"So, What's Next?" What Happens After Coming Home From A Gap Year.

After almost a year of living in Peru, I’m now back in Aotearoa, the land of the long white clouds. “So, what’s next?” Once I had announced that I was coming back to New Zealand, that became the most common question
in my inbox. It’s not surprising really, after all we live in a world where information comes at the nimbleness of our fingers and only hindered by the speed of our internet connections. Life’s biggest questions can often be answered by a six-letter search engine, so why not this one?

There She Goes - Getting Ready For The Jump Off

The rain has stopped, and the house is really quiet. Except for my music - it feels like the world’s asleep and it’s not even 10pm. I’ve spent most of today on the couch, so maybe I’m trying to feel productive in what’s left of today. Hiking 18km in the Pakihi beats my usual leg day session. Today I chose to rest, plus I was sore.

What’s on my mind tonight? Nothing heavy, just reflecting I guess.

You can say that for every ending there is a beginning. Awhile back when I got the letter in the mail, I marked the date on my phone: Monday July 16, 2018. If you’ve been following my journey, you can probably figure out what was in that letter. I thought I would be sad, but really I felt more relief than anything, this was it, the sign from the Universe that really, it’s time for me to move on.

Hey. You're Doing Great.

On a lightpost in Whakatane is a black and white sticker which says:

Hey. You're Doing Great.

I walk my dog down this street a lot, and have probably walked past it a thousand times before I noticed it that morning. Someone must have taken the time to drag a ladder to the street corner because it’s high enough not to be just a spontaneous burst of optimism. Its message of motivation made me smile...a lot.

People have asked me if I miss having the dance studio (it’s been just under two months now). My reply is that I will miss the students, but the constant rushing, like going from my full time job to a class, not so much. Life’s been cruising lately - I’ve been doing lots of bush walks and I’m pretty sure I’ve finally made some decisions for South America. Sometimes when you see infinite choices before you, it becomes daunting to narrow it down to a simple yes or no. It looks like I may have to break down my travel plans into several trips if I truly want to explore the content. I can have that proverbial cake, but in smaller slices, with sweaty gym sessions in between.

Adventures, Life, MotivationRonna Grace Funtelar6 February 2018onepu, nzbushwalks, youaredoinggreat, motivationComment

Lessons From The Tron

Adventures, Friendships, Life, Self LoveRonna Grace Funtelar5 November 2017hamilton, poetryslam, newzealand, life lessonsComment

Crazy Is When Crazy Does

Finding yourself is really a journey about asking those questions - to do the work and peel back the layers to your core values and beliefs. Not everyone has to pack up their lives and move to South America (because you will probably save a hell of a lot of money in the process) but for me, it is. The changes in me doesn’t begin when I hop on that plane, it’s happening now. I’m already becoming the woman that I need to be in that next phase of my journey. Taking action creates the change, that forward motion, is saying fear can still walk beside me, but I won’t allow it to be a backseat driver either.

Adventures, Life, Motivation, TravelRonna Grace Funtelar9 October 2017adventure, life, motivation, tedx, tauranga, finding yourselfComment

Road Trip Adventures In The Coromandel

Google maps said the trip should have taken about 4.5 hours to get to Hahei, but due to the torrential downpour and stops we made exploring random roadside attractions, it felt more like I spent a whole day driving. My friend Jemma did well to stay awake considering she drove from Fielding the night before - she climbed on the top bunk bed just before 2am. I made sure my usual 5am alarm on my phone, not that I needed it these days.

Adventures, Friendships, TravelRonna Grace Funtelar17 September 2017adventures, friendships, travel, hahei, coromandelpeninsula, roadtripComment