INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE
This blog was initially created to be devoted to the fight against bullying. I have featured many of my own comments/stories on it, then introduced some guest bloggers, whether they had been bullied or not. These were followed by interviews on new entertainment talent from around the world - but now I have decided to devote it completely to purely inspirational people - whether they have been bullied or suffered through other forms of adversity - or not. And I invite such inspirational people, world wide, to contact me if they are interested in being interviewed and published for this. I am kick-starting with a story about moi and this will be followed by an interview with an amazing single grandmother from my own childhood home town - she is an award nominee and winner and is even changing laws.
But first - it's me!
It IS all About Me ... Isn't it?
My life has changed hugely - turned around completely, in the last decade or so. I could just cut to the chase and say:
I came
I saw
I'm still conquering
But it might be considered that there is a bit more to me than that. I'll let you decide.
The years immediately following the end of school life are a bit hazy but I do know I was still in Adelaide, working in various positions - ranging from being a nanny/nurse in an orphanage that catered mainly to Indigenous children - to office work to behind-the-scenes in banking, which is the position I was holding when I began being transferred interstate. This began with Canberra - hated the work but loved my personal life there. I lived in one of the ANU's residential colleges while there and absolutely loved it. Finally returned to Adelaide before being sent to Melbourne to train a new member of staff there. After that, I knew that I did not wish to return to Adelaide - so resigned and foreign shores beckoned instead. I did know that I would never return to Adelaide to live, whatever happened. And I never did.
Other more recent 'positions' have included direct marketing in various areas, teaching, supermarket distribution and commercial cleaning - and probably more if I really want to think about it. I don't.
I was in the UK and Europe for eleven months and had a ball - until I ran out of money and had to make a reverse charge call home. I finally returned to Australia via Perth - and here I stayed. Eleven months later I met my husband to be and yes, we are still together some thirty two years later with two beautiful adult daughters, the eldest of whom is now engaged to an equally lovely bloke and the youngest is in a long term relationship with her own bloke, who is also lovely.
I did, at one stage, work for one of the subsidiary companies to Woodside for a couple of years prior to motherhood. Once my eldest arrived I became a FT SAHM - and promptly became bored stiff. There were (and still are) times when I really do wonder about myself - more than anyone else, I mean. All I used to hear from other mums (particularly new ones) was that they just didn't have time for anything apart from their families! Ok, so why was I - also a new mum - getting downright bored?? What was I doing wrong - or right?? To this day that remains a mystery - my eldest is now thirty and both girls are doing well.
Soooo - I began looking for something else to occupy me. I took on a series of direct selling jobs - including Avon - then realised that it's probably better if you actually like the product you are trying to sell - and I'm not a huge fan of Avon particularly - personal taste only but one that sort of did make a difference to my sales ability - or lack therein, in that case. Anyway, the novelty of all these jobs wore off after a while - like a day! Yes, I was heavily involved in every level of the girls' education, right up to secondary school - when - again - I completely lost interest. Not in their education and lives - but in any personal involvement (committees and the like) on my part.
Somewhere along the line I had also rediscovered a passion for writing and had a billion (OK, make that around two hundred) penfriends world wide at one stage. Loved every nano-second of that and yes, that started to keep me busy - and broke. THEN bright and early - make that early - one morning about ten years ago I awoke with what I can only describe as an 'epiphany' - or something. Whatever it was, it was overwhelming. I suddenly knew that I had to get my late father's book published. I reckon mum's advancing age (late 80s) just might have had something to do with that feeling. Anyway - problem - how do you have a book published? Seriously - how do you have a book published?? This just might have stopped me in my tracks - in fact it did - temporarily. Then I remembered dad's pride and efforts and mum's patience in sitting around for seventeen years wondering if the book would ever see the light of day. That did it!
Some years later I have two published titles on the market. The above mentioned one: 'The Sawers from Pitcairn' and the second is actually a compilation of some thirty six cases written and submitted by victims of bullying from around Australia and one from the UK. And I am currently working on another - non-fiction it is a book about our mighty outback and the wonderful people who live out there. Another one that I have considered writing would be my first foray into fiction - and doing this was suggested by another author who has done the same thing - writing about an experience she had, in fiction form. This would be about my own bullying experience. Time only will tell whether I actually finish it or not...
But writing books (and now articles etc) has changed my life. Please don't get me wrong - apart from those years at secondary school my childhood and teens were second to none and the rest of my life, leading up to that 'epiphany' have been wonderful to date. But now I absolutely love life - I am passionate about everything that I do - well - almost. The book about stations, the one I have been concentrating on for the last three years - has been and continues to be the most amazing experience. It combines my love for the outback as well as for writing. Research has involved my travelling alone (by coach) throughout the outback of SA., NSW., Qld and the NT, visiting sheep and cattle stations. WA is next and I leave on the first of four research trips for my own state in about four weeks. Soooo excited. We are also hoping to make a documentary covering this, for so many different reasons.
