10:30pm tonight (or there abouts) marks one year since I landed in Australia. One year since I finished 9 months of travel through eastern Europe. And what a year it has been!
In that year I
- Started a new job as a server at The Lion Richlands and became a Supervisor about 4 months later
- Took a trip home to New Zealand after more than a year away, “surprise mum”
- Started exploring Queensland
- Got my drivers license, finally
- Made new friends and spent time with family
- Progressed on the publishing of our book “Kleo the Kereru meets Cohen the Kiwi”; we’re getting close
A very full year and I don’t think I’d have done anything differently.
There has also been a lot of time for thinking and introspection. Those first couple weeks in Australia felt odd; knowing that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon was quite the change of pace. Slowly however, that feeling settled and it became nice to have stability. Or as much stability as one can have when you’re searching for a job in order to save money to travel again.
Christmas and New Years came and went, time spent with family, and exploring the city of Brisbane. I did some dog and chicken sitting (seperate occasions). Upskilling, and job hunting that eventually presented what has been an exceptioanlly enjoyable and rewarding job.
The year flew by.
Building new connections and friendships at work, gaining new skills (I still don’t enjoy carrying a full drinks tray), and being excited to come to work everyday; a feeling I hadn’t necessarily had in a while.
I got to spend plenty of time with family, in particular my 2 little cousins both still learning all about the world around them.
A trip home to New Zealand brought forth many mixed feelings but it was nice to reconnect with home.
Engaging with a publisher and working with good friends Kari and Jodi, we made exciting progress on the book. Getting a little closer every day to holding a real copy in our hands.
And while it has been a fun and exciting year some days aren’t all sunshine (and I’m not just talking about Brisbane prospensity for an afternoon Thunderstorm).
As this year, both 2023 and in Australia, have neared thier end I have found myself thinking more often about What’s next? What am I doing? Where am I going? What do I want?
I don’t really know the answers. There are certainly some; Publish the book, save for travel. But I don’t think these are necessarily the answers I’m seeking at the moment. These questions I think are looking both broader and closer, if that makes sense.
- 2 years ago I had decided to leave New Zealand and travel the world because I was losing a sense of what I wanted
- 3 years ago I was looking forward to another year as Production Manager at Taki Rua
- 5 years ago I was graduating Toi Whakaari excited to start work in the arts and grow my skills as an arts manager
I could go back a few more years and find even more changes and differences. If you were to ask Cohen at each of these points in time what was next or what the future looked like the answer would be very different each time.
What I find interesting though is that the further back you ask the more sure I would have been of my answers. Granted they wouldn’t necessarily have been correct but I would have been filled with conviction of acheiving that future.
Right now my preidictions are broad goals with no real timeline, Cohen in 2014 at the end of high school was pretty darn sure he was going to Toi Whakarri to become an actor and on from there.
What does this mean for me today? I’m not too sure. Although I think I’ve come to realise that trying to be sure about what ones future holds is a pointless endeavour. The best times of the last two years have been those moments that I’ve done what makes me happy and brings enjoyment rather than what is “right”.
Do I still try and do what is “right”? Sure do, sometimes its scary to chase after happiness and joy; you’re breaking the mold, diverting from expectations, taking a risk. But I can always try again later and maybe practicing with small things can help make the bigger things a little bit easier.
So, a year in Australia coming to a close.
I am thankful for all the people that have been alongside me. My family back home in New Zealand, and in Australia; with a special thanks to the generosity of my Aunt and Uncle without which I would not have a home or a drivers license.
Thankful for the people I have met while travelling last year who I stay connected to and remind me that there is a whole world out there yet to explore.
For those new friends that I have made here in Australia, I’m excited to share this time with you.
I don’t know exactly what is next but I do know what would bring happiness into my days so I guess I’ll try and do that.
Your Kiwi in Aus,
Cohen
P.S.
Kleo would like to say that she is very much enjoying life in Brisbane. Regular trips out and about alongside being able to nest at home has provided a very enjoyable year for her.
Although like me she is looking forward to seeing some more of the world sometime soon.
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