Lessons I’ve learnt: Trust

Have you ever been in a position where you left everything behind? Everything you knew, owned, liked, everything that comforted you to chase your dream. Left to get out of your comfort zone as they say. Experience new things. This feeling is like no other – when you board the plane to fly to the other side of the world, knowing exactly 4 people there (but you will only see one of them face to face). But then again there’s this feeling when you quit the job that wasn’t great but was comfortable, paid bills, you knew the place inside out, it was easy. You decide to leave again, head into the unknown, chase the adventure. It’s a major part of traveling; you do meet people, form relationships – whether they are close or more distant you do need to put some trust in people. I do trust people, with a grain of salt but I do. I choose to give them the benefit of the doubt, see the best in them. I think that’s partially my problem. I choose to see what I want to see. And sometimes it comes back to bite me in the ass.

It’s crazy how the time to form quality relationships doesn’t matter. The people I spent 3 months with turned out to care about me more than the ones I spent a year with. Funny that time really doesn’t matter. I was always told that good things come with time, that you have to work for trust, friendships, love and it takes time to gain trust. I don’t really think so to be honest.
It seems that your commitment also doesn’t really matter because what plays major role is people’s ego. So what I learnt, maybe even the hard way, is that ego is a big problem for many people. The need to be liked, admired, respected, to look good in the eyes of others. People are willing to fake so many emotions just to ‘look good’. Like the Good Samaritan. They’ll do and say anything to make others believe that they are ‘good people’, helpful, caring etc. etc. when in reality they have lots of deeply rooted problems that they cannot resolve and the only way to make themselves feel better, even for a second, is approval of total strangers.

What I also learnt is, that even though people do care about you it means nothing when they don’t care about themselves. Their self destructive lifestyle, lack of positive figures in adolescent life, unresolved traumas from the past and most importantly the inability to see that there is a problem will drag you down with them. You will trust them that they will sort themselves out, because well you are there for them right? If you’re a savior like me you will stick around believing you can fix them. And you won’t because it’s not your job. But what you will do is you’ll start losing yourself, getting sucked into their whole of despair and if you don’t react fast enough you’ll find yourself in a pretty shitty position. It’s not worth it. It never will be.

I like to start things with clean slate. We can’t erase our past and should learn from it, but not everything has to be a lesson. Sometimes things just go to shit and that’s that. So leaving everything behind once again and moving on seems like the best remedy for me.
I’m all for giving second chances but not third. I said it to myself many times recently:

I don’t have all the time in the world to deal with people’s problems.

I’ll just go and do what I do best; start again. With a clean slate.

Mackay

As I’ve spent last 3 months in Mackay, QLD I decided to share some pictures from favorite places around. My number 1 fav spot is Finch Hatton Gorge in Eungella NP. And I continue to explore local beaches – never thought Mackay has so many! Have to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Hope you enjoy 🙂

Eungella NP, a track to Finch Hatton Gorge

road to Finch Hatton, Pioneer Valley

Finch Hatton Gorge

Illawong Beach, Mackay

Finch Hatton Gorge

40 Footer swimming hole, Kuttabul

Bakers Creek, MackaySlade Point

Diesel loving beach life 🙂

McEwen’s Beach

McEwen’s Beach

Agnes Water

Here are some pics from one of my fav little towns in Queensland – Agnes Water/1770.
The Town of 1770 was built on the site of the second landing in Australia by captain James Cook and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour in May 1770.

First time time I came here was October 2019 and I’ve been back 5 times haha
This little coastal town has everything you need; from great tavern with live music on Saturdays, lovely cafes and friendly locals, boutique shops and great surf schools – it’s a must see if you’re traveling Australia’s East coast. It’s a pretty vibrant town with 4 backpacker hostels so there are always friends to be made!

I just can’t stop coming back here and once you decide to come here I think you’ll understand why 🙂

Lessons I’ve learned: Relationships

Did you ever have that feeling when you just can’t get out of your head, thinking of someone. Remembering every word they said, reliving every moment together. Overthinking & analyzing every single bit of conversation or text, creating your own reality and spinning things out of control? I bet you did. We all did.