I am now also writing for a couple of different publications - one of them will also be in print version and due to be launched in July. I have my own columns in both publications as well as articles in the latter. All this is also finally allowing me to use my journalism and photography. YES.
OH - if anyone is wondering whether I did get dad's book out before mum died - I didn't - I missed - by ONE WEEK! But - I am told she knew something was about to happen and that made her a happy woman - or as happy as anyone can be when facing the end of life as we know it.
But, for me - life is GREAT.
The years immediately following the end of school life are a bit hazy but I do know I was still in Adelaide, working in various positions - ranging from being a nanny/nurse in an orphanage that catered mainly to Indigenous children - to office work to behind-the-scenes in banking, which is the position I was holding when I began being transferred interstate. This began with Canberra - hated the work but loved my personal life there. I lived in one of the ANU's residential colleges while there and absolutely loved it. Finally returned to Adelaide before being sent to Melbourne to train a new member of staff there. After that, I knew that I did not wish to return to Adelaide - so resigned and foreign shores beckoned instead. I did know that I would never return to Adelaide to live, whatever happened. And I never did.
Other more recent 'positions' have included direct marketing in various areas, teaching, supermarket distribution and commercial cleaning - and probably more if I really want to think about it. I don't.
I was in the UK and Europe for eleven months and had a ball - until I ran out of money and had to make a reverse charge call home. I finally returned to Australia via Perth - and here I stayed. Eleven months later I met my husband to be and yes, we are still together some thirty two years later with two beautiful adult daughters, the eldest of whom is now engaged to an equally lovely bloke and the youngest is in a long term relationship with her own bloke, who is also lovely.
I did, at one stage, work for one of the subsidiary companies to Woodside for a couple of years prior to motherhood. Once my eldest arrived I became a FT SAHM - and promptly became bored stiff. There were (and still are) times when I really do wonder about myself - more than anyone else, I mean. All I used to hear from other mums (particularly new ones) was that they just didn't have time for anything apart from their families! Ok, so why was I - also a new mum - getting downright bored?? What was I doing wrong - or right?? To this day that remains a mystery - my eldest is now thirty and both girls are doing well.
Soooo - I began looking for something else to occupy me. I took on a series of direct selling jobs - including Avon - then realised that it's probably better if you actually like the product you are trying to sell - and I'm not a huge fan of Avon particularly - personal taste only but one that sort of did make a difference to my sales ability - or lack therein, in that case. Anyway, the novelty of all these jobs wore off after a while - like a day! Yes, I was heavily involved in every level of the girls' education, right up to secondary school - when - again - I completely lost interest. Not in their education and lives - but in any personal involvement (committees and the like) on my part.
Somewhere along the line I had also rediscovered a passion for writing and had a billion (OK, make that around two hundred) penfriends world wide at one stage. Loved every nano-second of that and yes, that started to keep me busy - and broke. THEN bright and early - make that early - one morning about ten years ago I awoke with what I can only describe as an 'epiphany' - or something. Whatever it was, it was overwhelming. I suddenly knew that I had to get my late father's book published. I reckon mum's advancing age (late 80s) just might have had something to do with that feeling. Anyway - problem - how do you have a book published? Seriously - how do you have a book published?? This just might have stopped me in my tracks - in fact it did - temporarily. Then I remembered dad's pride and efforts and mum's patience in sitting around for seventeen years wondering if the book would ever see the light of day. That did it!
Some years later I have two published titles on the market. The above mentioned one: 'The Sawers from Pitcairn' and the second is actually a compilation of some thirty six cases written and submitted by victims of bullying from around Australia and one from the UK. And I am currently working on another - non-fiction it is a book about our mighty outback and the wonderful people who live out there. Another one that I have considered writing would be my first foray into fiction - and doing this was suggested by another author who has done the same thing - writing about an experience she had, in fiction form. This would be about my own bullying experience. Time only will tell whether I actually finish it or not...
But writing books (and now articles etc) has changed my life. Please don't get me wrong - apart from those years at secondary school my childhood and teens were second to none and the rest of my life, leading up to that 'epiphany' have been wonderful to date. But now I absolutely love life - I am passionate about everything that I do - well - almost. The book about stations, the one I have been concentrating on for the last three years - has been and continues to be the most amazing experience. It combines my love for the outback as well as for writing. Research has involved my travelling alone (by coach) throughout the outback of SA., NSW., Qld and the NT, visiting sheep and cattle stations. WA is next and I leave on the first of four research trips for my own state in about four weeks. Soooo excited. We are also hoping to make a documentary covering this, for so many different reasons.
I am now also writing for a couple of different publications - one of them will also be in print version and due to be launched in July. I have my own columns in both publications as well as articles in the latter. All this is also finally allowing me to use my journalism and photography. YES.
OH - if anyone is wondering whether I did get dad's book out before mum died - I didn't - I missed - by ONE WEEK! But - I am told she knew something was about to happen and that made her a happy woman - or as happy as anyone can be when facing the end of life as we know it.
But, for me - life is GREAT.
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