2016 will forever be referenced in the history books. Whether it be in professional sports, with hundreds of years of championship droughts being erased, shock political election triumphs, or the deaths of icons; it had it all.

For me, it wasn’t as bad a year as many verbalised. Sure, it wasn’t as good as 2015 or 2014, but I’m not one to compare years and prefer to enjoy the experiences, both good and bad.

I last wrote about spending Christmas in Canada and having a great time with the Harding family, and this marked the end of my travels. Victoria and I decided to move to Perth to earn some money and I was keen for a routine and getting a job back home.

It was strange to be back in Perth after such a long period of time on the road but it was nice to spend time with family and friends and lots of time at City Beach.

Within a few weeks of being home I got a job as a senior consultant at a strategic communications and PR agency and had to quickly adjust from a backpack and hiking boots to a suit and business attire from 9-5.

As much as I enjoyed being home, I still managed to travel a fair bit and went to Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, throughout Western Australia and also Melbourne in 2016.

I’m someone who likes to be challenged and strives for excellence whilst I chase growth and development, both personally and professionally. Unfortunately, my job never quite lived up its potential in this regard and instead of being a bystander, I resigned on the first working day of 2017.

I was offered an attractive 35% salary increase to remain at the organisation, but I couldn’t accept knowing that I was only staying for the money. My boredom and unhappiness would continue.

So, as I write this on-board an overnight sleeper train to Goa in India, I obviously decided to travel.

I didn’t quit my job to travel again, I quit my job because it wasn’t challenging and developing me. Travel is just the perfect by-product of having so much free time!

And after being in India for just over a week, I’ve already got that spring back in my step from experiencing some of the best things in life. Here’s to a big 2017!