You meet someone – maybe there were fireworks and deep connection from the start or maybe you just had drunken one night stand with them, but somehow they managed to catch your attention. Things progress, you get talking, get to know each other, reveal your secrets, expose your soul a little or maybe a lot. You become friends, you become lovers, everything seems great.

That can last for months, years or weeks – the thing is you never know how long it will last. The one thing you know is how you feel. And the truth is, whether you choose to acknowledge that or not, your feelings will always come out.

So maybe sometimes you meet someone who seems perfect, they could be ticking your boxes but there is something missing, and you know it. But still, you proceed to get involved with that person because maybe you don’t want to be alone, maybe you like the attention, maybe you think the feelings will come, maybe you should give everyone a chance. So you convince yourself that this is right, you should go for it because that person is just great and it’s all you wanted for so long. They treat you right, make you feel wanted & secure. But deep down you are missing something, the attraction, the spark, the passion. And let me tell you this – if that’s what you are missing please don’t invest your time.

Because life is too short to go for people who don’t light a fire inside you.

Life is too short to be stuck in mediocre relationships that don’t ignite your soul. Maybe they give you flowers without occasion, maybe they make you lunches to work or take on vacations.. but if you don’t feel butterflies when they kiss you, if you don’t want to run to them with your newest idea, if you don’t look at them and think ‘wow I am lucky to walk by your side’, if they are not the hottest person in the room to you – maybe it’s time to spend some time alone. I am guilty of putting myself in situations where I tried to convince myself ‘yes, this is what I want, the feelings will come’ and let me tell you this – they never did. I treat every encounter or relationship as a lesson and try to learn from it. But oh boy, seems that some lessons I just can’t quite grasp. So this is the time to finally make a promise to myself and stick to it. Make a conscious effort to put ego aside and focus purely on feelings. Because they never lie, they never fail.

Once I read somewhere that you should never make decisions when you are happy or sad – why? Because your judgement is clouded and perhaps you are not making the best choice for you.

Maybe this post sounds a bit sad or negative but it comes from a good place. It comes from a place of realization and inner peace. Sometimes things have to be said out loud/written down to be really acknowledged and understood. At least in my case 🙂

So here’s to better choices in the future, to following your feelings and intuition because that’s all you can trust! When it comes to love we can’t be too rational, calculating potential profits of the relationship or trying to meet other people’s expectations. We are allowed to lose it a bit, immerse yourself in the feeling. If you want to, go for it! Fearlessly walk through life with your head high and know your worth. Live your best life. Set your standards high and don’t let people tell you otherwise – because trust me, when you’ll meet the right person, you’ll know. Someone asked me recently, when do you know someone is right for you, long term. When do you know you are in love? And I said

When you know, you know.

You just can’t explain it. It feels different for everyone. And nothing can beat that feeling.

Lessons I’ve learned: Friendship

* I’ve written it a few weeks ago, before flying home *

It is a very strange feeling to be sitting here in the sun, thinking that in 3 days I’ll be on a 30 hour flight home. Something I didn’t think would happen so soon. But it is happening and I gotta deal with it somehow. I can proudly say that my mindset have changed so much and I deal with problems much better now than I used to, but also being just a human, sometimes it’s hard to accept certain situations and pretend that everything is ok when it’s not. I am hurting and most of all I am very disappointed that I just can’t to seem learn a lesson to stop giving people my 100%. Stop mothering them, stop trying to help & support them.

I feel like I’ve lost my home away from home, a place that I manifested and worked for. A place that will always be in my heart because it was my first home in Australia, because of all the incredible memories I made and people I’ve met there. Even though it was hard to deal with the fact that maybe this place isn’t ‘mine’ anymore, I am grateful for one major lesson: don’t be afraid of cutting people off from your life. I always said that to everyone but couldn’t take my own advice. Until now. During the 3 months of farm work I’ve had a lot of time to think, to reflect on my past, my relationships with people and work on self-development. I’ve watched people having incredible bonds, being supportive, honest, generous and loving and that made me realize, maybe some of the relationships I had weren’t serving me the way they should. When I was giving my 100% I was receiving nothing in return. The so called friendships were shallow, one sided and based on mutual benefits. I guess I had to get hit pretty hard to realize that maybe I am too good for it. I love giving but when you don’t even get gratitude maybe it’s time to stop.

