On My Future
‘Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.’ – Mattie Stepanek.
What I thought I’d be doing in the future…
When I started 2014, I never thought I would end it living in New Zealand. I never dreamed that I would be brave enough to make the life changing decision to move here. When I started 2014, I didn’t even know that New Zealand was what I wanted. More than that, it was what I needed to reboot myself and give me the courage to live my life the way I have always, deep down, felt that it should be lived. A life full of adventure, travel and new challenges.
I’ve written about the choices that led me to come to New Zealand before, and I’ve written about the wanderlust that’s always lived inside me in the past too. I don’t want to focus on the why or the how today. I don’t want to dwell on the past and the reasons I ended up here. In this post, I want to consider my future, as it is now.
The thing about plans is that they change. You might remember this post that I put up back in March. I was convinced that I would be going home in October, applying for a Master’s degree and then I would travel to Africa in 2016 for a few months before starting said Master’s degree. How wrong I was!
My future plans are changing…
As I’m sure all of you will now know, I’m not coming home this October. In fact, I love being in New Zealand so much, I’ve actually extended my visa here for another eleven months. I can come back and forth to this beautiful country until September 2016, which is amazing! It’s always good to have options…
In the aforementioned post I put up in March, you’ll recall that I was pretty set on my future plans. Nowadays, I have to admit, I’m more of the mindset that until my plans actually come into fruition, they are subject to change at any point. So whilst I do have new plans for 2016, they aren’t all one hundred percent set in stone.
So what is set in stone so far?
The Philippines.
Firstly, I want to get out of my comfort zone again, so I’m starting myself off with a two and a half week trip to the Philippines with C. We are flying out on the 28th November and arrive the next day.
Our plan for Philippines includes a night in Manila upon our arrival, followed by a trip north on the island of Luzon to see the Banaue rice terraces. They have been named the eighth Wonder of the World and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so I have high hopes they’ll be beautiful! I look forward to exploring the region for a few days.
We then fly to Palawan Island and will visit El Nido, Port Barton and Puerto Princesa during our time there. There will be time to relax, sunbathe, snorkel, take boat trips and soak up all the sunshine we can! I’m imaging beautiful white sand beaches, warm turquoise waters and lots of fun in the sun! I look forward to everything we have planned, and more.
Christmas 2015 in the UK.
We leave the Philippines on the 17th December and I’m heading home to the UK for three weeks. I arrive in London on the 18th December and am spending the
night in London before I finally head back to Wales and home.
Mum and Dad and my sisters. My friends. My dog. Home cooked delicious food. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. Pembrokeshire. Home cooked delicious food. My birthday. The gap between Christmas and New Year’s when we all fall into a food coma and put on a stone in weight. Home cooked delicious food. I can’t wait for the food…
After a brief two night trip away with Mum to Pembrokeshire, I’m heading back to London to spend a few nights catching up with friends there before I return to NZ to work again for a few more months.
Back to New Zealand… for now!
A few months back in this glorious country and then… I have travel plans. Plans that may involve a couple of things that are on my non-bucket list of travel. Plans that are fixed, in the sense that I know I’m going with P and we’re both committed. We have dates set down and a budget agreed and we’re currently researching our options. But the plans are not yet booked, so until things are concrete, I’ll keep quiet. It all seems pretty set in stone for us both right now but you never know. Something could change and we might end up not going.
Before this big trip, I am planning a short road trip around the South Island once again. I’m definitely going to do this whether the other plans come together or not, so it’s pretty much set in stone, even if nothing is booked yet. It’ll be the tail end of the summer season so I’m hoping to camp and drive and will be mainly aiming to get to Arthur’s Pass, the West Coast, Wanaka and Mt Cook. I want to walk, take photos, enjoy the mountains and lakes and the fresh air and the sea. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take about 10 days before I fly out of the country, which is a bit of a rush but better than nothing.
And my return to the UK and future plans.
In June 2016, I need to be back in the UK for P’s wedding. It’s the next firmly fixed thing in my calendar. After that, things get a bit hazy. I’ll be home for a while at least, but at present I don’t know for how long. I have rough plans from July onwards but it’s hard to say what will happen. In my mind, I have a plan that makes the most sense, but until the time comes, I can’t fully commit to anything.
By this time next year, I have an image in my head of where I’ll be, but it’s fuggy. I know where I’d like to be and what I’d like to be doing, but that’s all. Anything could change in the future.
I wonder, when I look back in a year’s time, if I’ll be remembering my trips in 2016 and they’ll be the ones I’ve outlined here. I wonder how my blog will have grown, what I’ll have posted about. Hopefully, there’ll be lots of posts about all the weird, wonderful, exotic and exciting places I’ve been to and the people I’ve met along the way. I wonder if I’ll recall the tastes, smells, sights and sounds from other countries, the collisions of culture, a kaleidoscope of colourful memories all meshed together.
I don’t know anything for certain, not yet. But I can hope, and I do with all my heart, that I will sit down this time next year feeling as happy and excited about 2017 and my future as I feel today about 2016. I hope I feel as optimistic as I do right now.
NB: This post was updated on 8th January 2020 and all images were added to this post retrospectively.
I'm excited to hear all about your plans, whichever ones come into fruition! xx