Who’d have thought I’d end up on the Oprah Winfrey Show for my 31st birthday! Not exactly a dream of mine, but the whole morning felt so surreal that I could have very easily been dreaming. Only difference is there is proof – eg. photos/video.
Spending my birthday in New York (as well as Chicago earlier in the day) has been very interesting. It’s my favourite city of the USA but it just doesn’t have the same vibe in winter that I’ve loved about it at other times of year. Maybe it’s because it’s freezing cold, or I’m travelling here on my own, wishing my better half was here with me :-) or simply because I’ve moved on from thinking other places in the world are better than Sydney…
But I’ve now woken up. The things that used to be important to me over the last few years seem to have changed. No longer is it about the bigger the better. If anything I prefer the subtler or smaller the better.
I’m happily dating a guy that I’ve known the last year and he is a true treasure. My friends and family have always been important to me, so too my values, religion, interests and hometown… but each year I get older I think I realise how much being a better person to myself and those around me is just as important.
I’ve had many relationships growing up; and being in one really makes you learn about yourself, the world, and how to give more than take. My beau tests me in all ways imaginable and I have learnt so much from him for which I am grateful.
It’s important to dream but also to be real; and he has certainly reminded me of this. As much as it was fun being a star for a morning, and having 15 seconds of fame on the Oprah Show, that is not me. My Bear produces creative works that deserve the limelight and publicity and I enjoy supporting him in his ventures. My time at Harpo Studios reminded me of this. I enjoyed my TV days – but they are now gone, and I have happily (and definitely) moved onto the next chapter of my life.
I look forward to utilising the skills and experience I’ve picked up over the years to help those around me; and that future birthdays are as good as any dream can be.
I’m making the most of being in the USA, and at the same time realising how wonderful things are back at home. I miss you JB; and my beautiful friends GA & DT who are having their wedding later this week; and of course my other family and friends. It’s when you’re not surrounded by everything that you have time to think, wake up and realise how amazing things really are.
Thank you everyone for making my first 31 years of my life an inspirational journey. Here’s to dreams, reality and anything else that inspires us!
To view the 90-second clip of me on the Oprah Winfrey Show, from 29 January 2010, kindly put together by Eric Blackwell, visit:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=0&release=103233203
