Gaby’s Story

It's been over 15 long years without Mum (almost half my life now) and so much has changed since then. I've matured as a person, I've travelled to beautiful countries around the world, I've found my calling to bring community and creativity together through my work, and I've made many new friends and lost a few. It's been a whirlwind navigating adulthood without her. Mum was my rock, my confidante, my source of unconditional love, my teacher, my sage, and the central figure of my life. In a lot of ways, she still is.

I still hear her words of wisdom whispered in my ears when I need them. I still draw on her love when I need the strength and courage to do something scary. I still strive to embody her values and honour her words. The most memorable message she gave me in her final months was simply, "Enjoy life". The other memorable message was one that she gave me in my teenage years, when I used to chronically overthink everything, she said, "Just do it!"

These two simple (yet poignant) phrases gave me the extra inspiration I needed to move out of home and take off on a solo road trip up the East Coast of Australia earlier this year. I've been curious about living away from home for years now, after living in Melbourne all my life, but it required courage to take the seemingly big leap. My Mum's words bolstered my confidence and gave me a greater purpose to finally do it! I was no longer just doing it for me, but also for her. It's to show her that yes, I am indeed enjoying life and making my dreams come true, as if to say, "Look Ma, I'm doing it!"

It's now been 6 months since I left my home city and I'm living in a beautiful, peaceful property in the Tropics (Far North Queensland, Australia) where the Sun shines bright every day, there's no Winter and my daily routine includes checking the passionfruit tree multiple times a day. I've learned so much about myself whilst travelling, including that I'm 100% NOT a big city person. It baffles me how I managed to spend my whole life in a major city after realising that I love staying on farms and trodding around in gumboots. While there's still a lot of uncertainty around the future, I'm happy to say that my heart has found a new home here and my Mum is with me every step of the way.