I will never give up that side of me that is caring, helpful, kind and maybe a little bit naive. I will always give people the benefit of the doubt but like one very wise lady said (shout out to you Elly!) ‘don’t share your secrets’ – and I won’t anymore. I’ll let people work things out themselves, I’ll let them to find their own way to happiness instead of giving away my piece of heaven. At least I know now I can find happiness anywhere – it’s not a place, a person, a job but the state of mind. Leaving Agnes was emotional but it opened many other doors for me. I’m a little bit nervous but also very excited to find my new ‘home away from home’ where I can live my little dream for a bit longer.

How to find farmwork & complete 88 days

G’day everyone! I’m currently on ‘holidays’ back home in Poland and as you can imagine I have a lot of free time 😉 Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of backpacker forums on FB etc. and the one thing that really stands out to me is how many people complain about farm work, how hard it is to find it, low pay – the list is endless. Since I’ve completed my 88 days and to be honest, it was an awesome experience and finding a job was super easy for me I decided to write this little guide and hopefully help some of you get a job and extend your visa! 🙂 So let’s get into it!

 

1. Do your research!

It baffles me how many people just expect to be offered a job. They can’t even put an effort to write a decent post outlining their skills etc. Example post on FB, took me 1min to find:

I understand a lot of backpackers are really young, inexperienced and so on but this is the perfect opportunity to practice your skills, write a good CV/cover letter, show potential employers WHY you are the one for the job. The backpacker market is super competitive & saturated but there is enough jobs for everyone! If you want a good job that pays fair, boss treats you well, you gotta put some effort! There are numbers of websites, forums dedicated to finding eligible work. Spend some time thinking about what kind of job you want, what are your skills and expectations – do you just want 88 days or experience something new? Don’t adapt the negative attitude that farm work is hell – if you think that you are already setting yourself up for a failure.
Take is as an adventure, a new challenge – it’ll be 3 months of your precious time in Australia. Make it a good one!
Here are my fav forums on Facebook (just to name a few) :

• Backpacker Jobs in Australia
• Australia Backpackers 2019
• Farmwork Australia
• Australian Rural and Remote Jobs
• Backpackers 88 days and counting
• Backpacker Job Board (website)

 

2. Write your own advert

I can vouch for this! Whether it’s Facebook, Gumtree or setting a profile on one of the work related websites – there are tons of different ways to reach out to potential employers! I found my job through Facebook and can honestly say this is a way to go in Australia! At least in my opinion 🙂 After my Facebook advert I had 4 job offers within 2 days, my Gumtree ad got me another 3 offers – not bad hey?
Again, put some effort into your advert – think of what can you offer, how can you help your employer, what job would you be good at, do your skills meet your money expectations? This attitude pays off in life – I promise 🙂 Too many people just want easy money with no effort – this approach won’t get you anywhere in life I’m afraid 😉
You can add a picture of yourself – best would be previous, related work, showing that you’re an active, positive person. I’m not 100% sure about selfies/boobs out type of thing; not necessarily shows you in a professional light & may attract wrong type of employers. But that’s just my opinion, whatever works for you guys 🙂
Here’s a great example of well written Facebook ad:

3. Be proactive

Yes, writing your own ads is great but being proactive is even better! No matter where you are located, printing CVs and going to places in person is always a good idea. We make a first impression within first 30 seconds – so smile, be kind and positive! Aussies are truly awesome people and they really do give anyone a chance if you make a good impression 😉
If you have a car you are already in a better position than most of people – you can drive and look for work anywhere! But those without a car fear not, my pro tip here is to find work for accommodation in desired area and whilst you get free roof over your head in exchange for a couple of hours of work, you can focus on your job hunt in your spare time! Also, staying in one place for longer is awesome as you get to socialise & meet locals and that is a key to success! 🙂 Again, speaking from experience I landed 3 jobs just because I stayed in one place long enough to meet great people, showed that I’m trustworthy & committed and most of all made great memories & lifetime friendships!

