So I guess this journey needs a bit of background. I'm always one for keeping a travel diary and generally will always do so whenever I travel, mainly overseas. The difference is I don't generally do so and post it in public so this is something new for me. So it's important to try and express meaning to what I'm exactly trying to achieve with this journey and why it's got the title 'Operation Reset'.

Throughout this year my life has changed dramatically. It's been a roller coaster 6 months which has had many many ups and some heavy heavy downs and throughout this period I have experienced a fairly severe bout of depression. Depression is an illness that I have always had and was first diagnosed when I was 18, however throughout my adult years I have learned to mask it and live with it at a level that it doesn't take over my everyday life. That changed however over the course of the last six months and I've found myself at a point in my life where there is very little for me to continue on with and something needs to be done in order for me to get back to a point of managing my illness and being able to leave a somewhat normal life.

So this is where the idea of 'Operation Reset' comes about. It's a chance for me to get away and explore not only a variety of different destinations, but myself as well. I'm not one to talk about 'journeys' and 'finding myself' ideas but give the extent of events this year I've had to reflect on so much and attempt to change a large amount of myself and my attitude.

Now when it comes to myself and who I am, I'm hoping that you'll be able to find out a bit more about me as I travel along and you read my journey along the way. But given this is the very beginning I suppose a bit of background won't hurt right?

Well...hi...my name is Ben and I'm 29 and from Hobart, Tasmania in Australia (the small island under the big one if you're lost and not sure how close it is to Sydney). I've lived in Hobart my entire life, in fact I've lived within the same 15 minute radius my entire 29 years in only 3 different houses. This is a large part of why I need to be able to get away and explore more because my lifelong desire to leave Tasmania and make a career and life elsewhere finally has an opportunity to happen now given previously mentioned life changes. Professionally I'm a journalist for a newspaper and have spent the majority of my career as a radio host in Hobart. I also host several podcasts and hold an extremely strong passion for radio and broadcast media, as well as journalism in general. I'm hoping that during my journey I'll be at the right mindset eventually to explore career opportunities and expand my professional life as well as my personal one.

Outside of that basic information I could easily detail my love of sport, music, movies, TV and a variety of other interests but I need to treat this blog as almost somewhat of a TV series and not give everything away on the first episode. Because I need to keep you coming back. At least in some capacity anyway. Of course that's easier said than done, but we'll soon see how that goes.

So I guess that brings a bit more of a background to why I'm starting this journey and a little bit about me to give you a sense of who I am. Along the way I will post as much as I can to give a sense of how the journey is going and of course where it all takes me. I won't tend to hold back for the most part either so I should warn you that my posts may sometimes be very full on and contain a variety of themes that are hard to read and potentially offend. I'll be sticking to my personality and attempting to express that as best as I can, and that may be difficult for some to read and follow as I move forward in my life.

But right now, this post will come to a close. Currently I'm sitting on the plane as it takes me north from Hobart to Melbourne and ponder what is to come from this point forward. I'm not going to deny I'm not not emotional right now because at this point there are so many unknowns as to what will happen and where it will all take me. I'm an organised guy, I'm not a spontaneous guy so this is all new to me. Knowing I literally don't have a return date booked or any ticket booked from this point is scary. As is even being on this plane at this point because knowing why I was meant to be on a plane next and not being able to be on that for that reason is still very raw and hard to stomach. But I'm hoping at the end of the day this is simply a gradual step forward to a better place and more importantly a better Ben.

He is in me somewhere. I just have to find him again.