I am under 30 years old and live in Brisbane with my boyfriend. I don't have ANY pets. This is not because I don't want one - I would love to have a dog; it's because I live in a unit and our current lifestyle means that we wouldn't be able to give a dog the life it deserves. We're not dodgy or anything it's just that we like the freedom to go away for holidays without having to put a dog into a home. So for now I'll have to make do with our lovely herb and patio vege garden! Oh, and the robotic cat that my boyfriend received as a birthday gift.
I was working as a lawyer in the corporate/commercial field until October 2008 For me, being a lawyer was technically and intellectually stimulating but emotionally and spiritually crippling. I have friends who are very happy lawyers and I also have friends who, like me, "got out". I tried hard for many years to make it work for me because it really is a nice safe option - employers generally give you lots of perks, generally pretty good salary, leave entitlements, super, all those great things that come with being an employee. My legal career path went top tier, mid tier, in-house, top tier, (random attempt at working in car rental sales for a bit), boutique firm, BUST! I certainly don't regret my experience - it is true what they say - a law degree will always come in handy. And during my time I made sure that I obtained experience in areas that would be useful to me at some time or another - dabbled in property development, business sales and acquisitions, leasing, a touch of estate planning, IP, corporate governance, not-for-profit, tax, that sort of stuff. One of the greatest skills I gained was learning how to deal with/talk with/work with a huge variety of people. Sometimes I leant this after the fact and probably got burnt, but hey, better late than never right? After I resigned (for the final time!) a lot of people said things like "But isn't it a waste?". I don't believe it was a waste at all. The only thing that I would have changed about my experience is that I wish I had possessed the confidence to know that it was simply a means to an end and not for the rest of my life. I think that would have saved me a lot of stress and unhappiness.
Back in my high school hey day I was a keen sportswoman. I filled my days with swimming, water-polo, cross-country and hockey. It was great - I never really got bored and could eat whatever I wanted! As often happens, my commitment to sport dwindled away the longer I was out of high school. Partying became the more desirable way to fill free time. But, as also often happens, I'm at the point where I am keen to get back to my former glory! Following my resignation in Oct 08 I really let myself go. Christmas and New Years were a lot of fun and I kind of felt like a uni student again. Worry free. Even up until last Wednesday which saw us having an impromptu party at our place followed by a big night out at the ol' Regatta. But now it is game on. (I promise this time!) I did my first triathlon in 2008 up at Noosa. While I was rather chuffed with myself for completing it AND actually managing to run almost the whole of the 10K, I was a bit angry with myself for my lack of preparation. My other motivating factor is that I see so many people out and about who I used to be so much fitter than and now they kick my butt. I don't like that. And obviously it would be nice to be able to fit my clothes again, but I figure that is a consequence of being fit.
I am very lucky in that I have an extremely supportive boyfriend. I have been blessed with the luxury of a bit of free time to figure out what I want to do in life. I've applied for a few part-time/casual jobs during my unemployment but without success. It's probably good really because it has helped push me towards my goal of being self-sufficient. It hasn't all been beers and skittles though. As soon as I was old enough to legally be employed (at the time, 14 3/4) I obtained a job at the local supermarket. And I've pretty much worked ever since then. So having no source of income has been quite scary and stressful. After priding myself on trying to be as independent as possible for most of my grown up years, being completely dependent on someone else for food, water and shelter took a bit of getting used to. Now I have coffee with the girls at 11 each day, go shopping and get my hair and nails done every Thursday. Mondays are now known as Martini Mondays and the most stressful thing I have to think about is what to ask the chef to cook for dinner. NOT!!! I comfort myself with the knowledge that I would do the same thing for my boyfriend and use the uncomfortable feeling as motivation.
So what do I want to do???? Well you'll just have to wait and see! As a chronic "ideas girl" and a serial stagnater, I'm not going to tell until I've done it.
I don't want to harp on like some embarrassing Oscar acceptance speech, but I do want to say that I have been lucky in life that I have lots of people that have loved me and supported me in many different ways. I am super grateful to all of them. A lot of the time I was too depressed or stressed out to appreciate them so I probably didn't acknowledge or appreciate the care at the time. But now I do! So thank you.