Pic: Agnes Water YHA gang ❤

4. Trust your gut & know your rights

Once you get the ball rolling, things will become easy and you can start choosing what job is best for you! 🙂 Please always trust your intuition and if something doesn’t feel right IT MOST LIKELY ISN’T RIGHT. If you are unsure about a job offer, the farmer that says weird things, unclear pay rates etc. seek advice from others! Write on a forum, talk to someone you trust – maybe a manager in a hostel, call your mum or your friends who have more experience. Again, do your research – about the pay for certain industries, about overtime and penalty rates and many more. You can check all that on Fairwork’s website. Make sure you get your payslips, your employer pays your Super, 15% tax and that your weekly hours meet industry’s standards so you won’t have any problems extending your visa. Remember, you are here to have a great time, you are protected but also if you managed to make it so far from home, you should be smart enough to take care of your business 🙂

 

Ok, that’ll be all from me for now! I hope this little guide helps someone. Honestly, finding work isn’t that hard at all if you want it!

                 Finding good job requires more effort – but anything worthy in life does 🙂

So happy job hunting guys, you’ll do great!

Kasia xoxo

Outback memories

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my time working on a cattle station in North Queensland 🙂

I tried hypnotherapy for the first time!

I’m a person who always had quite unusual interests; Law of Attraction, witchcraft, crystal energy, natural remedies, exploring different religions such as Buddhism, taking parts in rituals from different cultures so when the opportunity to try hypnosis was given to me I simply couldn’t wait!

Honestly, I’m still sort of on a cloud 9 after my hypnotherapy session. I was in a very safe hands of an experienced hypnotherapist Cathy Barrow and I could not ask for a better person to experience this with.

Brain is the most powerful and magical organ in our bodies. We only use 20% of our brain capacity on a daily basis so imagine what we could achieve with the remaining 80%? There are numbers of ways on how to access our subconsciousness and hypnosis is one of them. The key to hypnosis is repetition – we learn through repeating the information. So to simply put it you can reprogram your mind with daily affirmations and totally change of your mindset!

The session started off with Reiki breathing techniques that helped me to calm down and get to a more relaxed state. Then we proceeded to start the hypnosis by first simple exercise where I focused all my attention on my hand and as Cathy was repeating the commands, my fingers started tingling and my hand touched my face – and I wasn’t controlling it. Afterwards, we moved onto the exciting part of the hypnosis – accessing and exploring my brain and thoughts. Firstly, Cathy coached me with repetitive suggestions, then she proceeded with a number of different exercises where I had to imagine different scenarios and fully try & connect with my subconsciousness.

I had quite important questions that I’ve been struggling with finding answers for. I simply felt a bit lost and needed some positive guidance. I needed to make peace with myself and that session allowed me do that and more! The whole experience was just unreal to me! I felt so many emotions from sadness, compassion for myself to happiness, peace and calmness. We made a very good connection with Cathy as I could follow the instructions even before she said them out loud. I managed to access different levels of my imagination and subconsciousness and find the answers I was looking for.

The most memorable part of that session was, when Cathy asked me to imagine myself in 6 months, 1 year and 2 years time. I could see it very clearly – just snippets of everyday life but with so much detail like I was physically there. These images in my head gave me the answers of what I’ll do and where I’ll be. Honestly, this was one of the most beautiful things I’ve experienced. It really opened my mind and shifted me on the next level of mindfulness.

Ever since the session I practice Reiki breathing every morning and that sets my mood beautifully. We really underestimate the power of breathing. Simply giving yourself a time to relax and focus on this most basic physical activity – it can make all the difference. It allows us to reconnect with ourselves, take a step back and unwind, clear the mind, stop thinking just for a minute and just sit in stillness. It’s absolutely beautiful feeling – the absence of thoughts. Just you being present in that moment. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone!

If you want to quit smoking, overcome anxiety, have low self-esteem, or have any sort of fear (flying/public speaking) Cathy can help you!

My guide to crossing the Nullarbor Plain – stress free

G’day mates it’s been a while! Almost 5 months (to be specific) since I moved to Australia!
A lot of things happened but hey, it’s good – more content for this blog! And to come back with style I decided to share my experience of driving across the Nullarbor Plain. Before me and my travelmates decided to tackle this route, I’ve done lots of research and tbh most of the info I found was over-exaggerated, so I decided to write my own blog post and share all the knowledge I have 🙂 The route we did was WA to SA. Norseman to Ceduna and it was 1200kms +

Excited to hear some cool shit? Let’s go then!

