TRAVEL
 

My life since I left school has been indulging in the world, leaving home for long periods of time and creating a whole new life for myself in each place I live. It has been something I have wanted to do for so many years, the idea of freedom and creating myself into whoever I would like to be. My journey started when I was around seventeen years old, the first plane I had taken by myself - it was extremely intimidating flying all the way to America at such a significant age. I decided that America didn’t suit me and swiftly moved onto working abroad within Europe. My first destination was Sardinia, Italy - I was new to the company and it was hard initially finding my feet. The confidence of a fresh eighteen year old most definitely helped with meeting friends and forming relationships. 

 

After Italy, Covid hit and really put an emotional strain on myself as my dreams weren’t anywhere in sight - I had really got a taste for what was to come in my life and I couldn’t get enough. Once the pandemic lost a little control I then moved to the most beautiful, rural town in Greece - as an individual here I was surrounded by such wonderful and supportive souls; I felt the luckiest. Before I moved I felt completely out of touch with my emotions, the change really scared me - it had been so long since I had travelled solo. While I was here I sailed nearly everyday, indulged myself in Greek food and drank a lot of Mythos. If you are thinking about working a season, please do! It really brings out the best in you, pushes you out of your comfort zone, and you get to rein in the local culture; I am very grateful to have experienced this. 

 

My next adventure was a big one, and one I had been longing for - I moved to the mountains to work In France. The idea of spending six whole months shredding was an absolute dream. I felt like my life couldn’t get any better than this. Every movement I made to begin with was terrifying, the idea of starting a new life in a new place with new people can get overwhelming no matter how many times you do it. I travelled here with one of my best friends, a calm and beautiful girl who loves life just as much as I do. This season was really hard work, the days were long and draining sometimes but the mountains definitely made up for this, there is one moment that I will never forget while I was living in Morzine. It was a sweet and warm blue bird day, the slopes were slightly icy but there was enough left over powder just to get by - I was surrounded by the most incredible people, and to this day, even on different sides of the planet you guys will always have my heart. We went off piste to this location where there was not another soul in sight,  It was warm and we drank beer and giggled with each other while watching the sun go down over the mountains; what a dream! Despite having idyllic days the large majority of the time, some times the bad days aren’t shown, and this is just part of life; living and growing. C’est La Vie.

 

After living in the cold for so long, we all decided to head to Portugal for the start of the season. We stayed in Lagos, we surfed and laughed like we had known each other our whole lives. In this year I didn’t know how much change there would be, it was a year of the most amazing experinces - I lived with Morgo in a small boating village in Portugal for a while, deciding what I should do with the rest of my year. In this time with such a golden girl we did yoga, cooked yummy meals and played in the waves. She is such a special human. After a month or so relaxing I decided I needed to get back to work, I wanted to navigate my way to Palma, I took a bus to cross all the way into Spain and then a plane to Palma. This was an odd stage in my life, an in-between period of confusion. Here I stayed in a hostel walking on docks to find work on boats - it was a belittling experience, tiny me walking around asking every man and his dog for a job. Unfortunately this time I was unsuccessful and returned home. This did not knock me and I knew that my next adventure would be right around the corner. 

 

I was home for a week after this and quickly secured myself a job in Rhodes, Greece  - It was totally unexpected but welcomed. I had a rough start to the season and felt as if I didn’t really fit in, you really have to give things time to fit into place, and eventually it did.  Rhodes island was pretty magical and lust was looming - the skies were pretty and evenings were spent racing around on skateboards. We drank a lot and made some wild memories. I met many people out there who altered my brain chemistry, just like other places I’ve visited - each person moulds you into a better version of yourself. Days off were spent driving around the island, finding the coolest spots. Driving over a hill to see a parade of kite surfers was a highlight, we screamed and laughed and swam amongst the surfers.I met some really cool people there, we listened to the best music.

