Hi, friend. I’m so glad you’re here.

How did we get here? Your guess is as good as mine. Growing up in Australia, I was an outdoor kid - a major tomboy, to be exact. I loved sports (name a sport - I played it!), and while I knew I wasn’t at the level to go to the Olympics, for me, the next best thing was to somehow work in the health field, ideally with athletes. I thought health was it, but I was still confused about the end goal. 

I think sometimes we know what we want but don’t allow ourselves to say or believe it. I remember a meeting with the careers counselor in my final year of school. We were discussing the path to a health course at university when she asked me what my dream job was. Without hesitation, I said, “to be on the radio as a talk show broadcaster.” Sometimes I think back to that day. Why didn’t it click for myself or the counselor that maybe that was what I should be pursuing? I still don’t know how it flew over both of our heads. Because almost immediately we were back to talking about how I could pursue a career in the health industry. 

I knew deep down something about commiting to the health faculty wasn't right, but I had no idea what was. I always thought I would be a physiotherapist. But after a shoulder injury and lots of therapy when I was 17, I knew it wasn’t for me - and that freaked me out. I ended up studying a Bachelor of Health Science at Sydney University, which was marketed in a way that you got to try out all the health branches before committing the following year. This was not the case. By the second year, I was left choosing between physiotherapy and speech pathology. At this time, all the elective subjects I wanted I was banned from doing. They were all media and entertainment-based - something completely different from the sciences I was studying. I ended up veering into speech pathology - purely as it was to do with talking, which resembled radio and entertainment. “Maybe I could be Taylor Swift’s tour speech pathologist?” I thought, (is that even a thing?).  

While I spent time reading, writing, and speaking the new alphabet and the shwas, I was living on Existential Crisis Avenue. And what does any sane person struggling with inner turmoil do? They flee - which was exactly what I did. I applied to work on a summer camp in the United States - which I knew the timings would mean I’d have to defer a semester. Joy to my ears. 

That summer was one of the best experiences of my life, so much so my new friends and I wanted to come back and do it all again the following year. I knew I wouldn’t be able to defer again, so began scheming how I could maneuver subjects to be purely online to make it work. But it couldn’t. There was just no way. After six months of traveling and working around the United States, my mum came to visit. Semester one uni subject choices were due for the following year and I was beyond frustrated. Nothing I wanted to do I could do as it was out of my faculty. Like a breath of fresh air, my mum asked, “If this is not the right course for you, why don’t you find one that is.” And just like that, it was journalism. Something that had never even been considered. I was excited about the subjects and it just felt right. 

The next few years saw me change to the University of New South Wales and complete the course. During that time, I also partook in various internships including; working with Catt Sadler and her brand; The Cattwalk, fitness brand; The Upside, and with Australia’s most-read newspaper; The Sydney Morning Herald. I then went on to work for Daily Mail in Australia before moving to their US offices in 2018 and stayed until mid-2020. Since then, I’ve been a freelance journalist and editor and have worked with various brands and publications including; Pinterest, Well + Good, Apartment Therapy, Travel + Leisure, and Matador Network, among others. Within my realm of content, I do a lot of work in the health and wellness sector, something that I believe is a full-circle moment. I was never meant to be an athlete, on-field physiotherapist, or Taylor Swift’s personal speech pathologist - but I was always meant to have health, wellness, and fitness, as part of me. 

I may have found a better-suited path for myself, but I’m in no way immune to existential crises. In fact, I think they’re good as it means you’re rethinking your path as life isn’t meant to be lived in a straight line. I don’t believe in a one-lane destiny and I don’t think you always know what’s best for you in the future. I’m a seasonal thinker and see life as chapters. What I do know is you should try everything at least once and don’t be afraid of change. Because change is the law of life.