G'day, I'm Zara

Right, so here's the thing – I'm absolutely winging it, and I reckon most of us are. But somewhere between my third career crisis and my hundredth "what am I doing with my life?" moment, I figured I might as well document the chaos.

I'm originally from a small town outside Brisbane, but Melbourne stole my heart during uni and I've been here ever since. There's something about this city – the laneways, the coffee culture, the way you can reinvent yourself every few months and nobody bats an eye. Perfect for someone who changes their mind about life plans more often than the weather changes here (which is saying something).

After uni, I thought I'd follow the "sensible" path – corporate job, climb the ladder, tick all the boxes. And don't get me wrong, I learned heaps working in marketing agencies. But by 25, I was burnt out, anxious, and felt like I was living someone else's life. Classic quarter-life crisis stuff, really.

So I did what any rational person would do – I quit my job, booked a one-way ticket to Thailand, and spent three months backpacking through Southeast Asia with nothing but a dodgy backpack and way too much confidence. Best decision I ever made, honestly. It didn't magically solve all my problems (shocking, I know), but it gave me perspective and reminded me that life's too short to spend it doing things that make you miserable.

Now I'm back in Melbourne, freelancing in marketing and communications, and trying to build a life that actually feels like mine. Some days I feel like I've got it sorted, other days I'm googling "how to be an adult" at 2am. Season 26 is my way of embracing both sides of that coin and hopefully connecting with other people who are figuring it out as they go.