Ann-Marie : MyBlogHer Profile

My life has always been about community and growth.

I grew up in a loving family and a tight knit, supportive neighborhood in Ireland.
People really looked after each other; I simply adored being part of this caring environment.
Lovely as this life was it didn’t stop me from wanting to branch out; on the contrary that very community was an excellent foundation, from which I ventured out into the world.

On my travels I didn’t really experience as many new people as I’d hoped to, as my Irish friends came with me and we all pretty much stuck together.

Little did I know then, that my search for new experiences and learning was still yet to happen.
And happen it did; after meeting my New Zealand husband and deciding to emigrate and live in New Zealand. It was only then that I became really confronted with learning about communities, other people and myself.

I arrived in New Zealand, totally unfamiliar ground for me with no community to speak off.
Unintentionally I had finally ventured out on my own, and my real overseas experience was just beginning, away from a familiar community in which I had always known my place, my role and my identity. In this new country I was a nobody, alone and I was challenged big time.

I yearned to belong and be part of a quality community again. But I just couldn’t build one with the people I was meeting.
I began to look at what I had left behind in Ireland and THAT worried me even more. I have never been one for turning the clock back.

On New Years Eve 2003 I got so annoyed with myself that I made a promise, one which I was determined to keep. There and then I challenged myself to get out there and meet women that I wanted to hang out with, women who were fun and ambitious, who were willing to learn and had the desire to get as much out of life as they possibly could.
I was determined to connect with like minded women who questioned and were true victors in life. And I decided that if this community of women didn't exist I'd darn well have to build it then.

And so I went to work.
Wherever I showed up I met amazing women; within my career, personal development courses, hobbies and my social life. I was buzzing.
Once again I experienced the real essence of community, first hand.

I am excited!
In New Zealand AND in WomenLikeMe I have found what sparked my travel bug in the first place. I am now, more than ever growing; learning about me, about people, about communities and how we all connect.

I am doing something that is close to my heart and I truly belong here.

http://www.wilmasblog.com