My happy place

I don’t have a lot of people in my life that I can say I have been talking to for 15 years, but there is one. My friend Ashley, we tortured each other in middle school and became the best of friends. She understood my love for the water, my biggest cheerleader at my water polo games, my kayak buddy and my therapist in between all of those things. We don’t talk much, maybe a couple times a year. I got in contact with her to discuss our lives and where we are at and what we are up to. She reminded me that my happy place has always been the water, it will always be the water and to never hide from the water. We would ditch class to go down to the beach (sorry High School) I am pretty positive that the beach was the first place we drove to when we got our licenses. Growing up in Orange County, CA gave us the opportunity to have the ocean 20 min (no traffic) away, and we thrived off of that.

 

I am now currently sitting on a land built off of volcanoes, some that are still rumbling. I decided to move to an island, an island that is small-I can see the ocean from a quick drive to the West and a quick drive to the East. It is definitely in the top 10 of best decisions, I have probably ever made. First is probably trusting the ocean to cure my ailments, cure heartbreak, a place to seek inspiration, a time to just sit and watch. As I have gotten older, the ocean has played a huge role for me, spending my lunch breaks in Seattle down on the water front-searching for whales and failing miserably. Now I have a quick drive to any type of beach I want, black sand, white sand, shells, no shells-I’m obsessed. I am content, I am happy. I may not know why I am here in New Zealand, but the universe wanted me here and I am meeting some really wonderful people and I have already grown so much in the last two months. They have shown me new waters, new ways to look at life and help me thrive off of wanderlust-rather than shut it down. I owe this country a lot and it’s only been a short period. It’s a magical land, with magical waters. I encourage you to find your ocean inspiration, in whatever form it may be. Find your happy place, where hurting doesn’t exist. A time to regroup, re-energize, find love in yourself again. It’s tough-I know. I’m not perfect, but the ocean is pretty damn close and it’s helping me find my inner peace.

 

To all the friends and family that have spent countless hours with me on a beach, I applaud you. I hope that it was as memorable for you, as it has been for me. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be sitting on this island in the middle of the pacific ocean. Thank you for giving me the courage in my life, the courage to have restless legs, courage to talk to everyone I encounter, courage to ask someone their story-to be a nomad.

 

With love,

Turner

 

Not Just a Country Full of Sheep

I’ve been in New Zealand for a little over a month now. The first thing you notice when you arrive is the green. It is beautiful, green pastures, green trees-I guess arriving right at the beginning of Spring, this is what you would see. It being Spring, babies, babies everywhere. Little lambs, cows, goats, mostly lambs…lots of lambs…I’m obsessed.

I’ve learned a lot about myself already and how much I thrive in a “foreign country.” I think that is what has been missing these past few years, after China. This adventure has found me helping a host on her 9 acres, she is a dog breeder and I have had the chance to learn the world of professional show dogs. It’s actually pretty cool, I was hesitant at first, but it’s growing on me. I get 4 pups to play with and another 4 older ones to hang out with.

A lot of you have been asking me about my timeline-I don’t have one. I’m falling in love with this country, the beaches, the sheep, the people. It truly is a wonderful country and I challenge each one of you to visit it. You won’t be disappointed.  I’ll be here to give you a tour 🙂

I’m not sure what direction this blog will go, but I will be updating it with random things as I go along. I hope you follow along and enjoy the pictures, stories and most likely funny commentary of the differences of this country and my home country.

 

Peace,

Turner

Maybe it is a country just full of sheep, after all.