That moment when you realise – you are exactly where you want to be in life. That point when you pinch yourself because you are right where you only dreamed of being a few years ago. That feeling is incredible. If you know you know. If you don’t, make some goals, and dont let anything in your path stop those goals from being achieved.
It’s been seven years since I first left the UK, since I first moved out of home and decided the other side of the world was a good place to start. Looking back, I was a pretty determined 20 year old. I hated UK life. Being stuck in the hamster wheel of a 9-5, living for the weekend and praying work couldn’t get anymore horrendous than the day before. (Shout out to customer service workers who take abuse on the daily). It was however, safe and secure.
Thank god, some fiery ambition existed inside me, to give up everything I had and knew, for something more. I spoke to Dad earlier this year about how things have changed, and he always says, that from the outside I just seem really lucky, everything seems to go my way or fall into place. Life looks perfect; but thats not the case at all. I’ve worked bloomin’ hard to get to this point, and I’m chuffed to say it’s paid off. There’s been some incredibly tough times, like when I really did hit rock bottom and loose my drivers licence for a year (you can find out more here if you’re curious).
Yet, I wouldn’t change anything at all. I have zero regrets on anything in life, because it’s brought me to where I am right now. Which currently, is in Queenstown on the eve of Christmas eve. I’m beyond grateful to be able to work remotely from my laptop, which has allowed me to come down to Queenstown whilst Rory is in NZ, and spend Christmas with him. Another pinch me moment.
I wanted to write a bit of a recap of 2022, because I can’t believe another year has gone and I know how important it is to document the good times, as a reminder for when it feels like the bad times will never end.
I quite literally started this year, turning up at a friends house at 7am on New Years day to drag her out for a stand up paddle mission to Split Apple Rock in the Abel Tasman. Poor Emma had been up since 3am.. but she soldiered on through and we had breakfast on the beach, even giving mum and dad a quick call to say happy new year.
I’m pretty sure I’ve covered majority of the top of the South Islands coastline on the paddle board, spending every weekend morning heading out for a paddle and making the most of life over here. My favourite spot, being cable bay. The coastline is stunning, and each time I discover something new, like this cave we realised you could paddle through.
We even managed to paddle the entire way around Pepin Island, despite having no intention of doing so. If i’m honest, we were too busy yakking and enjoying the weather to stop so we just kept going. 🤣
Then, came the North Island roady. I needed to take a week off work (because I literally hadn’t taken a whole week off since I started) and after a quick message to a friend, we were off a month later. It was my first experience of van life and I fell in love three times – firstly with van life, secondly with the Mount, and thirdly with Raglan. My face says it all on the 9th shot below..
This of course, sparked the love of my latest hobby – surfing. From the outside, surfing looks like such a majestic, peaceful sport. I can tell you now, it absolutely is not. It’s hands-down the hardest sport I have every tried. It’s essentially attempting to balance on a flat piece of foam, whilst being thrown around in a washing machine. Whilst trying to remember to breath. However, the moment you manage to get up and surf the wave is such an adrenaline rush, you’ll be hooked from pure addiction.
Then, it got to June, three years since I’d seen my family. Grandad is doing well at 94 but I knew I needed to get back, and I didn’t want to regret leaving it another year. Taking a few weeks off work to go back for a holiday was just not a feasible option. So through a lot of planning and organising, google calendar creating and time zone conversion headaches; I managed to return home for two months, continuing to work full time remotely. Whilst it sounds luxurious, it was very hard. Not only does working through jet lag make you want to curl up in a ball, but trying to fit in seeing everyone alongside working full time is HARD. I either worked 12pm – 9.30pm, or I did a split shift of 7.30am – 10.30am & 3pm – 9.30pm to allow a cross over period for meeting times in NZ.
However, it was incredible to see family again, I had missed them so much. So much had changed and I had a lot to catch up on. I managed to fit in some touristy bits too like a trip to London & Edinburgh, but honestly what I enjoyed the most was the family BBQ’s and laughter i’d missed out on over the years.
Thankfully I managed to capture a lot of it on the Gopro, so I can relive it whenever I want to. I took so much footage I had to split it into two parts, part one: Scotland, and part two: England. You can check out the videos on youtube here:
Let’s not forget, the challenge that took place in May and never really stopped. I was absolutely burning myself out, and you could tell this by the amount I was posting on Instagram. I’d always have my friends ask me how I managed to do so much, but I didn’t realise I was. Giving up social media for a month helped me to realise not only the addiction, but the fact that I was wasting so much time and not really gaining from it. Time is precious, and I still have plenty of ambition to improve my creative skills in all aspects – photography. videography. writing, graphic design, website design/coding, digital marketing.. the list goes on. By giving up social media it has allowed me to take that time back, and spend it on something worthwhile.
This was a hard decision to make because I love content creation and sharing what I’m up to, but when I discovered emails were officially the most successful marketing method (more than social media!) I had a lightbulb moment. I could practice and learn email marketing, whilst still providing the content I love to share. This welcomed the birth of Digital Analogue – a more personal, streamlined approach to social media, once a fortnight. I’ve had an awesome response on it, people love to hear the updates and take the time to read it. (Thanks everyone!) ☺️
The past few months since I got back from the UK have gone so quick. Rory and Sam came back to NZ with me, and I’ve loved every second they’ve been around. It’s been so good to bring them into my life over here, showing them my hometown, local coffee joints (Raglan Roast of course 😏) and meeting my friends. They’re now loving life in Queenstown, working behind the bar & making the most of backpacker life. I’m secretly praying they decide to stay, although I know it’s not as easy to get a visa. Which brings me to my final milestone of the year – I managed to get my resident visa. Visa worries are not fun, and to have the security of residency is such a huge relief.
Each Christmas is completely different, I love not knowing where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing. It was funny to notice that this year, I was doing the same as a number of kiwis – travelling to visit family for the Christmas period. It just so happens that my family are currently in Queenstown, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it, than in the Adrenaline capital of the world. 😎
Well, that’s me done for the year – tired but blessed, ready for a nap in preparation for a lack of sleep and too much alcohol consumption over the next few days 🥴
Let’s see what 2023 brings shall we?
Harriet 📷