Surry Hills Is BAE

SURRY HILLS IS BAE.

On May 15th I finished my Fashion Communications degree at Northumbria University. Three days later and I was on a flight to Sydney, Australia with a heart beat as fast as Usain Bolt. I was s*** scared because I had no idea what my plans were once I got there or what was waiting on me, but naturally, incredibly excited at the same time. 35 hours later - after a ridiculous amount of delays and cancellations - and I was staring out the window of the double decker train taking me into the CBD. On a serious note though, why don't we have double decker trains in the UK? Life changing.

Taken from the Sydney Tower Eye before our SKYWALK

I checked into Bounce Hostel just opposite Central Station in Surry Hills at 10am and the rest is history. I've been here for about five weeks now and i've had such an amazing time. The people you meet when you're in a hostel on your own are all in the same position as you, so they're immediately welcoming and want you to enjoy yourself. Of course it also helps when you're being forced goon down your throat - an Aussie vintage wine from 2015. It's really as great as it sounds *insert sarcasm* - and there's an event on every night at a local backpacking bar. I had a bucket list of things that I wanted to do once I got here, and i've ticked off a good few of them now, but there's still a few little ones on the list before I move back the UK. Here's what i've been getting upto so far!

Winter beach days at Bondi

@blacksmithsurryhills 

Breakfast burger and beer battered chips at @blacksmithsurryhills

Sydney Tower Eye

My dream house near Coogee Beach - Ocean Street.

@jasminedownling mural at Bondi Beach

Sunset at Coogee Beach - the end point of the eastern beaches coastal walk

@reubenhills - great food and even better looking waiters..

Vivid Sydney Light Festival

Chur Burger Surry Hills

The Notorious B.I.G - Chur Burger - The best thing i've ever put in my mouth

On the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly

My new best friend!

Sunday BBQ on the terrace with the CBD in the background

Lixie Chocolatier - Left here sick but satisfied

Bondi Icebergs

Group selfie with Kane the Koala at Featherdale Wildlife Park

SKYWALK at Sydney Tower Eye

The sunset from our terrace at Bounce

As sad as it sounds, the highlight so far has to be getting my photograph with a kangaroo - this was something I wanted to do for a while before I got to Australia, so I was over the moon when we got to feed them! I've loved finding new and exciting little coffee shops and eateries around Surry Hills, too. Instagram has been amazing for this, so long as you know what you're looking for. It's gotten to the point now that I'll see what a place looks like on Instagram before I decide whether or not it's worth the visit!

The plan when I came out here was to stick out my 12 month working holiday visa and work in Visual Merchandising. Although I've had a few interviews for jobs within this field, the restrictions on a 417 WHV mean that I can only work with any company for a max of six months and unfortunately this industry isn't a short term thing. As much as I love Surry Hills, there's something about it that stops me from feeling content. Especially when I can't work in my chosen field, so the plan now is to move somewhere in the UK and go from there so that I can establish my career. Saying that, the friends I've made out here will be with me for life - this I have no doubt of - so I may come back out and meet them in Melbourne or somewhere up the East Coast to spend Christmas with them.

Sometimes you have a certain plan for yourself and it doesn't work out quite the way you thought it would, but it doesn't mean you've failed. It just means you've tried plan A and now it's time for plan B. Or C, D or E. My gran always tells me that when one door closes, another opens. And it could be an even better opportunity, challenge, experience or person behind it. You just need to be open to change and embrace whatever life throws at you and not let it turn you into a pessimist.

I still have two weeks left with everyone in Sydney, so there will definitely be another post around then with some more photographs of what i've done - the aquarium, zoo, Boathouse Balmoral and the Blue Mountains will be on there so I can't wait to show you!

Photo's were all taken by myself on an iPhone 5C.

SRSLY

SRSLY.

Image is my own via IG: @marialetiziaxo

What is life. No, I don't mean it in a deep philosophical way, I mean it in the most basic 21st century way of saying what is going on. I feel as though my life has gone from one extreme to the other, and all within the space of around 10 weeks. So allow me to gather my series of post it notes (it seems like any idea I have is written on one these days) and fill you in on the chaos that is my life.

Let's go back 10 weeks and see where it all started; first of all I was seeing boy. Yes. A real life, human boy. And he was wonderful - is wonderful - but he was moving to Australia. If you've read my previous few posts you'll notice a general theme of Australia in them and that was because I was so inspired by his move. I think I ended up looking into it more than he did, and he was the one moving. But anyway, he was moving and it was just a little bit heart breaking. Typical luck to finally find someone that you feel that you could potentially be with, only for them to then leave you alone and crying in a corner. Well, the last part was an exaggeration, but it wasn't a nice feeling. So this is what triggered the next chapter - we decided to stay together to see how it would work out, but then I got my friend on board and we booked visa's and one way flights for Sydney (18/6/2015). Ok, I know what you're thinking, "you're moving across the world to be with a boy ARE YOU INSANE?!". I might be? Maybe? Who knows! The fact is I always said that after university I would move to America or Australia. So maybe his move did edge my decision towards the Aussie coast a little more in the end, but at least I'm doing something that isn't exactly a new idea to me. I'm setting up my own life and not depending on anyone else, so it is perfectly acceptable. And anyway, you have to take some risks in life, otherwise you're stuck in the same position twenty five years down the line, wishing you had done something differently. I really trust my impulsiveness; it hasn't lead me astray just yet - and without sounding too nauseating he's a keeper. I can feel it.

Renzo Piano, Sydney by @dianakbui via VSCO

Around this same time I was also beginning to think about what I wanted to do with my career in fashion and which avenues I was going to go down. I didn't have a clue. For someone who normally has everything figured out, this was difficult for me to deal with. Not having a vision is truly fk@!ing terrifying. However now that I've been back at uni and diving into my final ever semester of my degree I have seen the light. And let me tell you, it's marvellous. It's glittering and brilliant and shaped like visual merchandising. I've always had a love for it, but now that i've been thinking about my final major project (FMP) i've decided that it really is the career path for me and the goal is now firmly in sight. So now i'm going to have three sketch books, a note pad and about 1000 post it notes in various colours to attract my attention whenever I walk by them. 

If you've ever done a degree in fashion, you'll realise just how chaotic life gets when you're thinking about the end result - what you're going to do for not only that, but what's going to happen when you leave the comfort that is university. It's funny how we look at it now as though riding a bike in the Sahara Desert would be an easier option, but I'm trying to slow down and savour every piece of it. I'm never going to get another first chance at it and afterwards I know i'm really going to miss this little bubble. So although i'm now the worlds biggest insomniac and I've swapped Newcastle's treble vodkas for triple shot latte's in the morning, this new level of determination and absolute will to succeed has got me both excited and scared. The latter isn't a bad thing though - if something doesn't scare you, then it isn't worth doing. True story.