Georgie girl has been a very close friend of mine for many years now, we've celebrated, cried, fucked up, laughed, made some great decisions and not so great decisions together. She is more a sister than a friend.George isn't the type of girl to talk herself up she see's things how they are. I admire Georgie and hold a spot for her very close to my heart. I feel honoured in the trust she has to share her experiences of loss, the reality of having the "dream" job and Bali during covid on the blog.
*** please note, this chat discusses suicide.
Who is Georgie? hehe
Hey girl! Who am I? Well i'm just a regular girl that grew up on the beautiful South Coast of NSW in Jervis Bay. I love travel, nice food, summer and my friends and family! When i'm not working you will find me at the beach with my partner and friends or at home in the kitchen cooking, as this is one of my passions.
What made you the beautiful human you are? Resilient, Caring, Hard-working,
Amazing???
haha thanks for being so kind Elle! I have one word for that and it's my mother! My father sadly lost his battle with depression when I was 12 years old and my brother was 10. I have learnt from her to be grateful for what I have and that you just have to keep going even when life gets tough. Watching her and learning how to be a strong independent women is something I cannot thank her enough for. She has made me the woman I am today.
Having you as one of my closest friends for a while now, I've seen you heal and
expand. I know your experiences have made you the amazing human you are.
But how did it feel in the time? To accept experiences out of your control?
With my Dad passing away so suddenly and tragically there is nothing anyone could have done to prepare me. I had just started year 7 in a new school in a new area and unfortunately my dads suicide was talked about on the news which then spread rumours through my new school. So trying to fit in became really hard because I was known as the girl whose dad killed himself, this still affects me to this day. I placed a lot of blame on myself for years wondering why I wasn't enough to keep him alive.
I have spent time with councillors that really helped me understand mental health and depression. Talking to them and working on myself and my thoughts is the reason I have been able to heal and stop blaming myself. I think it is so important for all of us to see a counsellor at least once in our lives, there is something so powerful about owning your own mental health and admitting when you're not feeling good.
What have you taken from these experiences? What rituals, or self-discovery tools,
do you still use / learnt to heal and accept?
I still struggle now with bad thoughts and especially as I get older I always wish that my dad could see me working, or I often think about the fact that he won't be here to walk me down the aisle or to meet his grandchildren one day. But the most important thing I always tell myself is that he is at peace now and he wouldn't want to see me feeling down and caught up about those things. I know he is happy now and looking down on me so that is what keeps me happy. I focus a lot on treating people kindly and I believe strongly in Karma this is something my Dad taught me. The main thing for me now is to live a life that he would be proud of.
What was it like to work with your partner, in a "dream" job?
Well back in 2019 my partner and I were offered a job with a Luxury Surf Experience company which basically broken down is living and working in some of the most amazing 5 star resorts in the world and taking their guests surfing! It sounds amazing and it was but it was definitely interesting for Vinny (my partner) and I. We went from living 2 hours away from each other at home just seeing one another on weekends, to spending 24 hours a day together and being business partners pretty much overnight! We laughed and we cried.
I remember having to tell Vinny that someone had booked a beginner surf lesson when he was watching pumping waves out the front of our resort in Bali, he had his zinc on and he was about to go surfing and I had to stop him, i'll never forget the look on his face! haha. It was definitely hard to balance our relationship and work during those times as we had to talk and act as if we were just colleagues all day and this sometimes made the relationship feel dull.
We went on a lot of dates after work where we could just be ourselves and I think that was something that really helped. Although it was hard at times I wouldn't change a thing, we have memories that will last a lifetime and experiences that we only dreamt about before.
What was Bali like during the beginning of the pandemic?
This is a great question because i'm sure there are alot of people that couldn't imagine what it would be like living in another country during a pandemic. It was heartbreaking to tell you the truth, I'm sure most people that read this have visited Bali or have a friend that has been. They wouldn't have recognised the main street of Kuta, every single shop has been closed down/abandoned Kuta beach was empty most days all of the surfboard rentals were closed down. The iconic Single Fin Bar was completely empty for almost 6 months. There was a very eerie over there from March to November.
In the beginning things were fine but as the virus started taking over the locals were given no warning and told to shut down their business. We missed our opportunity to return home so we decided to stay.
Something that i found so amazing is that even during these difficult times the beautiful Balinese people still managed to have a smile on their faces, our two Indonesian staff who unfortunately couldn't work because of Covid started a fundraiser to buy dog food for the stray Bali dogs who were usually fed by restaurant owners before they closed. They would wake up early and drive through all of the neighbourhoods and feed the hungry dogs.This made my heart melt!
From Being sprayed on the streets with sanitiser from a fire struck, to walking through arches of sanitiser to go into the grocery stores. Military patrolling the streets and beaches in huge trucks with guns most days. I think Vinny and I saw it all over there! We just hope that when the borders open people can return to Bali to support the local people and their economy because they truly are the most beautiful people!
What sets your soul on fire?
A warm summer's evening surrounded by the people I love and lots of delicious food!
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A dear friend of ours, Alex. Creates his clothes and are sold on ohti. In hope to provide him an income due to a lack of tourism in Bali. Find out more here: