After being born at home on my mum's bed (turns out I was just far too excited to come into the world), I grew up in a very small country town in WA called Boyup Brook. It would be far too cliche to say I had a tough childhood, but without going into too much detail let's just say it wasn't always rainbows and butterflies. (I never normally share details from my childhood with anyone because I want people to see me for who I am now, not how I grew up, but I do think it's important to include details from my past to show other people that it's possible to overcome challenges and make a better life for yourself.) I might share more on that later, but for now, I'll move on.
We moved to Esperance, WA when I was 12 and I attended school there until half-way through Year 10 when I decided that there were far more exciting things to be doing than going to school. For about 18 months leading up to this point I became very selfish and would always argue with mum (and anyone else that didn't agree with me).
After leaving school I spent a couple of months in Perth living with a friend (who is now one of my best). We would go to underage raves in between working two part-time jobs to pay for my new 'exciting life' living away from home. This didn't last long and I was soon back at home rebuilding my relationship with mum, who since then I've been able to share anything with and have felt closer than ever, she's my best friend. I like to think that the couple of months away was exactly what we needed to get passed all the teenage drama and become closer than ever before. And I know mum was more than happy that I was finally starting to grow up and be nicer to her and everyone else. We laugh about it now, but I can only imagine how hard it was for her at the time.
I spent 12 months in Karratha, WA when I was 17 living with my sister. I really enjoyed getting to know her better as she had gone away to boarding school when I was younger. This was a roller coaster experience with lots of highs and lows. I attended school while I was there and did a course with a group of aboriginal students that involved finishing Year 11 and 12 and completing a Cert II in Travel and Tourism while working part-time at Harvey World Travel.
After the year was up I moved back to Esperance and then spent the next 18 months living between Esperance and Perth working mainly in bars and partying as much as possible. I spent all my time with people that loved to party, people that now, I know nothing about. I started partying every weekend and then most weeknights too. At the time I didn't see anything wrong with it, I was young and carefree. I was still a very selfish person and just did whatever I wanted to have a good time, and never made much time for family. Or if I did, I'd be so tired from a big night they wouldn't get much value out of the time with me anyway. I know now how much it was hurting my mum to see me like this, but at the time, I had no idea (more on that later).
When I was 19 I decided to move to NZ to get to know my family over there a bit better. I'd never really had much to do with them until then and was excited about getting to know them. I was also excited about seeing NZ as I'd only been there once before about 2 years earlier for my grandad's 80th birthday. So off I went, with a suitcase and a plastic tub full of belongings, leaving the rest of my things at mum's. It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to stay in NZ once I arrived and decided to get a full time job. (I worked at a law firm on a contract for a few months before moving to a permanent position at another firm where I stayed for almost 4 years. This was by far the most responsible job I'd ever had, and certainly my longest job to date.) I was lucky enough to be able to live in a sleep-out next door to my aunty and uncle's house and have my meals with them and my two cousins. Even then I was too young (not necessarily in age, but certainly in my way of thinking) to really acknowledge and appreciate the hospitality my family were showing me by letting me live with them and the impact I would've been having on their lives. I spent 3 nights a week living with my grandparents in Christchurch as my aunty and uncle live out in Church Bay about a 40 minute drive away. This would've been a huge change for them and at the time I didn't think much of it, but now that I'm older I know the sacrifice they were making of their own time and space to have me there. I'd like to talk more about this later, but for now I'll keep going.
After being in NZ for 12 months I met Scotty. We could've never known when we first met that we'd fall madly in love and live happily ever after. We started spending most nights together and I moved into a share house with people I met online in Christchurch so that I could be in town full time, and finally giving my family their lives back. I didn't stay there long as the people I lived with were a bit odd and I never felt very welcome. I moved in to Scotty's parents' house for a few months before we moved into our own flat, where we stayed for about 2.5 years before moving to Perth.
On 4 September 2010 I experienced my first earthquake. Thankfully there were no lives lost and it was only buildings and infrastructure that needed to be fixed, but it was a very scary experience nonetheless. It was this day that I decided to stop drinking. I'd had my fair share of partying over the years and it was time to stop and get my life in order. I'll go into further detail about this another day.
On 2 October 2010 Scotty took me away hiking and proposed. I was officially the happiest girl alive. We got married one year later on 9 October 2011. (I'll talk more about our romantic love affair at a later date)!
On 22 February 2011 there was another big earthquake. This time we were nowhere near as lucky as the last and 185 people were killed. Thankfully for us it was nobody we knew directly, but this didn't make it any easier. This is something else I'd like to talk more about at a later date as this made a huge impact on future decisions we have made.
In March 2011 we moved to Perth and lived with my sister for a little while before moving into our own place in Kelmscott. I got a full time job at a law firm in Leederville and Scotty did a lot of temping jobs before starting at an outside of school hours childcare centre. He then went on to work at his current job at an aboriginal sporting college in the boarding house where he has been for 18 months now. After 6 months we moved to Rivervale and were there for 6 months before moving into our current home at the boarding house that we now both work at. I was at the law firm in Leederville for about 20 months before the big change in job, house and lifestyle, and that is where my next post will begin soon.
