Thirty. Broke. Unemployed. Single... it's not quite what I pictured... but man was I loving life!
It was a big step, but after three years of flightlessly travelling towards Spain, I decided to take a break and jumped on a plane headed back to where I'd started - back to Australia - with only a large smelly bear to my name.
Fortunately I knew exactly where I was headed
And even more fortunatelyer, Port Stephens is one of the most beautifulest places in the world!
While almost the whole staff and the uniform had changed, it was good to return to life as an outdoor instructor... even if they were a bit of a crazy group.
I became the proud haver of my own bedroom for the first time in years
(Since this picture was taken I have even saved up enough money to buy sheets and pillows)
Having a home base I got to make friends who I'd know for more than just a few days...
Friends who didn't mind spending a night in a cave
Or going camping
And friends are important too...
Sometimes you need people around to stop you from making bad life decisions
It gets better too,
In the real world there's life jackets
And if you do get shipwrecked at sea you don't have to swim for your life or drift for 50 days, there's rescue boats
The real world has paved roads
And beautiful walkways
And when you have a home, your friends of old can come visit you for a change.
Even if you do force them to go free camping without a toilet.
The real world has toilets.
And while it's an adjustment staying in one place and having to be places at set times and having responsibilities... it's good to be out of your comfort zone!
It's good to be challenged to find new exciting local things to lick.
It's good to have to find new ways to challenge yourself.
It's good to be able to find your favouritest local hangouts and return to them
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| Mount Yacabba |
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| Sea Rocks |
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| Nelson Bay |
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| Aldi |
And despite schedules and times and responsibilities, you can still find trees to hang your hammock in...
You can still watch the sunrise/ sunset
You can still lick, live and be awesome.
No, even with all it's predators and routines, you can still enjoy the real world; in fact it might even be good for you!
