When I first started this project way back on 1st January 2014, the sole aim was to document 365 days of gratitude; to take a photo every day of something I was grateful for.
In the last two installments I spoke of how difficult it was to find something different I was grateful for every day of the year. This, dear reader, is not because I am a naturally selfish person, or because I’m ungrateful; it is purely because sometimes photo opportunities pass you by. When one is engrossed in a moment, whether it be taking in a landscape or listening to elders speak of war, or watching leaves blow in the wind, the last thing one thinks about is taking a photograph of that moment – there’s just something too precious about being lost in it.
Therefore the final installment of my 365 Grateful Project (albeit four months late) is more of a diary. There are days missing and there will be photographs missing but it still aims to document the things I found most beautiful and the things I considered most important; things I felt lucky to have experienced and things I want to remember.
Being grateful isn’t just about thanks, it’s about reflection; taking stock of what you’ve achieved. Whether this spurs you on to achieve bigger and better things, or whether it makes you stop and marvel at your life, it should at least, put a smile upon your face.
Day249 – Bike rides with friends.
Day 252 – Precious time with family.
Day 253 – Spending time with my dear friend, Alex and her beautiful children Isaac and Rosie.
Day 256 – Feeling proud of my little brother who is leaving the nest to go to University.
Day 257 – Old friends and still being able to chat, regardless of however long you’ve spent apart.
Day 260 – Cute and quiet Lancashire coffee shops allowing for quality time spent with my mother.
Day 263 – My Mother’s wedding. Grateful to be asked to be a bridesmaid.
Day 265 – The Fire Service and Glasgow. Keeping my helmet.
Day 266 – Lunch with this beauty – Kim Steven
Day 267 – Family – however distant.
Day 268 – Family friends who care and whose advice should be heeded – Vinnie and Joyce.
Day 269 – Stacey Maddock for organising a surprise leaving do for me.
Day 270 – Friends and family.
Day 271 – Dad and Lynne.
Day 272 – Au revoir England, the time to travel to Australia has finally arrived.
Day 273 – Nichola! Brisbane! – I’ve landed!
Day 274 – Brisbane wheel.
Day 275 – Day trip to Australia Zoo. Bucket list item ticked off.
Day 276 – Beautiful Mooloolaba Beach. An hour from Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast.
Day 277 – Old friends and to meeting new ones!
Day 278 – Mount Tambourine – all this on the doorstep!
Day 281 – Wandering round Southbank – a beautiful spot to sit and people watch; to ponder; to relax.
Day 284 – Oktoberfest in Australia – what’s the worst that could happen?
Day 285 – Nichola Byrne – grateful for her hospitality and kindness.
Day 286 – Moved to a hostel where I took part in a walking tour and met some people who I would become friends with for the rest of my time in Brisbane.
Day 290 – Being offered two jobs: things are looking up!
Day 291 – A day trip to Moreton Island – my first taste of beautiful Australia.
Day 296 – Planning – Fraser Island, Surf School, and a Sky Dive.
Day 297 – The opportunity to see an Australian football (soccer) game – The Mighty Brisbane Roar.
Day 298 – A weekend of sport continues with tickets to the Rugby – my first ever rugby game. Another bucket list item ticked off.
Day 299 – The colours of Brisbane. So pretty.
Day 303 – Meeting this crazy girl – Lynne Hunter.
Day 304 – Eat Street Markets.
Day 310 – A lot happened in six days – I lost one job and was beginning to get itchy feet, to escape Brisbane and see more of the country. I made steps to change things and applied for a job as an Au Pair….
Day 311 – Offered the position of Au pair for the Pangrazio family!!! I leave Brisbane in just over a week.
Day 312 – Trip to the Gold Coast to meet my cousin, Kris. Grateful for family.
Day 316 – Reuniting with friends – Nathan, whom I met after my Moreton Island trip. Making new friends too – Alice and Meike.
Day 318 – Fraser Island
Day 319 – Indian Head
Day 320 – Fraser Island. What an incredible place.
Day 321 – New job – hello Ormiston and the Pangraziio family! What an opportunity.
Day 325 – Cycling to Wellington Point.
Day 326 – Cleveland Point – what stunning views.
Day 327 – Springbrook National Park.
Day 328 – The amazing colours of trees lining the streets of my new neighbourhood.
Day 329 – Baking with the kids.
Day 330 – Manly Harbour – Queensland, not New South Wales!
Day 331 – Getting caught in a freak storm which was pretty scary.
Day 337 – Watching the kids at their swimming gala – appreciate being given the opportunity to be trusted with someone else’s children. It’s a massive leap out of my comfort zone as playing nanny and being maternal is not something I thought I could be. Funny how things change.
Day 339 – The kids carol concert.
Day 340 – Stereosonic – first Aussie festival – first of many, hopefully! What a day!
Day 346 – My Mum – just when I was beginning to feel a little low, she sends a parcel through the post – an advent calendar which happend to be melted. Haha. It’s the little things…
Day 351 – Nichola Byrne – this amazing woman has been a source of support since I met her in Beijing, May 2013, so for everything she’s done for me since then and since being in Australia, I will be forever grateful.
Day 352 – The last full day spent with the kids. We went to the beach at Raby Bay and played in the sea. I will genuinely miss them.
Day 353 – The next part of my adventure starts here – Byron Bay baby! A walk to the famous Lighthouse where I stood at the most easterly part of mainland Australia. This is what I came for!
Day 354 – Conquering fears and attending surf school.
Day 355 – Sunset over Byron Bay – so lucky to be witnessing this.
Day 356- Meeting such great people in Byron – Jenny, Viktor, Joey, Oskar and Eric, Sara and Lotta. People make places…
Day 357 – Overcoming other fears and jumping out of a plane. Sky Dive Byron Bay. Another bucket list item ticked off!
Day 359 – Christmas with family. Unconventional and upsetting but maybe it was a learning curve.
Day 362 – Mini Byron reunion. Travelling gives you these opportunities and keeping contact, building relationships and making strong bonds with people who have entered your life for a reason is something that should be encouraged.
Day 363 – Another day, another city. This time Sydney!!!
Day 364 – As far as reunions go, this was the one I was waiting for – finally meeting the lads from Orange again, two years after out first encounter in Krakow, Poland. The highlight of my year.
Day 365 – NYE in Sydney! What more can I say.
At the end of 2014, as I took time to look back, to reflect and to appreciate my life, I discovered I had been grateful for a lot of things without even really realising. I am grateful for family; for friends; for the time people take to have you in their life. I am grateful for nature, for sounds, smells and colours; I am grateful for the world and all it has to offer. I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, for the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been. But most of all, I’m grateful that I had the chance to document all of this; forever a reminder of how lucky I really am.
Chasing Amy-Lou 