Australia

It is now official. I am moving to Australia June 21st, 2011.








First I’ll clear up the most common questions:

1) Are you going for work? No
2) Do you know anyone there? Not yet
3) Have you ever been? Nope
4) So why are you going? Why Not?


Awhile ago I came across a quote that has become my email sign off and the guiding principle in my life. “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw. Having fully embraced my adventurous side, I want to live in the place where that mentality seems to thrive. Not necessarily following the prescribed life course but joining those people who make their own path. Mine is about creating the life I want, which is one of calculated risk, of movement, of joy, of connections, and of adventure. Why not try something new? In this case the new thing is literally moving across the world with two suitcases and a little tenacity.

I’ve never been to Australia but I’ve wanted to for a long time. I’ve kept journals since I could write. The past few months I’ve reread each one and scanned them onto my computer. When I was 16 I had a journal with questions for each day. One nondescript day it asked “If you could live anywhere where would you live?” My answer was “I want to live in an international city, like NYC. Or Australia” Years later I forgot I wrote that, but the desire never left. Australia was a brief thought for graduate school that never materialized. Now, it’s actually happening.

At this point in my life I have the ability to get up and go. I don’t have a mortgage, a husband or kids, or anything else tying me to a specific location. I got a working holiday visa which I have to use before I’m 30.

I am aware that this can be a bad idea. I could hate it, I could not get a full time position, things could go wrong… BUT… things could go so right. I could love it, I could get the job that I really want, it could be the best decision of my life. There is potential for something amazing to happen which I’d never see if I play it safe. No matter what the result, I will approach everything else in my life knowing that I didn’t back down from a risk when I wanted something.

It will be challenging. But very few things in life are worth it without struggle. I’ve loved the time that I’ve been in NYC. It is exactly where I should have been for the past three and a half years. I am so grateful for the experiences and friends I’ve made here. I’m leaving, not a different person, but more fully myself. Ready for the next chapter. And with an open couch for visitors as soon as I get a couch.

Stuff

A particular situation in my life has caused me to take inventory of everything I own. And I mean every little thing, from makeup to candles, pictures to books, prom dresses to ‘I’m not even sure what this is?’ items on a shelf. My conclusion: I have a lot of stuff.

To avoid the mental illness of a hoarder in the future, it’s time for a major spring cleaning undertaking. Looking at each item as objectively as possible and deciding if I would want to take it if I moved. As I've grown up from my childhood room at my parents house, to a dorm room, to an apartment of my own, my stuff has expanded to fill the space much like water in a jar. I don't use most of these things on a regular basis and often can't remember the motivation for purchasing it in the first place.

There are a lot of articles about the impact on clutter on your waking and sleeping life. I’m not going as hard core as this guy who only lives with just 15 possessions. There isn’t a magic number for me, rather a feeling that I’ve moved down to the essentials. Interestingly, most of the things that I want to keep are the things from my travels or gifts from people that I care about. It is fun (fun might be too strong a word- I really hate spring cleaning) to look at what matters.

What items can you not live without?