Sydney, I wish I knew how to quit you!

The last two weeks have been a hectic, but extremely pleasant frenzy of farewells. I found that even saying goodbye to my hairdresser and selling my car to the wreckers was emotional. (RIP little blue Mazda, I won’t forget you!) I caught up with so many people, said so many goodbyes, and organized -- with the help of many kind friends!!! -- a rockin’ trivia night.

Throughout the fortnight I stayed relatively calm and focused. My friend, Maddy, commented that even though I kept saying ‘Stop it, you’ll make me cry’, I was actually in complete denial about my imminent migration. The gravity of leaving didn’t hit me until I hugged my Dad at the airport. I became awash with tears and they didn’t dry up until I reached New York. How could I leave so many wonderful people? How could I leave such a wonderful life? How could I move to another city all by myself?

My beautiful French boyfriend, Alexis, came to the airport to see me off. The scene was reminiscent of a classic Hollywood movie except that rather than standing in front of a steaming train with whistles being blown around us, we both cried as we leant against the window of a duty-free store listening to people being paged over the loudspeaker. Who knows when we will see each other again? I’ve promised to make him my date at the Cannes film festival if ever I make it that far!

Saying goodbye to all my friends and family will be great motivation for me. I’m in New York to learn, to become an artist! I’m not going to waste time away from the people I love being frivolous and melancholy! It’s time to get to work!

I’m also scared about leaving my mentor, Lizzy. Her support and encouragement over the last couple of weeks has been incredible. I really have done things I never would have dreamed of before I met her. I can’t say thank you enough Lizzy! Here’s an example of her incredible PR work: http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/film/swapping-film-credits-for-course-credit.aspx