Life, Love and the Everyday

Melbourne is my second city, if I was living in a futuristic world and teleportation was a way of transport - I would come to Melbourne on my days off. But then I'd miss the building anticipation of a flight, the humming rumble of a plane enguine and the way my stomach flips when the wheels take off or land. As our plane ascended through the night sky in Brisban, I thought. "Melbourne, I'm coming for you." When our plane from Brisbane to Melbourne landed (somewhat joltingly) on Melbourne soil I whispered the word in my mind on a reverent sigh. "Melbourne."  I love this place of history, art and culture. It's like my Hogwarts and Hogsmeade all in one. There is so much to look at, graffiti art, mouth-watering food, store windows full of pretty things. A visit to Haigh's Chocolate Shop is always on my go-to list when I am here. I feel like I'm in a zoo. A zoo full of sky-scrapers, people and trams. My favourite suburbs so far in Melbourne are...

Last Monday I received great news. A publisher in the U.K wanted to publish a book I had submitted to them!  I was over the moon. Estatic. In my mind there was the boom of fire works, celebratory drumming and the Be Our Guest scene from Beauty & The Beast.  Yet this honour would come for a price of 4,400.53 in Australian dollars!  After trying to get published for so long I was ready to consider it. At the concerned urging of my family, I dug a little deeper.  Two days of research when my investigation yielded unfortunate findings about this publisher. Alot of yucky reviews that prickled my intuition that beneath the gloss and the pretty Royal Mail stamp which sealed my publishing offer, there was something greedy about this company. I went one step further and sought the advice of A.S.A and an industry professional in editing and writing.  I received cautionary emails back about the risk writers run with contributory contracts that require...

I like myself a lot more these days, in fact - I love myself.                             I love myself in a way that's like 'Wow, this is me. I like it.'  I have more strength to push on and have confidence. It's amazing what happens when you chase people who chase you, who want to genuinely be in your life and YOU decide that you are worth more, YOU deserve more. Six months ago I would have thought. "I'm good but I'm not that good." I did not value what I had to offer, I let people treat me how they wanted and that is on me. However, in saying that - when people who say they love you; then make you feel like an outsider, you realise that they are taking up sitting space in your life. The people who you can trust to be there are the ones who make you smile just by calling, they make you laugh at how funny life can be and they are there for you when you've had a shit day. Those are the people, ...

Friendship is a subject that is really close to my heart. Last year was challenging for me, although the wedding was successful the preparation for it was grating on my emotional and mental health. During this time I learnt that trying to sustain healthy relationships with toxic people was like fire-twirling while walking along a tight-rope. Do-able but a constant strain on time and energy better suited elsewhere. I was afraid of making new friends. Self conscious and scared of making the same mistakes but also being a target of relational aggression that had taken its toll on my self-esteem and confidence.  I was afraid of opening my heart and sharing my experiences with others with the exception of a select few, and it was those few people that taught me so much about what true friendship is. 1) A true friend is someone who tells you the truth  Sometimes we don't want to hear about where we are going wrong but honesty given in a kind, respectful way doesn't make...

Sometimes uncertainty weighs on my mind like a dark cloud, but one thing I do know for certain is that uncertain times and seasons do not last. If I keep my chin up and work hard, that dark cloud will pass over, I do feel overwhelmed sometimes, in those moments I wish I knew more than what I know. Staying positive in the face of the unknown sometimes can be wearing on the heart, but I know that life presents these opportunities to build character and growth. Over time I have learnt that when a cloud of uncertainty passes over, it's important to hold onto the things in life that are certain, to not lose sight of what is in our power. Seasons of plenty and poor ebb and flow, there will be days of joy and sorrow. There may be crying today and happiness tomorrow. Sometimes even on a day of sadness you can find a small pocket of happiness, something to be grateful for. There are four things that I can always have in my power: 1) My attitude. I may have a bad moment but I do every...

On Saturday morning I received a call from *Victoria asking me what my plans were for the day.  I looked around at the mess that I had committed myself to cleaning up before a party took place at Alan's and my home for a friend. "Cleaning. What about you?" I asked cheerfully. "I'm heading to the Flower Market and was wondering if you wanted to join me." *Victoria replied.  It took me a nano-second to make up my mind. "What time do you need me ready?" I asked her.  "About half an hour?" She answered and that sealed the deal. Rather than sorting the clutter I had spread about on the dining room table, rather than wash the mountain of dishes in the sink and vaccum the floor I would be going to the flower market with my sister.  I embraced the distraction happily, the chores would still be there when I got home anyway.  I dressed pretty and comfortably in a pair of black trousers and a grey long-sleeved shirt with vibrant-coloured...

Inspired by 'The Courage to Be Creative" by Doreen Virtue, I finally set out to do what I had been procrastinating for eight months. I made the decision to quit my Childcare Diploma course to begin my journey towards a career in writing. I marked the occasion with a meal at a new Taiwanese restaurant near where I live, I ordered a beef brisket noodle soup with an amazing peach iced tea which was deliciously salivating. While consuming this meal, I wrote an email to my new trainer from the course stating the reason why I was dropping out.  There was no self-loathing or guilt, just the peace that comes with making the right decision.  (Then again, I had wrestled with the doubt of this choice last year while writing The Truth 1&2) For eight months I inwardly weighed the pro's against the cons, I told myself not to quit the course for all the practical reasons under the sun and also the personal.  'I'm not a quitter.' 'There ar...