Awakened In Australia: A Tale of Self Discovery

By Lisa Rossmeissl

Awakened in Australia is a short travel memoir recounting Lisa Rosmeissl's, owner of Boomerang Escapes, first visit to Australia. Her tale shares her experiences and the people she met over ten days in Australia, from her arrival in Sydney to her departure in Melbourne. This tale will inspire you to visit this destination and tr

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boomerang Escapes
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798988812814

Book preview

Preface

Change. I’m not talking about the change you find in your pockets or the bottom of your purse. I’m talking about the change that comes from meeting new people, visiting new places, and experiencing life. Change is something I have adapted to and have come to love. Change created the wanderer that I am today.

From a very early age, I moved. Not just from city to city, but from state to state. To date, I’ve moved 22 times within/to 10 different states. My childhood moves were a result of corporate society at the time—if someone did well, they were promoted and moved, and my father did well! Each move gave me new people to meet, new areas to discover, and new experiences to shape me.

In 2003, I landed in Bartlett, Tennessee. In 2008, my wandering soul led me to take a job at a local travel agency. I had stopped moving, but my need to explore and discover had not. What better way for me to continue to learn about the world than to create leisure travel packages of all kinds for clients? I love learning, so I dove into whatever seminar, webinar, or educational program I could find that would increase my knowledge of destinations. My primary focus was Australia.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a love for Australia, its wildlife, and its culture. I discovered Australia Tourism’s Specialist program in 2010 and went to work. In 2011, I became a certified Aussie Specialist with them. That same year, I would be invited to go on a familiarization trip to Australia, a journey that would forever change me and my life.

When I landed in Australia in the fall of 2011, I realized that dreams really do come true. I soon discovered so many other things about myself thanks to the experiences I was exposed to and the people I met! Who knew a destination could be so compelling? That trip literally brought tears to my eyes…and also resulted in the birth of Boomerang Escapes in 2013.

Prologue

It was 2011, and my body had finally reached its limit. The perfect me—the hand-raiser and overachiever—was hit smack in the face with the fact I simply could not keep going at the pace I was going. I also couldn’t keep doing all the things on the outside to make it seem to the world like all was good on the inside.

Sadly, I was in a marriage that had been in a slow decline. Although everyone thought we were the quintessential Barbie and Ken, the truth was that our home life was becoming unbearable. The hours I poured into being what I thought was the best wife