One year ago I came off a plane and landed in Sydney. I caught a bus to Canberra and was finally home after nine months of being away.

Perhaps I came back with my tail in between my legs. It had felt like a long time away. I had no job to go to, no savings left and I was tired from the 9 months I had just lived. Nevertheless, my spirits were lifted, I saw my family again, I realised Canberra is the place for me now and I had my fiancee with me.

I didn’t know how soon my fortune would come, I just knew that it would some day. I was looking forward to going back to university. To find work in my field of study, to embark on my career, and to achieve whatever it was I desired.

I came back with a new appreciation of the city I’ve grown up in. I love it’s peacefulness and small size. I like a city centre that I can walk through on the weekends without feeling exhausted. I cherish the clean air I breathe. I love the fact that I can go to the markets and not have to settle for less than average food. Canberra’s a great city, I just hadn’t realised it before. I do concede that the people here are unfriendly compared to other parts of Australia – and the world – but I enjoy the pace of the town. You don’t feel or see the stress that bigger cities have.

I knew that in the following months, my life would improve and things would pan out the way I’ve always wished. It was so good for me to get out of Canberra to see what life is like outside.

Life outside can be tough. I’m glad I’m here. I plan to be here for at least the next ten years – although I’ll stay much longer than that. I was educated here, I grew up here. I sometimes find myself in parks and places that I would go to when I was a child and the memories would come racing back. There are many parts of Canberra that give me nostalgia.

I’m glad I’m working and living here. I plan to contribute to this city for many years to come. Everyone is defensive of the place they’ve grown up. I have no hesitance to defend it each and every time someone starts to complain about there being nothing to do. When you live in other places that don’t offer the same luxuries as Canberra, you can come back realising “what can’t you do here?” Canberra is what you make it, the only task is having to decide your adventure as opposed to it coming to you.