The Turning Point…
It was November of 2014.
The alarm sounded at 5am and echoed through my caravan. It was time to put the fluro Motorbike Postie gear on and head off to work.
Koda, my Border Collie x Labrador, yawns and stretches next to me.
My whole world condensed into 16 square metres.
Why was I living in a caravan? What brought me to this point? And why was I the happiest I had been in months?
Let’s take it back a couple of months, to June.
It had been a year of challenges and personal growth for me.
After six years of working, playing, coaching, umpiring and volunteering in the AFL industry I was tired.
I had loved it for so long, but like many people juggling different hats, it had got to a point where it started to take its toll on me.
I couldn’t keep trying to do everything and be everything for everyone.
I had broken my collarbone playing Rugby 7s, left a long-term relationship and been knocked back from joining the police force.
And just 10 days after my birthday on June 14, I lost my most favourite person in the world to cancer, my Gran.
Five days after losing her, I played in the Melbourne v Western Bulldogs exhibition match. My family postponed her funeral so I could play and dedicate the match to her.
Amongst the tears and emotions, I won Best on Ground at Etihad Stadium.
Football didn’t seem the same without her, she had been on the journey with me since I was 11 at my very first football match with the boys.
I didn’t really want to play anymore, not without her.
I needed a fresh start, a new challenge away from the current state of mind that I was in.
I needed to find joy again.
I remember jumping on Seek and found a job as a Motorbike Postie in Esperance, seven hours south of Perth.
I managed to get the job and started the search for accommodation.
I needed somewhere secure for my dog Koda to be whilst I was at work, and somewhere cheap.
A gentleman was renting his old caravan out in the backyard for $100 per week. The caravan was an old thing, no wheels, it just sat on some wooden blocks. It was perfect!
The gentleman I was renting the caravan through - Ribs we called him - became a really good friend of mine and we would go four-wheeled driving and fishing on the white sandy beaches.
I didn’t have a lot of money, and some nights I’d sit on the jetty for hours hoping to catch a whiting or something to add to my salad.
After three months in Esperance, I got offered a job as Regional Manager for a community organisation in Newman, a mining town in WA, thirteen hours north of Perth. I took it.
My friend Ribs wrote me a card that said I was destined for big things and although they would miss me, I needed to continue to make it happen, whatever “it” was.
Esperance, the French word for hope, gave me the confidence and independence I was craving, to know that I could step outside my comfort zone and trust that things would just fall into place naturally.
It was the simplest life, living in a caravan, waving from the car to all the locals that passed by, in the country with my dog, amongst some of the most beautiful beaches and landscapes in the world.
It really grounded me and gave me a good perspective on some of life’s beauties and how lucky I truly was.
For me, life’s about the turning points.
Everyone has a story, and I believe everything happens for a reason, even if sometimes we don’t understand it at the time.
However, I think it’s good to stop in time and reflect on where you’ve been, what you’ve done, the people you’ve met, and the challenges you’ve faced.
It’s important to stop and congratulate yourself for having the courage to change something that may not have been working for you.
Looking back, Esperance gave me the courage to move to Newman, and Newman gave me the courage to move to Adelaide.
It was the courage I needed to leave all my friends and family behind and take the opportunities as they come as I chased my dreams.
Now, I sit here a few days out in the lead up to my second AFLW Grand Final as Co-Captain.
I’m unsure what the future holds, but here lays an opportunity and no matter the outcome, I’m sure it will be another turning point.
