On the move (again)
Over the process of the next few weeks (so excited about the physical process of this dragging out…) I will be leaving Auckland and officially moving to Hamilton. I’ve had one foot out of the city most of the year going back and forth each week, but always saw that as a temporary situation and I would be returning to Auckland by the end of the year.
I’ve lived in Auckland for 5 and a half years. It’s the longest I’ve been in one place as an adult- before here I hadn’t lived in one location for longer than two years continuously. It’s not perhaps the achievement you might think, the city is pretty large and that 5.5 years has involved 7 different home addresses…. But I stayed at the one gym and that’s the sort of commitment I’m here for haha.
As I’d think is inevitable with major life events, I have pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing. I’m moving for work and for my future. From next term (aka in 3 days time) I will be working full time at Waikato Diocesan in the Sports Department. Ironically, one of my roles is Rowing Manager, so you know just casually right back in there, the statement ‘no longer involved’ being true for a total of approximately 18 months. I haven’t taken the job specifically for that reason, I have taken it for the opportunities and financial stability it provides me. I’ve made the choice to re-enter full time employment to enable me to plan for my future in a way that hasn’t been possible through the contract and volunteer work I have focused on over the last 3 years (that statement sounds less ridiculous when you consider I was also a post-graduate student until 6 months ago). In my mind, the work I was doing with Weightlifting New Zealand was building towards a full time (or thereabouts) role. I think it will exist at some point in the hopefully not too distant future, but it doesn’t exist right now. It does make me sad to step away from (almost) everything WNZ, particularly the many unfinished projects. But when I’ve got limited ability to do extra on top of the ‘9-5’, it’s an extremely easy choice to prioritise coaching above anything at an organisational level.
Opportunities in coaching is also one of the draws of Hamilton- I’ve got them coming out my ears. Being able to commit to these and really start developing local athletes… Let’s just say I’m pretty excited about the next 12 months and making my mark here. At the same time, extremely sad to be leaving Functional. FSO represents my whole time in the sport to date. I’ve been through personal, athletic and professional growth in that space. The people there make up the majority of my current social life, not to mention it is the largest and most equipped space to train in the country. It’s ruined me now I’m too used to nice things.
So, mixed emotions but it’s good change and that’s where we’re at. I live in Hamilton, I’m coaching out of Waikato Weightlifting, I’m here to highkey slay straight fire no cap periodt.
#millenialtriesteenslang
