Here I am pondering the year ahead whilst sipping an iced lemon cordial, thankyou Bickfords. 2021, what a year. A year of reflection, hardship, and courage. For me, I’ve had a lot to think about over the past few years. Stepping away from the career path I studied for, finally turning my freelancing into a business, and buying my first house (that is really a forever home). Risk after risk, after risk. In the midst of all these changes not only in career but life too.. I have come to realise we may as well do whatever makes us happy as for all we know life only comes around once.

We all have a journey, a story, and many that have molded us into the person we are today. And it isn’t about how “pretty” our life is… it’s the little things. You know those walks down the road with your family, the stillness of an early morning, the cozying up on the couch with the living teddy bears that are our pets, and the moment when it’s raining but it’s sunny. Not to forget the times you laugh so hard you can’t breathe and then you can’t see because hey you just got happy tears! It really is the simplest of things in life that bring joy, and sometimes they are our most treasured memories.

I’ve been told before, “why haven’t you written a book” and “you should write a book”. Well, I don’t know about a book yet, but stepping into 2022 I thought well if I’m not writing a book why not a blog! So, welcome. I’m looking forward to sharing all things business, productivity, mindset, and slow living.

To add a little extra nuts and seeds, here are 3 facts about me you probably didn’t know…

• The longest time I’ve held my breath underwater is 3 minutes and 15 seconds. I did this at a freediving training and havn’t tried timing myself since. However, when I was in school I used to swim underwater, breaststroke style, up and down a 25m pool (50m) with one breath, all the time. Before you ask, I don’t know why I would do it.
  
• I’m very well practised at necropsies. What is a necropsy? Think of it as an autopsy but for animals! Which animals? Many mammals, mostly marine. To name a few… humpback whales, pygmy sperm whales, blue whales, pygmy dwarf whales, pilot whales, southern right whales, dolphins, fur seals, leopard seals, sea lions, and the list goes on. If you’re into terrestrial mammals, them too… including echidnas, wallabies, possums, koalas, kangaroos, bilbies, dingoes, bats, flying foxes, and, well more. How and why you may be thinking?! I am a marine biologist and long-term casual/volunteer at the South Australian Museum. Oh and skeletal preparations really are a thing.
  
• I’m a gamer. I’ve been playing computer games since MS-DOS, and if you don’t know what that is, you sure did miss out on some great 90s pixellated games (e.g. Jill of the Jungle, Hocus Pocus, Cosmos Cosmic Adventure, Theme Hospital..)! These days you will find me playing Elder Scrolls Online, The Sims 4, Final Fantasy XIV and Stardew Valley. I also am a DNDer (Dungeons & Dragons).
  

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little bit of insight. Do feel free to share a fact with me about YOU in the comments!

P.S. If you would like to read a little more about me, my journey and where I grew up, click here.