I have been in Australia officially one year now. That means I left England over a year and a half ago. Time has flown and so much has changed. Thought it was time for a little bit of a reflect.

When I left England I was terrified, scared if I was making the right decision or not but with the great friends I had they assured me it was what I was meant to do and they were right. I had to go out and explore the world and I was destined to do it alone but that part was ok for me. The thing I knew deep down is once I had left I wouldn't be coming home again.

Thailand was an amazing experience, challenging, hard and fulfilling. I still think about the friends I made and the brilliant experiences I had in the middle of nowhere for 7 months. I learnt I am not a teacher, I love Thailand but teaching is not my destiny so I left. I will be back though Thailand I can promise you, you have cased a spell on me and I will return.

Australia has challenged me in so many different ways. I remember a conversation I had with Jade in Cairns one day saying this was not what I expected it to be. I don't know why, maybe it was Cairns, the job that I had and the fact that I was living in a hostel but I didn't like it, I told her then that I may not last the year in Australia before I go elsewhere. A year on and I am still here.

Someone once told me that I should right down my goals tape them on my mirror and repeat them to myself often and they would come true. I don't believe any of this. My goal is to be happy, wherever that takes me. If I was following goals I had set myself I certainly wouldn't be in the middle of the Australian outback working in Construction but I also may not be happy. I believe that if you follow those goals you are closing your self off from opportunities that may have come your way but you were too focused on the goals to notice what is in front of you.

As most of my friends get married, have babies and buy houses I am still travelling the world figuring it all out. Sometimes that is hard and other times it is amazing. I realise that when I have children one day (in the distant future) that I will have some amazing stories to tell them.

I miss my family a lot but I am lucky that they still consider me a part of their daily lives and tell me every detail. My friends have moved on and are all doing so well. I miss them. I have gained and lost some amazing friends along the way. Who knows where I will end up but when I am done I think I will have a friend in every country J

FYI - Thie picture is Cloncurry main High Street!!!!