2019: Reflecting on the decade that was
Hello, it’s the end of a decade, and what a decade it has been. From 2009 to 2019 there have been so many memories made that will be etched in my mind for a lifetime. I want to take this time to be grateful and share some of the memories with you.
2009 started with the beginning of my country service in teaching at Dalby. I remember arriving there and honestly thinking ‘holy crap what have I done?’ But admittedly the place grew on me as I lived out there. I saw cotton growing for the first time, I was educated about ‘farm life’ and I learned how to entertain myself in a town that when from boom to bust between Monday- Friday and Saturday and Sunday. This year my sister got married and I was a maid of honor for the first time ever, it was a beautiful wedding. I also went on my first cruise to the South Pacific Islands with my very inappropriate, beautiful friend Toni. I fell in love for the first time and realized that often people actually don’t need to hear you say the words to know how you feel because once you finally get them out they simply say ‘I already knew’ and that’s pretty anti-climatic haha.
2010 I stayed in Dalby and in all honesty not much changed, life was quite slow-paced. I kept doing what I had started in 2009 which was voluntarily writing fitness and habit programs for friends of all ages outside of teaching work. I learned how to do Muay Thai, I learned how to do 3D builds of entire houses (the kinds of stuff you do when you are bored in the bush), I ventured to nearby towns meeting new people and doing country things, things like experiencing what it’s like to see people sleeping in their utes at the Races (and they aren’t homeless), inner track circle parties in Roma, dead straight roads that lead to Charleville and its random solo palm tree on the highway and cracking a whip. The biggest learning curve came at the end of 2010 when I had stressed induced sickness from work and ended up unable to drive, work, cook food without being at risk to myself. My rock at the time was an absolute gem and despite us not being connected anymore I’ll always be grateful for how he was there for me every step of the way when my body didn’t work. In 2010 I also found my voice and I stepped out of being a child into a woman who was unafraid to speak about how she felt. I met with policymakers of Anna Bligh’s office using my voice to impact behavior management in Queensland public schools. At first, I didn’t know that I’d get an audience but I believed that Anna and her office had authenticity in their advertising campaigns (I’ll speak with any Queenslander any time) and I was prepared to use the slogan to be heard. This act I’m pleased to say still opens up the eyes of people around me to see that one person is never too small to make a difference, so I’m grateful for the opportunity she gave me to be heard.
In 2011 I decided to make the year become about being what I wanted. Sadly not too far in I experienced my first heartbreak but in this, I learned quite quickly what you say you want and what you need are two different things. I’ll always be grateful for that first love and that he was so quality- it’s probably why I still expect a man to open doors and treat me like a princess today. With itchy feet & an epic desire to broaden my horizons, I left for the UK just in time for Christmas.
2012 was all about starting my travel journey. I met one of my closest friends who are so close she feels like family. Now half a world apart my friend Steph and I still connect with each other and I’m super grateful for that. Several friends I made in 2012 in London I still have, the greatest growth for me personally though was seeing how I could throw myself into the deep end and find how to do things, from traveling to new places, navigating different banking systems, and trying not to throw out paper money because I thought it was rubbish in my pocket! Experiencing the Olympics and the lead up to a major city hosting one was something else also. I remember seeing Greenwich park transformed into an equestrian stadium, I also recall running into film sets in public and I learned one very important lesson: take an opportunity when you have it. In a city of millions, you rarely get an opportunity twice. I felt that was a very worthwhile lesson to learn and remember for life.
I returned to Australia for a couple of years and honestly felt pretty down and out because I felt like I failed (long story short I didn’t budget my first working holiday properly) at a plan I’d been thinking about since 2010. But I got stuck into a physical pursuit that taught me a lot about myself, training to climb Everest, and I taught special needs and behavior intervention. In 2014 when I had scheduled my Nepal trip it was canceled and that was really upsetting for me, again I felt lost especially after a lot of individual effort had gone in but I ended up on a different trajectory again helping others, one that leads me back to London and to the life, I lead now.
Some may know the rest of my story but I’m still sharing gratitude for acknowledgment. In 2015 I had a tumultuous year that was both painful and joyous. The pain was the most I’ve ever experienced but it oddly brought so many blessings (not that I would ever encourage anyone to experience pain to see if these positives come). I consciously decided in 2015 to do things that make me happy and I believed it, lived it, actioned it day in and day out and that choice made the world of difference to my confidence, to my life. I had never done it before because I always allowed myself to be caught back into the trap of someone else's opinions and it stopped here.
From 2015 onwards my relationships with friends became the most beneficial and the ones I had before simply got better. I started a business, I wrote books, I traveled till my tally reached 26 countries, I got super fit, I constantly updated my skills, I learned more about myself regularly and how I could be a better person. I studied money, entrepreneurship, business, leadership, self-love, coaching, personal development, cognitive behavior therapy, neurolinguistic programming- anything that I could get my hands on. I had an epic thirst for knowledge, something I didn’t really have other than when I was learning to hike Everest, prepare my pack, my body, etc. I met my extended family and my life expanded, I felt incredibly blessed (and still do).
In 2017 when I came back to Australia from England I knew what I was going to do but I wasn’t sure if Australia was home yet. London really had become my home too and as much as it was exorbitantly expensive I had become a Londoner who was used to her ‘stock in life’. I liked the busyness, the plethora of things to do on the weekends, the people from all different walks of life you could meet, and I wanted that again but I didn’t know where. Essentially the best part of 3 years I spent time dipping my toe in and searching for that place- would it be the Sunshine Coast, Sydney, or Brisbane, was it back in the UK? I honestly had no idea, it wasn’t until I fully dived into Sydney for a second time that I realized that I knew all along what I wanted. I wanted to do what I love in a city that’s bustling but not addicted to hustle, in a place where lifestyle happens, somewhere that encourages me to work and play, somewhere where cultures collide and your finances aren’t tested week in week out, somewhere that was down to earth, relaxed.
I came to Brisbane in October of 2019 on my own. Once I was here I made friends instantly, felt relaxed, and found it easier to be balanced from the get go. It just felt like ‘this is it’ and so for the first time ever I had a different kind of excitement. I was excited to stop traveling, stop moving, and settle somewhere. It honestly feels amazing. For other travelers reading this who may feel the same, I know you understand what I’m expressing, this desire to find the best parts of everything in one place. It’s super hard when you have traveled a lot but finding it is fabulous. I believe I idolized movement so much that I didn’t celebrate the beauty of being still.
As I look at 2020 I know there is a power year ahead. Similarly, the next decade will have more adventures. There will also be different adventures as Brisbane cements itself as home in 2020. I know there will also be some plot twists too but I know that I can handle them. For now, I want to celebrate the people that impacted me positively or negatively I appreciate you, my family, the nephews, and niece I met & adore, my rock solid friends, my life lessons, traveling to 26 countries, and being right here right now because I wouldn’t trade one single event or encounter in the past decade for anything.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have a fabulous celebration and that you enjoy the start of 2020!
Jules
