’d never considered doing Commerce because I didn’t do any business subjects in secondary school but for some reason it felt like the right decision. I also loved the idea of learning French and having the chance to live in France for a year!

When I filled out my CAO for the first time, I chose to study Arts. However, I didn’t enjoy all the essays and exams, so when choosing for the second time, I made sure to research a wide range of courses and to find one with practical elements to it.

Some of the professions which flourished along with their work during the long-lamented boom years were all but wiped out post-2008 and those working in such fields were often forced to turn to other lines of business or else leave the country altogether as the latest great wave of emigration took hold.

Sipping coffee on the Grand Vía, a spectator at the world renowned San Isidro bullfighting festival and absorbing Madrid’s rich cultural heritage — Matthew O’Hanlon’s landscape cut a very different view this time last year.