The 28th March was a significant day for our family. It was the culmination of five years of journey. It meant the end of a season. It meant the end of a title. It meant that Australia is our home now. We became citizens of Australia on the 28th March 2012. No longer do we regard ourselves as immigrants. No longer do we watch the voting days from a distant. Now and forever more we are Australians by choice. What a walk it’s been. It’s not something that’s easy to explain this immigration journey. It’s been exceptionally hard and challengingly. Numerous times it’s been easy to toss in the towel but pure determination and dreams of a future to come have securely held me back. The emotions that a person faces – the desolation, the fears, the euphoria of passing so many tests that are required, the doubting and anxiety that’s constantly present for the first few weeks. The paper work, the cost, the information needed is challenging to say the least. The excitement of the trip, the first car and rental, new schools for the children, exploring the surrounding countryside. New jobs, new words, new friends. Everything takes time to develop all the while you are struggling with the new. Time has a way of healing oodles of things and coping is part of the daily routine for a while but then it passes. Knowing that because today is not a good day it doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t be. One learns to carry on despite disappointments, despite hurting and feeling lost. Someone told me it takes two years to settle in a new country. I think that it takes some two years and some more. We have tumbled into the more category I think. Standing in the middle of the 103 new citizens’, I looked around me. I wondered what their passage was like. What did they face and how long has it taken to get to this point for them. 35 nations were represented that night. An amazing amount of skill and diversity stood under that roof.
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