My Story!

2023 was the year of change for me. I had never felt more withdrawn from everything the way I did that year.

I was lost for a few months, or perhaps you could say, the entire year after I moved to Australia.  I had recently finished my MBA with a focus in HRM, gotten married, resigned from a full-time job, where I was now an editor, and flown from Pakistan to a state I’d never heard of, Adelaide, Australia.

Sounds like a crazy choice, doesn’t it -- packing your bags to leave everything behind and start from scratch just as you were getting closer to your goals? Well, it was more than that; it was an adventure I thought I was ready for but not quite so…

Initially, I thought I’d dabble with freelancing and see how my attempt at starting a freelance business pan out. Unfortunately, homesickness overcame me, and yet, I persisted.

In retrospect, I realise now that a part of me hadn’t come to terms with the fact that I was in a foreign country and needed some time to process the feeling before stepping out into the real world since I hadn’t fully accepted it. Perhaps, it was one of the reasons I chose to freelance for a while without realising it. (Yes, culture shock is real, and it takes its sweet time before you can fully accept it.)

For the first few months, I worked as a freelancer, presenting concepts and strategies to potential clients, and landing just enough projects to keep me afloat. I also continued to explore the city, visiting new places almost every day. I went to the gym, ensuring to keep up with my routine, which I thought would keep us, my husband and I, healthy, and if it didn’t, would at least contribute to our productivity.

 However, it wasn’t long before I spiralled into depression. I started losing passion for the one thing I thought I would never stop enjoying… writing!

Homesickness was getting the best of me. I missed my family. Every time I went out, and saw families spending time together, I felt lonelier than ever. That’s when I decided I needed to step out of my head if I needed to make this… life as an expat work for me!

The year 2024 brought a change in perspective.

I started listening to what my heart wanted to tell me.

It’s always a great idea to step back from your routine and look at your life from the eyes of a spectator, envisioning their response to it. “Do you like the person you see?” Ask yourself. If not, why? List your reasons down, and question yourself, your actions, decisions, and lifestyle.

I guess that’s what I did. I became better at talking to myself. On days, I didn’t feel good, I paused whatever I was busy doing to find out what depressed me. I tapped into my head, my thoughts and spent time with my sadness the way I would with a friend – from a place of love. I embraced it, making it feel like it was heard. And in those moments of silence, I got my answers.

After I understood the why behind my mood, I was able to help myself become a better version of myself, at least better than who I was yesterday.

Then, I started The Achievers, a weekly newsletter featuring stories that inspire.

Toward the end of 2023, I felt disconnected from writing because I couldn’t separate my passion from work. As I said, I had spent the last three years writing for others, forgetting that there were stories I wanted to write, tales I wanted to tell.

The idea of ‘The Achievers’ hit me on probably one of the most depressing days of my life. I didn’t want to live here, didn’t feel like I had a purpose in Australia, and felt like I needed to return home to my family and friends. I was applying for jobs as a recruitment specialist and getting rejected for any and every entry-level role I’d applied for.

It was a catch-22 situation. I needed to work to gain local experience, but I couldn’t land a role because I lacked experience, something a lot of us experience after moving to a new country/ state.

However, knowing that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this helped me continue to persevere, and that’s when it hit me. “I need to talk to more people like me, people who have experienced what I go through every day and have found a way to still make it work for them to inspire all of us.”

 And here we are, an idea turned into a safe space, where we spend quality time together to find inspiration from everyday stories, tales that when we pay close attention to always have a lesson, lessons that teach us about life one way or another!!!

What is The Achievers?

The Achievers is not just a newsletter that I write for you. It is where you and I get our weekly dose of inspiration and empowerment from the featured stories of people like you and me, people whose experiences, if not similar, are what all of us can relate to, hoping to find some motivation to pursue whatever it is that we want to achieve in life.  

Why Subscribe to The Achievers?

I made a conscious decision to make The Achievers a safe and free space for everyone. Subscriber or not, you are welcome to stop by anytime and get your dose of inspiration from our stories that scream resilience through and through.

Our weekly issues are published on the website for everyone to view, except those that are consciously and thoughtfully curated and selected (only) for the subscribers!

Subscribing to The Achievers ensures that our issues arrive safely in your inbox every week!

Mariam.