"I Changed my mind" – the story of my life, of constant changing of directions.
Studying history in school we learnt about how life was in our parents and grandparents’ day and the long struggle undertaken by pioneering women who changed the way we are perceived in society. I learnt a great deal in studying the transition of women from being bred to care for the men and populate the country, to being individuals with intelligence and freedom to choose a path in life. With encouragement from both parents, I was inspired to work hard to achieve my goals. Though those goals kept moving, too.
The influence of my very artistic Aunt during my early childhood lead me towards becoming an author, or artist. I spent many hours watching her paint, create sculptures and write inspiring articles. Then our family began a new life in Australia so the earlier influences on my life, that aunt, my grandparents and a cousin, were not such a strong factor. I had made new connections.
I did all my schooling in WA and wanted to be a vet after assisting in a local vet clinic after school and during school holidays. Then a farmer, because I loved animals and grew up in a farming area. I even had ideas of being in the police after watching UK crime dramas. Then I thought of a job on a cruise ship, though after my two cruise holidays I decided that definitely wasn’t an option - ships bounce around too much. I kept drifting from one to another, trying each career in turn and generally mastering not much!!!
Things changed rather dramatically following two events in my life.
One was visiting London at a time the IRA was very active. I was in London with my cousin and we had had long talks about career life etc. I said that I had not been that good at school and most careers I had thought of probably wouldn’t happen. My cousin asked why I didn’t follow my police dream. I said I wasn’t good enough, however he insisted that they need people and would train me. The IRA were very active, Experienced officers were needed to combat those incidents, while new recruits were needed to do the basic stuff. We had a bet about whether I would be accepted. I lost! They chose me………………
The second event was a chance encounter on a bridge. I had been through some awful experiences and had changed my mind again about being a police officer in the UK. I yearned for family and the peace of Australia. I was standing on a bridge overlooking the Thames River, deep in thought and constantly changing my mind about what to do next. A voice said, please come away from the edge, come talk to me, nothing can be that bad. I stepped back and found myself talking to a Salvation Army Officer. After boring him for 2 hours, I made the decision to return to Australia and explore career paths there.
Once safely back at home I looked at past jobs, looked at police work and decided to find something less stressful. Again, I changed my mind, deciding I had learnt a lot about myself by getting into the police, why waste it? I applied to the Navy, changing my mind when I recalled those heaving ships on cruises. So, I ended up in the RAAF. It turned out to be a good move. They put me in the Police and Security division and I had a long and rewarding career. Well, long for me.
When I eventually got out of the RAAF I had careers in Human resources, Occupational Health and Safety, Stock control and purchasing. I just kept changing my mind…………………………………
Now I’m sort of retired, but that’s a future topic.
Heather Hartland
July 2023
Studying history in school we learnt about how life was in our parents and grandparents’ day and the long struggle undertaken by pioneering women who changed the way we are perceived in society. I learnt a great deal in studying the transition of women from being bred to care for the men and populate the country, to being individuals with intelligence and freedom to choose a path in life. With encouragement from both parents, I was inspired to work hard to achieve my goals. Though those goals kept moving, too.
The influence of my very artistic Aunt during my early childhood lead me towards becoming an author, or artist. I spent many hours watching her paint, create sculptures and write inspiring articles. Then our family began a new life in Australia so the earlier influences on my life, that aunt, my grandparents and a cousin, were not such a strong factor. I had made new connections.
I did all my schooling in WA and wanted to be a vet after assisting in a local vet clinic after school and during school holidays. Then a farmer, because I loved animals and grew up in a farming area. I even had ideas of being in the police after watching UK crime dramas. Then I thought of a job on a cruise ship, though after my two cruise holidays I decided that definitely wasn’t an option - ships bounce around too much. I kept drifting from one to another, trying each career in turn and generally mastering not much!!!
Things changed rather dramatically following two events in my life.
One was visiting London at a time the IRA was very active. I was in London with my cousin and we had had long talks about career life etc. I said that I had not been that good at school and most careers I had thought of probably wouldn’t happen. My cousin asked why I didn’t follow my police dream. I said I wasn’t good enough, however he insisted that they need people and would train me. The IRA were very active, Experienced officers were needed to combat those incidents, while new recruits were needed to do the basic stuff. We had a bet about whether I would be accepted. I lost! They chose me………………
The second event was a chance encounter on a bridge. I had been through some awful experiences and had changed my mind again about being a police officer in the UK. I yearned for family and the peace of Australia. I was standing on a bridge overlooking the Thames River, deep in thought and constantly changing my mind about what to do next. A voice said, please come away from the edge, come talk to me, nothing can be that bad. I stepped back and found myself talking to a Salvation Army Officer. After boring him for 2 hours, I made the decision to return to Australia and explore career paths there.
Once safely back at home I looked at past jobs, looked at police work and decided to find something less stressful. Again, I changed my mind, deciding I had learnt a lot about myself by getting into the police, why waste it? I applied to the Navy, changing my mind when I recalled those heaving ships on cruises. So, I ended up in the RAAF. It turned out to be a good move. They put me in the Police and Security division and I had a long and rewarding career. Well, long for me.
When I eventually got out of the RAAF I had careers in Human resources, Occupational Health and Safety, Stock control and purchasing. I just kept changing my mind…………………………………
Now I’m sort of retired, but that’s a future topic.
Heather Hartland
July 2023
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