Your People

by Katie Miskin (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

I didn't expect to find Australia

‘I didn’t expect to find…’ Love. And yes, I did cringe a little as I reluctantly typed those four all-encompassing letters. However, I’m not just talking about romantic love here (the fact that I’ve fallen head-over-heels for an Australian surf-instructor is by the by). It’s friendship and stranger love, love for the sea and sand and swimming, love for the freedom of being beyond influence. Some people travel to “find themselves”, as if hunting for some small, lost part of soul through unfamiliar lands. Perhaps they’ve never known this fragment, plagued by a niggling frustration that they can’t just be who they want to be. Maybe it’s been lost down the road, worn away by someone or something or life. There’s a hope that by seeing new things, experiencing new cultures, whatever part of themselves that is lost will be found. However, as we know, it's usually when you’re not looking that something good comes along (note the Australian surf-instructor - does anyone really look to fall in love on the other side of the world?). Be ok with yourself, because you are this version of yourself at this point in time, and let other people – your people – make you feel truly whole. Who are ‘your people’? So, you’ve met someone for the first time… Your mind goes blank, your face droops, and you question whether you might just be the most boring person in the world. Not those people. They might be lovely, funny, intelligent (as are you), but some wave or spark just isn’t there, and that’s nobody’s fault – we move on. We move onto those people who make you the best version of yourself; who make you think: “I’m actually pretty great”. Meeting as many people as possible might seem like the best way; are you being anti-social if you aren’t constantly talking with new faces? Quality not quantity my friend. If you meet someone who makes watching a sunset or cooking dinner special - in other words, makes you light up inside with mutual affection – then go with them until something decides otherwise. A night in Sydney with a group of likeable strangers can never compare to limited time with someone who makes you you. Just ask yourself: A hundred followers in a night or two friends for life? One of these such friends of mine made my first few weeks in Australia more than I ever imagined. Turning up to Mad Monkey Hostel in Cairns City, I was ready for bed. I’d flown from New Zealand that day, and in the humidity the last thing I felt like doing was dancing. However, a drink down and an hour talking to my new Dutch friend Elke, I was changing into something a little less sweaty to get ready for the night. Apparently I had a good feeling. By the following afternoon, Elke and I had hired a campervan for three weeks, booked all our East Coast trips together, and were set to leave in a few days, our impulsivity fed by the very good salesman in Happy Travels tour agency. It was a risk, and I’m sure we both questioned the decision as we left Cairns in our red van, “Rouge”. However, as we drove into a national park to camp on that first night, pink skies ahead, gravel beneath the wheels, and singing a loved song, I knew it was all worth it for small moments like these. (I should say that minutes before this ecstasy we didn’t expect to find camping… Perhaps a little too adventurous for our first night, we arrived at the campsite in solid darkness, only the threat of spiders and each other for company. Fortunately, we’d brought a $3 plastic lantern from Target.) The next three weeks were filled with moments, big and small, where the simple, cheap dinners on the beach listening to music were as beautiful as the Whitsunday Islands. Travelling is so special because you take note of a moment – each one stands out for its newness and your own freedom to make it. Love makes moments just that little bit better. Follow the people, not the place, and feel the magic.