2016 started off a little rough for me, rolling up back to Auckland after Fringe World, broke, heartbroken, unemployed and stuck (so I felt but actually it was great) living with my parents. At this (seeming to me) low, I can not thank my friends and family in Auckland enough for embracing me with open arms for returning home.
As someone who is prone to depression, I am so thankful that I managed to get through this rough time without falling into the dark hole that is depression. Without the kind embrace of my friends and family I don't know if I would have been so lucky. Love, support, understanding are so important when helping someone dealing with depression. It can be so difficult supporting someone who struggles with mental illness.
Below are some of the things people did which helped me stay away of that black hole:
- Inviting me to join an indoor netball team (Dropped the Ball)
- Helping me find work ! (Thanks Sarah for LEGO and Kimberley for Sanctuary Dental)
- Housing me rent free and giving me a car to drive (Mum and Dad)
- Giving me things to do (Thanks Gina for Show Me Shorts and craftanooning, and thanks to Scarlett - Frocks on Bikes)
- Inviting me to do social things (Thank you to all the 'Ladies night Ladies' - also we need to come up with a better name for this group)
- Taking me out for meals (Thanks James)
- Providing me a little nephew Wallace (Thanks Fynn and Bex) to love me unconditionally (as #1 Aunty)
- Cooking me over for dinner (Thanks, Lauren, Charlotte, Rach, Fynn and Bex = x100, and also Seamus)
- Going to all the shows with me (Thanks comedy crew buddies Lizzie, Chye-Ling)
- Joining me for walks up Mt Eden (thanks, Livvy!!)
Everything seems to be falling into place for me, which is almost overwhelming. There is no way I would be where I am today without the love and support I received from the wonderful people in my life. I would never guessed I would have come to the end of 2016 on such a high**.
So many exciting things to come in 2017! Here are a couple of things I am really looking forward to the first few months of 2017:
- Auckland Fringe - I am not only performing with the amazing Wet Hot Beauties, Sea Change, I am also doing my OWN show, Teeth Talk.
- I am starting a new job at AUT, as a 'clinical educator'. This will be just for a few hours on a Tuesday, supervising the dental hygiene students. I am so excited by the challenge of this new role.
- On Wednesday 1st of Feb, I will be officially starting Wednesdays at PerioCARE. This is a specialist periodontist - a gum specialist. I had started doing some half days in the last few months of 2016. Now I'll be there a whole day.
**Although my actual NYE celebrations finished early due to a touch of food poisoning (I managed to last until the countdown then promptly taxi'd home).
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| My one photo I took of NYE party right before the count down. |
Some positive thoughts from 2016, Chris actually had 46 points but I cut it at 25. You can look them up the rest of them here if you want:
From Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hanfield (twitter)
1. The Colombian government and FARC rebels committed to a lasting peace, ending a war that killed or displaced over 7 million people.
2. Sri Lanka spent five years working to exile the world’s deadliest disease from their borders. As of 2016, they are malaria free.
3. The Giant Panda, arguably the world’s second cutest panda, has official been removed from the endangered species list.
4. @astro_timpeake became the first ESA astronaut from the UK, symbolizing a renewed British commitment to space exploration.
5. Tiger numbers around the world are on the rise for the first time in 100 years, with plans to double by 2022.
6. Juno, a piece of future history, successfully flew over 588 million miles and is now sending back unprecedented data from Jupiter.
7. The number of veterans in the US who are homeless has halved in the past half-decade, with a nearly 20% drop in 2016.
8. Malawi lowered its HIV rate by 67%, and in the past decade have seen a shift in public health that has saved over 250,000 lives.
8. Malawi lowered its HIV rate by 67%, and in the past decade have seen a shift in public health that has saved over 250,000 lives.
9. Air travel continue to get safer, and 2016 saw the second fewest per capita deaths in aviation of any year on record.
10. India’s dogged commitment to reforestation saw a single day event planting more than 50 million trees, a world record.
11. Measles has been eradicated from the Americas. A 22 year vaccination campaign has led to the elimination of the historic virus.
12. After a century, Einstein’s theory of gravitational waves has been proven correct, in a ‘moon shot’ scientific achievement.
13. China has announced a firm date for the end of the ivory trade, as public opinion is becoming more staunchly environmentalist.
13. China has announced a firm date for the end of the ivory trade, as public opinion is becoming more staunchly environmentalist.
14. A solar powered airplane flew across the Pacific Ocean for the first time, highlighting a new era of energy possibilities.
15. Costa Rica’s entire electrical grid ran on renewable energy for over half the year, and their capacity continues to grow.
16. Israeli and US researchers believe they are on the brink of being able to cure radiation sickness, after successful tests this year.
17. The ozone layer has shown that through tackling a problem head on, the world can stem environmental disasters, together.
18. A new treatment for melanoma has seen a 40% survival rate, taking a huge step forward towards long-term cancer survivability.
19. An Ebola vaccine was developed by Canadian researchers with 100% efficacy. Humans eradicated horror, together.
20. British Columbia protected 85% of the world’s largest temperate rainforest, in a landmark environmental agreement.
21. 2016 saw the designation of more than 40 new marine sanctuaries in 20 countries, covering an area larger than the United States.
22. These marine reserves include Malaysia’s 13 year struggle to complete a million hectare park, completed this year.
23. This also includes the largest marine reserve in history, created in Antarctica via an unprecedented agreement by 24 nations.
24. Atmospheric acid pollution, once a gloomy reality, has been tackled to the point of being almost back to pre-industrial levels.
25. Major diseases are in decline. The US saw a 50% mortality drop in colon cancer; lower heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia.
