To the ocean and back again

---

Today marks my three year anniversary of stepping off the plane and walking into the unknown territory of solo travel. What had started as a one way ticket to the opposite side of the world, became an accidental foundation to my career as a researcher. Although I had thrown myself into Australia without any second thoughts to my future, I had found the beginning of my roots.

Since coming to Australia, I’ve learned about a range of new concepts: vegemite, fairy bread, sizzlers, drop bears etc. but I didn't think anything could prepare me for the wildlife of Australia. Everyone warns you that if it looks dangerous, looks innocent, is moving, isn't moving, or is just existing in general, it's most likely going to either:

(a) maim you

(b) poison you

or

(c) a combination of both

Dingo puppy part of a bigger pack of six that we had stumbled across on our last day on Fraser Island.

In reality, they're probably trying to avoid you more than you are trying to avoid them (unless it's a box jellyfish or a bluebottle, then they're just passive aggressive floating bundles of polymorphic cells hellbent on causing chaos to the ocean underneath their extensive tentacle collection). We as humans have a knack of stepping or sticking our appendages where they don't belong. Aside from the huntsman spider living in my closet, Australia has been pretty gentle and has given plenty of warning signs. All of these lessons and experiences I have gained from spending time in this amazing country couldn't have been possible without swallowing the fear of 'what if'.

As any young adult in her mid 20s, I was plagued by the thoughts of this overwhelming thought of 'what if'.

"What if this is the wrong choice, what if this is the wrong investment?"

Although I had just travelled the country, I was still hesitant in pursuing my Master's degree across the world because of the tuition expenses as an international student as well as being so far away from friends and family again. But at the end of the day, we only have one life to live . Of course, nothing worth fighting for ever comes without a risk or a price. The bigger the jump, the higher the fall from grace. Ultimately, it's up to the risk taker to figure out if the price of it is worth the sacrifices.

But if I had listened to the 'what if's,' I could have missed out on some of the biggest accomplishments of my life. Since stepping off the plane three years ago, I have skydived over the Great Barrier Reef, bungee jumped and ziplined through the Daintree Rainforest, attended the GBR Restoration conference, learned how to drive manual, scuba dived in the GBR, became a rescue diver, road-tripped up and down the east and west coast of Australia and of course, earned my MSc in marine biology.

To say I have come a long way from who I was before Australia would be an understatement. Deciding to attend James Cook University was probably the second best choice I could have made right after booking a one way flight and my life hasn't been the same since calling the land down under a second home. While a postgraduate's life was a little more stressful than I had bargained for, I wouldn't have had it any other way. If there's anything I've learned over the past year at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, if it can go wrong then it probably will. Nothing is safe from the cold clutches of Murphy's Law, not even your own experiment. Although I am leaving Townsville as well as Australia for now, I know it won't be my last time and I can't wait

While my JCU chapter has come to a conclusion, I am excited to say that I will be traveling through Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand (maybe Cambodia), with the final leg of my trip ending at Mabul Resort to start my dive masters internship in Malaysia.