We moved to Esperance, WA when I was 12 and I attended school there until half-way through Year 10 when I decided that there were far more exciting things to be doing than going to school. For about 18 months leading up to this point I became very selfish and would always argue with mum (and anyone else that didn't agree with me).
After leaving school I spent a couple of months in Perth living with a friend (who is now one of my best). We would go to underage raves in between working two part-time jobs to pay for my new 'exciting life' living away from home. This didn't last long and I was soon back at home rebuilding my relationship with mum, who since then I've been able to share anything with and have felt closer than ever, she's my best friend. I like to think that the couple of months away was exactly what we needed to get passed all the teenage drama and become closer than ever before. And I know mum was more than happy that I was finally starting to grow up and be nicer to her and everyone else. We laugh about it now, but I can only imagine how hard it was for her at the time.
I spent 12 months in Karratha, WA when I was 17 living with my sister. I really enjoyed getting to know her better as she had gone away to boarding school when I was younger. This was a roller coaster experience with lots of highs and lows. I attended school while I was there and did a course with a group of aboriginal students that involved finishing Year 11 and 12 and completing a Cert II in Travel and Tourism while working part-time at Harvey World Travel.
After the year was up I moved back to Esperance and then spent the next 18 months living between Esperance and Perth working mainly in bars and partying as much as possible. I spent all my time with people that loved to party, people that now, I know nothing about. I started partying every weekend and then most weeknights too. At the time I didn't see anything wrong with it, I was young and carefree. I was still a very selfish person and just did whatever I wanted to have a good time, and never made much time for family. Or if I did, I'd be so tired from a big night they wouldn't get much value out of the time with me anyway. I know now how much it was hurting my mum to see me like this, but at the time, I had no idea (more on that later).
When I was 19 I decided to move to NZ to get to know my family over there a bit better. I'd never really had much to do with them until then and was excited about getting to know them. I was also excited about seeing NZ as I'd only been there once before about 2 years earlier for my grandad's 80th birthday. So off I went, with a suitcase and a plastic tub full of belongings, leaving the rest of my things at mum's. It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to stay in NZ once I arrived and decided to get a full time job. (I worked at a law firm on a contract for a few months before moving to a permanent position at another firm where I stayed for almost 4 years. This was by far the most responsible job I'd ever had, and certainly my longest job to date.) I was lucky enough to be able to live in a sleep-out next door to my aunty and uncle's house and have my meals with them and my two cousins. Even then I was too young (not necessarily in age, but certainly in my way of thinking) to really acknowledge and appreciate the hospitality my family were showing me by letting me live with them and the impact I would've been having on their lives. I spent 3 nights a week living with my grandparents in Christchurch as my aunty and uncle live out in Church Bay about a 40 minute drive away. This would've been a huge change for them and at the time I didn't think much of it, but now that I'm older I know the sacrifice they were making of their own time and space to have me there. I'd like to talk more about this later, but for now I'll keep going.
After being in NZ for 12 months I met Scotty. We could've never known when we first met that we'd fall madly in love and live happily ever after. We started spending most nights together and I moved into a share house with people I met online in Christchurch so that I could be in town full time, and finally giving my family their lives back. I didn't stay there long as the people I lived with were a bit odd and I never felt very welcome. I moved in to Scotty's parents' house for a few months before we moved into our own flat, where we stayed for about 2.5 years before moving to Perth.
On 4 September 2010 I experienced my first earthquake. Thankfully there were no lives lost and it was only buildings and infrastructure that needed to be fixed, but it was a very scary experience nonetheless. It was this day that I decided to stop drinking. I'd had my fair share of partying over the years and it was time to stop and get my life in order. I'll go into further detail about this another day.
On 2 October 2010 Scotty took me away hiking and proposed. I was officially the happiest girl alive. We got married one year later on 9 October 2011. (I'll talk more about our romantic love affair at a later date)!
On 22 February 2011 there was another big earthquake. This time we were nowhere near as lucky as the last and 185 people were killed. Thankfully for us it was nobody we knew directly, but this didn't make it any easier. This is something else I'd like to talk more about at a later date as this made a huge impact on future decisions we have made.
In March 2011 we moved to Perth and lived with my sister for a little while before moving into our own place in Kelmscott. I got a full time job at a law firm in Leederville and Scotty did a lot of temping jobs before starting at an outside of school hours childcare centre. He then went on to work at his current job at an aboriginal sporting college in the boarding house where he has been for 18 months now. After 6 months we moved to Rivervale and were there for 6 months before moving into our current home at the boarding house that we now both work at. I was at the law firm in Leederville for about 20 months before the big change in job, house and lifestyle, and that is where my next post will begin soon.
I believe that all of my experiences to date have taught me invaluable lessons and make me the person I am today. Without them, I wouldn't be me!
Everyone has highs and lows throughout their lives but it's how we deal with what life throws at us that helps to define us. Learning what the right choices are is not always easy, but with the support and opinion of others we can strive to make the right decisions and encourage others to do the same. Surrounding yourself with positive people will help to change your own mindset to start thinking more positively, and will create a happier and healthier environment for everyone to live in.
No comments:
Post a Comment