A year and five days ago, I published my first post on this blog! I cannot believe I have been posting weekly for more than a year. And that many of you stuck around to read it! I just wanted to say thank you for your “likes”, encouragement and thoughtful comments along the way.
I started Nomad with a sense of urgency. My husband had an interview with an international company and there was a very real possibility of leaving our home. I felt that time was running out and I needed to write all my experiences and memories down before I was forced to make new ones in another country.
I had spent my early childhood moving from place to place, country to country. Hence one of the reasons for the blog name. I longed to settle and belong somewhere. The last thing I wanted was to start that transient life again.
I thought I had finally settled in a country I’ve grown to love.
The place is not perfect. But there are good people here. Kind people I’ve come to admire. I’ve fallen in love with her blue skies and bright sunshine; her “she’ll be right mate”, “no worries” and “fair go”. The place has taught me to care for the underdog and be wary of those who seek to win at all costs.
You should see these people at their best. They are hard not to love.
The blog was created as a way to capture this place and its people; to somehow take my home with me as our family travelled the world.
However, more than a year from the night of my husband’s interview, we are still in Australia. I feel for my husband, but I am quietly relieved.
Nomad also stayed. Oh the irony.
Blogging has become more than just another hobby. I started collecting stories of people I read about in the papers or through my work. I am always thrilled when they are kind enough to say yes to an interview.
I would love to collect more stories of ordinary people, from all cultural backgrounds, making a positive difference in their communities — contributing in their own way to make this world a little better. Their stories encourage me to care a little more. I hope they will encourage others too.
I also thought writing and posting my thoughts on a blog would be a solitary experience. I didn’t quite understand the WordPress editors when they said blogging was also about community.
I knew I would be pushing my ideas and stories out there, but I didn’t realise when I started Nomad I would soon be connected to other bloggers around the world, expressing their own ideas and feelings. Reading their work opened my eyes to their world and points of view. It’s been, and continues to be an interesting, and often encouraging, experience to get a peek into their lives and interests.
Reading some blogs feels like catching up with old friends. I may not dip into their posts all the time, but it’s been oddly comforting to see bloggers I follow come up on my feed, publishing their ideas and images for the world to see. It’s been lovely getting to know some of them, either through their comments or their blog posts.
Now it seems the very mechanism that was used to create that sense of community will soon close. The Daily Post will no longer publish new challenges, posts or community pools from the end of the month. And I will miss it.
So where to from here? I wrote earlier that I would like to keep collecting stories of people who are trying one way or another to make this world a slightly better place. I would also like to keep writing about experiences of settlement; of making a place a home.
But most importantly, I think I’m going to write. I was encouraged to keep writing last year by friends and family. Not to worry if it is good, bad or dead boring, but to just keep writing. It seems that we get better at stringing words to sentences to phrases, the more we practise it. There are days when I think this is great. And days when I wonder what rubbish I’m inflicting on people.
Anyway, just wanted to mark this milestone and say thank you for reading the blog. Here’s to collecting and preserving new experiences, new memories and coming across some good people along the way.
Nomad Online 
25 responses to “Happy 1st Birthday Nomad!”
Hi
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Hello 👋
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Happy birthday
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Thank you!
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Congratulations on your very successful first year! 917 followers! Awesome! I too will be coming up on my first year. I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog!
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Thank you Mimi!
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Congratulations! As you have been grateful to your readers and followers, I’m happy I was able to read your interesting thoughts and views. Yay!!! blue tamarind
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Thank you Blue Tamarind! 😁
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Happy Birthday Aggie. We must have started at roughly the same time, as my blog turned one too. Wow, one year definitely has gone by quickly. Congratulations and here’s to many more years of your great blog. Xx
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Thank you! And congratulations to you also!! The year has indeed flown by. I wish you many more years of wonderful experiences too. 😁
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👍🏼❤️
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Happy Blogging Birthday! I’m glad your time in Australia wasn’t cut short – it warms my heart a little to think that our country can wheedle its way into newcomers’ hearts – despite its faults (or maybe because of them?).
I really relate to your saying, “There are days when I think this [writing] is great. And days when I wonder what rubbish I’m inflicting on people.” I hope that on the one hand my painting outshines my writing, but on the other hand I suspect that on separate occasions both painting and writing have stepped in to save the others’ crappy performance!
Look forward to more of your posts – Cheers, Fiona
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Fiona! Hello! It’s the place I’ve known the longest and best. It feels like home now. I guess it is home! For a little longer anyway. And your work is great! I know there are times when we all wonder, but I hope that never prevents us from sharing what we create!
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Happy anniversary Aggie. I’m so glad I found your blog; it really helps to restore my faith in humanity sometimes. I’m with you on mourning the loss of the DP challenges — but I hope that the community we’re collectively building is strong enough to keep going and create new “excuses” to engage with each other. 🙂
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Thank you Su. I hope so too!
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Happy Birthday!!! I always enjoy your posts. Looking forward to another year of them.
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Thank you Ruth!
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I love your positive and encouraging stories very much. Please continue with them! ❤
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Thank you Ilka!
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Happy anniversary!
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Thank you 😊
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Happy blogging birthday! I’m so glad you’re here, contributing to this community and to your own in your part of the world. I look forward to more of your writing in year 2! And I am also going to miss the Community Pool, etc. I guess that’ll drive some of us to do more of the community-building on our own, which is OK too.
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Thank you Rebecca! You’re right. I guess we’ll have to rely on our readers and social media platforms more.
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Congratulations on your blogging birthday! I for one am very glad you’re here and I too mourn the loss of our community pool. There is a new one starting so hopefully we can all get behind that and promote it all we can!
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Thank you! And that sounds great!
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