 

While still in Rhodes, I had an offer to move to St Tropez to work on a yacht. I cried and cried and cried when I found out that I has been picked for the role, I was so excited. It was a bittersweet feeling leaving this small family I had made - but you have to make choices for yourself sometimes. Within 48 hours I was on a flight to the South of France, I had no expectations. When I started the boat, it was an interesting dynamic - a small space for strangers to work and live amongst one another. It was a slightly different environment to what I had expected, Josh - one of the deckhands was my saviour. He taught me nearly everything there is to know about working on deck and we also had a giggle when we could. While on day trips to Cannes and also travelling to Barcelona and Ibiza I got to see dolphins flying out of the water and a small taste of each place we visited. This was a short period of time, and I focused on myself a lot as it wasn’t particularly social. I will carry on my yachting career and find other boats around the world where I can learn, not only from the people, but from the work and the places we visit. 

 

I booked a last minute flight to Croatia for a week after I came home, I guess I thought I had more money than sense. Very rogue decision, but if I hadn’t have gone it’s something that I wouldn’t be able to look back on and think, “wow that was kinda cool!”

 

I returned home after a long work stint and decided it was time to treat myself, myself and Hollie booked a trip to Indonesia and then the Philippines. This was wild to me as I had never travelled to that side of the world before. To be honest, despite how much I had already experienced, it was a shock to the system to see how people lived on this side of the planet. I have never laughed so hard with someone about the silliest of things, riding a motor bike was honestly a highlight. I felt free in this period of time, I could do whatever I wanted - we surfed, we skated and did a lot of yoga. Moving from one hostel to the next I found slightly difficult, as soon as you begin to get comfortable in the area, you then have to move on - it was all a journey. We ate a lot of chunky Balinese pancakes, swam with turtles and Hollie demolished a water melon with her eyes closed. I have to say the Philippines really did pull me in, we rode through the night singing while rain poured down, the stars were really bright too. We saw fireflies and I may or may not have shed a tear, I thought they were the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. While in Bali, we attended a skate competition - I had never seen such talent, the locals were absolute shredders. I learnt a lot about myself while travelling around these countries, resilience and patience were extremely important - indulging in the unknown. 

 

I was then home for Christmas with my family, which I really appreciated - because in the year prior I wasn't able to spend Christmas with them. Mid January 23 I was offered a job I just couldn't turn down, it was to be a ski guide in the Italian Alps with a company who I had worked for, for many years. When I arrived it was incredibly overwhelming, and I really struggled with the work load and strain on my body. My team was all Italian, which made is hard to communicate, essentially I was left to run an entire hotel at the age of 22, with just one week training. I tried finding light in what I was doing, as I really do adore skiing, but it drained me - but I pushed through. I think a lot of the time when I go away for these jobs, my peers and people on my social media think it's bliss and incredible - but it was so isolating, and really mentally challenging for me having no friends around me and running a really big operation alone. I did have some great weeks, but of course reality set in and it was just too much for me to handle. I left this role 2 and a half months in and I'm glad I did, it wasn't a healthy environemnt to be in and I'm really glad that I put myself first and left. 

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One of my close friends, who is such a free spirit came and grabbed me from the Italian alps, after travelling Morocco and we drove to Milan for the evening. We ate seafood at a little restaurant in the middle of Milan at midnight and then found ourself in the church where Divinchi had his last supper, to a choir that sounded like angels. We were both in awe and stood there smiling at everyone, we were in a complete happiness haze. We then got back onto the road and headed for the French alps to meet my best friend Hollie in Meribel, after many cigars and tolls around France we finally got to Meribel and skied and went to lots of Apres. We stayed a few days, and then quickly moved on to Morzine, where me and Mo met, so we both knew the area very well. Unfortunately the trip didn't go to plan so I decided to fly home. 

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Summer then arrived, so I started applying for yachts for the summer - this was a long process but I finally got an interview for a boat, based in France. I joined the boat with the most positive energies, really wanting it to work out and gain more skills for the future. Unfortunately life kept throwing curve balls at me and this didn't quite work out either, it was really soul destroying the way I was being treated and left after 6 weeks. After leaving I was in a really bad place and was on the brink of depression, maybe as a result of how I was being treated or just the year getting ontop of me. I had lost all confidence in  myself and just couldn't get out of where I was. I spent a lot of time at home just trying to rebalance myself again. 

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I then flew back to St Tropez, where I worked for my old boss on his tender for the summer. This was only a couple of months, and I knew it wasn't going to fulfil me, but I really needed the money. It was super lonely but a good experience.