A Blog For My Thoughts...

Since pennies don't exist in Australia!

“Sometimes I’ll start a sentence, and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.” - Michael Scott, The Office

Steve Carrell’s iconic character on the long running American television show is the inspiration for my blog today. I wanted to write but didn’t have one specific thing to put on the page. In fact, this blog has sat in my drafts for weeks, like a pile of clean laundry yet to be folded and put away.

So here I go, starting a blog with no idea where it will go.

I’ve just passed my two year anniversary since moving to Australia. 730 days in this beautiful country that I now call home. I’ve written about my ups-and-downs here so far; about all the times I’ve felt lost and confused and homesick. Those feelings still find ways to creep back into my life, but I’ve learned to hold them at the same time as I also feel happy, fulfilled, and like I belong here.

I’ve experienced quite a bit of change over the last few months. For example, in the middle of August, I found out I had to vacate my apartment in three weeks. I had just come back from a holiday in Europe and then a ski trip to Melbourne and the last thing I expected or wanted was to leave my beautiful apartment. I won’t bore you with the details, but long story short, two weeks later I had moved into a new apartment, two minutes walk from the beach.

Just as I got evicted, I started a new job, an internship at the New South Wales (NSW) Jewish Board of Deputies. It was intimidating at first, but I leaned in as fully and openly as I could. I said yes to anything that was thrown my way so I could learn, even if I wasn’t sure I could do it. Three months later, I’ve got a project off the ground that I was brought on for. I am proud of myself for persevering through road blocks, and all the unknowns.

My social life has bloomed into a world I have never experienced before. I am running into people I know everywhere, from the gym to the supermarket, to the train! I’ve now started bringing friends together, gaining the nickname of the “glue.” For someone who has struggled with friendships for most of my life, it’s hard to put into words how grateful it makes me to have genuine, intentional, and mature relationships.

These days, I am leaning into all the good in my life, whether it’s a win at work or a new social event, and trying to remind myself I am capable and deserving.

Through it all, I’ve learned that I can do hard things. In fact, I want to do hard things. That is precisely what makes us better humans. I know that whatever my future holds, I will be okay because I love the person I have become.

Cheers to that.