There is this common misconception that living rurally means the opportunities available to you are few and far between.
Yes, we are predisposed to poor mobile phone service, sparser populations, and geographical obstacles, but I can attest that I've had far greater opportunity from my family property near Theodore than my time living in Sydney.
From writing for national publications as a journalist and launching a successful podcast from my living room, to becoming a photographer and nearing completion on a degree in which I've never stepped foot at a university, the only limitations I have faced are the ones I placed on myself.
My co-host and I put a question box up for the podcast asking our community what their biggest struggle is that's holding them back. The most common themes from hundreds of young women writing in were judgement, lack of confidence, anxiety and fear of failure - none of which are physical or environmental limitations. Not a single person wrote in saying the distance to town or their internet service.
Related to this, I recently read a book called You are not your Farm. It explored the concept of what we can and can't control. Whilst we can't control the weather, fuel prices, land prices and markets, we can control our mind, our attitudes, the people we associate with and our language.
It is ironic that the factors preventing rural people from seizing opportunities are within our control. It's as though many of us have fabricated this false barrier through intrusive thoughts, often which we blame others for, but in truth, it is our own internal monologue.
If the opportunities are there, why do people still feel they are unattainable? How do we convert that internal monologue to drive us in the direction we want it to? It is easy to say these are the steps, but when it comes to retraining our thoughts, sometimes that is the hardest part of the journey.
There is no overnight fix or one-solution-fits-all. It takes constant microsteps in the right direction to eventually gain traction and it is only in reflection you realise just how far you have come.
The same goes for the opportunities themselves. It's not like an Angus bull at a trough in the north; you have to put in the hard yards and go looking for it. You find a way, you problem solve, you google a heck of a lot and you commit.
- Isabella Hanson, QCL Showgirl 2023
