There Is No “Thing” That Will Make Your Life Complete: reflections on my 25th birthday

Today is my 25th birthday! And I'm celebrating extra hard today not only because it means I am a quarter of a century old but because I could have very well not been here to celebrate it. 

For those who don't know, I had an encounter with a crocodile earlier this year which left me with some gnarly scarring on my left calf. It could have taken my leg, or worse, my life... but it didn't. As I write this now, I am happy to say I can do most things normally (except standing for a long time still does hurt my leg). Year 24 was a big one - I moved to a new country, had my TV debut, was involved with a lot of cool projects, and am looking forward to the future.

Reflecting on this year, I am proud of what I have achieved and chose to use the rejections I faced this year as motivation to reach for bigger things for the big 2-5. But reflection sometimes makes you wonder "What if?"​

​If you could only ask for ONE thing right now, what would it be? What is the one thing you feel is missing from your life and if you just had “x”, THEN your life would be “better”?

I realised I have lived my life a lot with that mindset. Oh if I do x or accomplish y that my life will be better because I think the 'other side' will be better. I rarely stopped to actually see where I was right now and appreciate what I have, be grateful for the little things, take a breath and just "be." That's a dangerous way to live- constantly on the go but never admiring the views.

Maybe the "other side" will be better. I hope it is. Wanting those things isn't a bad thing, but there is a bad thing in that mentality of constantly wanting more and not appreciating what you have. There is no "one thing" that will make our lives complete, yet many of us believe the lie that if we just had it, our lives would be better. 

Don't forget to live your life fully -- appreciating every moment, no matter how small -- because there will always be something else you will long for. So chase your dreams and aim for the stars... but remember that where you are now is pretty sweet too. That's what I'll be focusing on this year.