1. Do your calculations first

What do I mean by that is: know how much petrol your car uses per 100kms. Know how many hours you can drive per day. Know where your next petrol station is. Know where you gonna sleep (signal on Nullarbor can be patchy) Simple as that. As 3 of us could drive, we planned to cross the Nullarbor in 2 days – and we done it easily. We had to refill our car twice (only topped up from half tank – prepare petrol on Nullarbor is VERY expensive almost $2 per litre of Unleaded 91 and more for diesel). Also had a 20L jerry can so we saved some $ that way. Petrol stations are approximately 200kms+ apart and there is lots of them so you’ll be absolutely fine. Just do your math first 🙂

2. Have enough food and water + tell people where you going

This should be a no brainer. We overdone it slightly with water – had 10L can each so 30L of water for 2 days – didn’t finish one 🙂 But better be safe than sorry – we met some people on the free campsite that were broken down and shared our stuff with them. Food – take enough of dry/canned food to last 2/3 days. You never know what might happen on the way! You will have to eat all your fresh fruit and veggies before reaching Ceduna, as they have a searching point on the border and all your fresh stuff will be confiscated and you could find yourself in trouble. They do it to prevent bringing fruit flies etc to SA. As I mentioned, the signal can be patchy on the Nullarbor so it’s good to tell people where are you going and how long you estimate to be on the road. But also, you are never alone on this road. It’s actually very busy and we met lots of lovely people!

3. Use CamperMate or WikiCamps to plan your stops/camping

There is LOADS of resting spots and free bush camps so you’ll be absolutely fine. Lot of them have drop toilets, BBQ facilities and are secluded so you can have some quality sleep under the beautiful starry skies. We had good sleep, beautiful dinner and unforgettable experience of camping in the bush in the middle of nowhere. It was the full moon and I just couldn’t get enough of the view, space and silence. AMAZING
You can also camp on the paid campsites or even rent a room in all the Roadhouses and petrol stations – you’re covered.

4. Drive carefully and during the day

This one is very important. There is COUNTLESS roadkill on the Eyre Highway. Most of it is kangaroos, but we’ve seen some wombats and even an eagle 😦 It normally happens when roadtrains or trucks drive at night as all the wildlife becomes active after the sun goes down. So be extra aware when driving in the dark – they literally jump in front of your car as they are attracted by to the light. Or the best advice is don’t drive after dark and you’ll be sweet! Another important thing is aforementioned roadtrains and huge trucks – they go REALLY fast and they can’t slow down or turn easily so be extra vigilant, slow down when you see them approaching and get out of their way. Some people told us to check the wind direction and speed as the strong headwind can really influence your drive and petrol use, also driving in the full sun could be bad for your car. So in general early morning starts, know your stops and petrol stations and beware the big trucks!

5. Have fun! 🙂

Honestly, this drive is nowhere near as bad or dangerous as people make it out to be. If you have your wits about, plan properly, have food, water and petrol you’ll be absolutely fine! Get yourself Spotify premium or lots of good tunes to make the drive fun (you can follow my roadtrip playlist here) Make sure to stop at roadhouses especially the Nullarbor Roadhouse – they are all very unique and interesting and you’ll meet heaps of fun people. Get yourself some cheesy merch such as ‘I crossed the Nullarbor’ car sticker or a tshirt, have a greasy burger and chicken salt chips:) Stop and look at the cliffs, especially The Australian Great Bight – it’s incredible. All this space, desert like, nothingness for hundreds of kilometers – something you can’t describe or capture on the video or pic. You have to experience this yourself. It’s so humbling to realize how huge the world is and we are just tiny creatures being lucky enough to live on this Earth.

Here are some pics if you need any more convincing! 🙂 Happy travels and drop me a comment or message if you have any questions!

Winter sun photoshoot

At the beginning of this year I did my first photoshoot with Brett Hutt and I thought I’d share my fav snaps with you! Brett is a very talented guy and he made me feel super comfortable and relaxed and this shoot was pure fun – even though I was standing in short sleeve in 4 degrees haha

Hope you enjoy! The outfit details are:

Skirt – Primark

T-shirt – Pull and Bear

Beret – Zara

Jacket – eBay