Monday the 20th February 2023 marked exactly one year since Kleo and I left New Zealand.
A year of adventure that I never expected. In the lead up to leaving I had no clue where I would go, what I would do, how long I would be gone for.
I told myself make it six months before deciding to come home, but by the end of the first month I was pretty certain I wouldn’t be going back anytime soon if I could help it. Now my travels have taken me to Australia where I’ve set up shop for a little while as I readjust and plan for the future but the desire to continue exploring is still there.
I spent Monday taking in some of the sights of Brisbane, a visit to the Museum of Brisbane and the City Hall Clock Tower, a climb on Story Bridge, a ride on the Wheel of Brisbane, and taking the time to enjoy the food and city.
It had been a little while since I’d had a proper adventure what with starting a new job and keeping a tight grip on finances. Now though possibilities are opening up and I can start seeing more of what Brisbane and this area has to offer.
The exploring also gave me time to reflect.
The one year anniversary of my departure from New Zealand brought forth memories of that day last year (thanks Instagram, Facebook, and Google).
I was reminded of the countless emotion I felt that day as I said goodbye to family and friends in Wellington, and six hours later saying goodbye to my home, to New Zealand.
There was the sadness of saying goodbye, the stress of travel plans, the fear of the impending unknown and conversely the excitement for the impending unknown.
And yet through that day there wasn’t a moment of regret. Had I thought in the days leading up to departure that it was crazy and I should stop? Maybe a few times, but on the day of actually leaving? I couldn’t imagine anything being a better choice.
The six years I spent living, studying, and working in Wellington were great and looking back at them now with a year of space from them, those years helped me grow and learn a lot. But I also know now that it was definitely time to move on. What would have happened if I’d stayed? I’m not sure but I don’t think I would be as happy or in love with life.
The year of travel has given me a lot of personal growth and I’m still discovering what this means as I look back at who I was before the journey.
It might be a little silly but I’ve used the 16 personalities test regularly over the last 5 years or so. retaking the test to see the shifts that I’ve gone through. And whilst my personality type has never changed (any guesses?) the percentages of traits has shifted, in some cases quite radically. I took it again at the start of this year and was pleased to see the progressions since mid 2021.
The biggest shift was the increase in how extraverted the test perceived me, and I’m not surprised. Traveling on your own puts you into one of two positions, either be quiet and keep very much to yourself or be open, friendly, and maybe a little loud.
This trait remains even now that I’m more fixed, meeting and talking to people randomly comes a little easier and I’ll keep working on it.
But the real value I find from this growth is the confidence in myself to share my ideas and my passions.
I have always been something of a story teller, it’s a main factor as to why I followed a path of acting and theatre, and I’ve always enjoyed writing. One thing I never really did though was share that writing with anyone. I have numerous little ideas of stories written all over the place, that I’m excited about but never confident enough to share.
Now though after this year of travel I found that confidence and perhaps the right story to start with.
If you are following me on Instagram (which you likely are as I don’t think anyone else reads this) then you will know that I am in the process of publishing a children’s book that is based on the adventure’s that Kleo and I had through Europe.
It’s a very exciting adventure in it’s own right, and I’m looking forward to sharing this with everyone and to see where it goes. The support I have received from people I have told over the last few months encouraged me to continue, and the support from friends on social media has been wonderful.
So it’s been a year, and like this post, it’s a little all over the place but full of good things. I wouldn’t change it for anything and will continue to chase the things in life that I enjoy because that is what life is all about.
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