Thank You's / Optimism and Why I Love Blogging

Aloha amigo's, I have news... and this time it's good! It's been a while since I've been able to say that. As many of my regular readers know, things have been pretty dismal lately what with having to be crammed back into reality after over a month of traveling Southeast Asia, returning to work and to an icy cold winter, having my engagement end, losing everything and having my Grandmother unexpectedly pass away. 

It literally didn't rain, it poured! In the process my flat got flooded (literally....) so yeah...... I haven't been in the best frame of mind recently BUT I've finally decided to put the past behind me. 

Grow from it. 

Learn from it.

Move on to a bigger, better, brighter future. 

You know, I have always been the type to have a good sense of humor. I find light in every situation. Granted, lately my sense of humor has been a delightfully confusing mixture of bitterness and funniness... with things like this having me laughing my ass off: 

(only because it is so scarily accurate)

As hilarious as I find that (really, I do), the arrival of Spring on the 1st September came the arrival of more optimism and hope than I have ever had before.

My news is that for the first time in a while, I caught myself smiling. 

Really smiling. 

It wasn't put on. It wasn't fake. It wasn't because someone was trying to make me laugh - I was just smiling.  

New fringe and all! :)

Why?

Because life is good! 

Life is beautiful.

The sun is out, the birds are chirping... I'm just feeling great. No one else is making me feel great, I'm making me feel great - and that's what's amazing. They say that you need to love yourself and be happy within yourself before someone else can love you, before you can share your happiness... and that smile that's been creeping up on my face over this past week is proving to me that I am finally happy again. I am working hard - keeping focused, planning new travels and adventures. I'm enjoying time with friends. Seriously, Lucien, Kyle, Chelsea, Rob, Chanel, Rene, Bernie, Claire, Ashley, Lydon, Jess, Jessie, Rhain, Sandy, Jean-Marie, Tara and all of you guys have been absolutely mind-blowing to me over this tough time. I am so overwhelmed and blessed to have so many amazing friends and family supporting me and making sure I don't lose sight of my goals, my happiness. You've all wiped away my tears, cuddled me close, made me laugh, spoiled me rotten and gotten me through this. I could not be more thankful to each and every one of you. 

Thank you.

To my blogging friends scattered all over the world, your comments and emails and just pure love has been incredible to me. I hope you all know just how special you are and I am so, so happy that I 'met' you all. 

Blogging is amazing isn't it????

I was really hurt and really upset for the last two months and I think that showed on my blog - this old tatty site that pretty much has my entire life documented over the past 5 / 6 years. Honestly, this blog has seen me through so so much. If I look back at the very first posts from 2010, it told my story of becoming a woman. Leaving those God awful teenage years behind. Getting my first job after finishing my studies. My blog holds the story of the first time I fell in love, the first time my heart was broken. It shows my development in surfing and my passion and drive to stand up on that board on a wave!


It has my story of the first time I lived with a partner. It has the story of how that ended. It gives me the funniest reminders of the time I hooked up with an actual famous rock-star and didn't even know it (we're still friends today, hey Jason!).
My blog has so many delicious recipes that I can come to find if I ever want to cook one of my favorite meals for a friend (they're obviously really privileged if I do haha!).
My blog has videos of me doing really random crap or just talking away like a rambling idiot but it's something I'll look back on at 80 and smile. It has every travel experience documented (besides Bali, Thailand and Singapore because I haven't got around to that yet).
It has my endless rambles of wanderlust and wanting freedom and fun in my life. It will contain so many more beautiful stories of travel and experience - because I will live my life to the absolute fullest and enjoy every single moment of it.

My blog is my life. It's really that simple.

People ask me why I love blogging so much - that is why. I can look back on my life and smile, laugh, cry and be proud whenever I want to. I can share my experiences with the world! It is the most expressing, liberating thing and I couldn't imagine my life without it.
Now, my blog is growing with me - taking me through a new story that had a tremendous amount of pain involved. A story about a love that was way too fast, way too intense. An engagement that ended and the shocking nastiness that came after that... but now that story is coming into fruition and it's good. It's the part where I take back my life, gain my strength and move on.

It's happy. It's me!

Another chapter is drawing to a close - and I'm excited for the fresh new page of endless possibilities.