Farm Life

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Big changes have come into my life recently. Two weeks ago I was taking the kids to the park in Brisbane, and a week before that I was in Cairns jumping out of a plane.

But now, I've moved out west not far from Brisbane to complete my 88 days of farm work needed to qualify for my 2nd year visa.

Transformation is definitely in the air, and with new environments and experiences comes new lessons.

Getting down and dirty with some hard work is a far cry from the exciting days of road tripping across the country.

I was so nervous to start as everyone says how hard it is. But it's not the work itself that's hard. It's the lifestyle.
It's the culture of contractors picking you up and dropping you whenever they please. It's the not knowing if you are working tomorrow until 6 in the evening. And more importantly it's the guilt and fear that comes with losing a job or not being able to find work.

So far I've been here not two weeks and I've worked for two different contractors and three different farms.

It's difficult as I just want to be settled in a job and get on with it, but constantly being uprooted keeps getting in the way.


I know I'm a huge optimist at heart. I'm proud of how I can keep a positive mindset during a hard day. But it's actually when I have time off that I've been struggling, as I can feel my anxiety creeping back up, worrying about if I'll find work and feeling guilty that I'm not doing enough.
I've also noticed that in the face of adversity I've started to slip into old habits and bad patterns, of being angry all the time and using humour and sarcasm as a defence mechanism. I've grown a lot over the past few months so I now know better than to give into this. It's a difficult road and I know it's only going to get more difficult as time goes on, but I'm confident that I can handle it.

But this post is absolutely not to be pessimistic; I did not come out here to just moan about it and I sure as hell didn't come to Australia to feel sorry for myself. I know I'm so incredibly lucky to be physically, financially, and otherwise able to have the opportunity to do this work. I'm working hard for myself and for my late Nan who would be so proud of me and happy for me.

And at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself it's all for a greater goal, to stay in Australia and live my dream!

Plus, there have been some unexpected good sides to farm life that I never would have anticipated. It's so nice to live with my friends and all people my age, and we do have our fun. I've met so many new amazing people, and it's been great living with my mates who I knew before coming here.


I'm also enjoying cooking for myself again and I've gone a bit veggie. I say a bit cos I'm not being strict with it, I just haven't bought meat since being here, besides for the odd BBQ!
My little room, had to make it my own didn't I?


And despite how hard it can be to wake up at the crack of dawn (sometimes before), no one can deny those sunrises are stunning.

It's gonna be interesting to say the least to see where this next chapter of my adventure will take me.

Shepp x

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