Savannah’s Journey of Personal Growth in Australia
Wallabies. Cassowaries. Duck-billed platypuses. There’s no denying that evolution just hits different in Australia. But you don’t have to read the works of Darwin to understand the transformative charm of the land down under. Just ask Savannah, who recently returned from her Work & Travel Australia adventure and graciously shared much of the wisdom she learned along the way.
Originally from Indiana, Savannah had previously spent time working in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, so being away from home wasn’t entirely new. But traveling halfway around the world to a country where she knew no one represented an entirely different leap of faith. It was a step outside of her comfort zone that would ultimately transform her understanding of herself and what she was capable of.
“Why do I want to go to Australia?” Savannah pondered prior to her trip. “The question is a common one, often met with an expectation for an elaborate or specific answer. The truth is, there is nothing extraordinary about my reason. Fortunately for me and my circumstances, it’s simply because I can. I am young, healthy, and I don’t have a ton of responsibilities holding me back from doing something crazy like this.”
What followed was a transformative year that took her from the buzzing streets of Sydney to isolated cattle stations seven hours from the nearest town, from surf camps along pristine beaches to dairy farms with more cows than people. Through each experience, Savannah discovered new dimensions of courage, resilience, and self-confidence that would have a lasting impact on her approach to life.
The Leap into the Unknown
“Unlike some of my friends who travel to escape a place once called home, I myself love my home,” Savannah explains. “I love my hometown, my family, my friends, and the life I created for myself back there. So, why leave? The answer is very simple in my head: Why not?”
This philosophy of seeking growth from curiosity defined Savannah’s approach and encouraged her to embrace new experiences.
“While I love my current life, I believe staying in the same place leads to complacency,” she continues. “That is something I always try to avoid in my life. Being complacent is not for me, at least not yet. I think in your twenties, at least for me personally, it’s about experiencing anything and everything as much as possible.”
Despite her enthusiasm, the decision wasn’t without emotional conflict. The weeks before departure brought waves of anxiety that nearly derailed her plans entirely.
“I was literally thinking about not going just because I was just so nervous about going,” she admits. “The last two weeks before going, I just felt like I wasn’t prepared enough. I was literally too afraid to even do research about Australia because I was too scared to… I was afraid that I wouldn’t go.”
In the end, Savannah’s courage and determination prevailed, and in January 2024 she boarded her flight to Sydney, New South Wales.
First Steps and Early Challenges
Although everyone experiences culture shock differently, the moment of arrival in a new country often brings a rush of excitement that temporarily overshadows doubts. For Savannah, however, the emotional complexity began immediately.
“When stepping out of the airport in Australia, a sense of homesickness already set in for some reason. I have never felt homesick before,” she shares. “My first initial reaction to the environment when stepping outside of the airport on Australian soil was the humidity. Where I am from in the states, it can get surprisingly humid during the summer months. Despite thinking I was accustomed to the humidity, this was entirely different.”
These first impressions—both emotional and physical—marked the beginning of an adjustment period that would test her resilience. The early weeks in Australia brought what she describes as emotional “highs and lows, highs and lows.”
“It was just very like up, down, up, down. So yeah, good crying and then bad crying a lot,” she recalls with candor.
But it wasn’t long before Savannah met a fellow Working Holiday Maker from Peru who helped reshape her outlook.
“She is very much like this ‘grab the bull by the horns’ woman. She’s just this strong, hardworking woman and she’s done all these cool things,” Savannah remembers. “She kind of just was like, ‘Girl, if I can do it, you can.’ She really put it into perspective like, ‘What am I complaining about, honestly?'”
This early friendship provided both perspective and a model of resilience that would help Savannah navigate her initial adjustment period and build a foundation for the growth that would follow.
The “Trying On Hats” Philosophy
Central to Savannah’s approach to life is what she calls her “trying on different hats” philosophy—a willingness to experiment with different lifestyles and experiences without the pressure of permanent commitment.
“I often like to describe my madness as trying on different hats,” she explains. “For instance, some hats complement me perfectly, while other hats may have the potential but are the wrong color or size. Then there are hats that just don’t look good on me at all. Without trying on these hats, I would never know which ones look good and which ones don’t.”
This philosophy became her guiding principle throughout her time in Australia, leading her to embrace opportunities that might have otherwise seemed too intimidating or too far outside her comfort zone.
“When I came to Australia, I literally just wrote down ‘I’m just open for new experiences,'” she recalls. “And I felt like the whole time I was in Australia, I was not really saying no to anything. I was being like, ‘Sure, why not?’ And I somehow did a lot of interesting things with having that mindset.”
This openness led to one of her first significant cultural experiences—joining a surf camp during just her second week in the country. This decision would set off a chain of unexpected adventures when she met another traveler named Lana. “She’s like, ‘Oh, well I have a car and surfboards and I’m just going to drive down the south coast to Melbourne if you would join.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t really have any plans. Might as well.'”
The impromptu road trip led to another spontaneous experience when Lana suggested they stay with her family friends on a dairy farm. “I was like, ‘Why not go to this dairy farm and hang out there?’ So I met her distant family there. I stayed there for a week. I learned how to milk cows and that whole process “
Each of these experiences represented a different “hat” Savannah was trying on—surfer, road-tripper, farm worker—allowing her to discover new facets of herself while building confidence in her adaptability.
The Outback Challenge: Finding Strength in Isolation
While these early adventures built Savannah’s confidence, it was her decision to work on a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory that would truly test and transform her.
“I really put myself in like a leap of faith there,” she explains. “I called, I got the message from my manager. We talked on the phone twice, and I booked myself a ticket to Mount Isa.”
What followed was even more remote than she had anticipated.
“I thought she said it was close to Mount Isa,” Savannah recalls. “She picked me up on a small plane… It was still a 2-hour flight, and I was like, ‘Where am I going?'”
The isolation was far beyond anything she had experienced in her previous national park work.
“When I was living in Yellowstone, it was 4 hours away from any sort of civilization. I thought that was pretty rural. Well, in a cattle station, it was a lot more remote than that. That really showed me remote because I was with 24 people max at my station.”
This extreme remoteness could have been overwhelming, but instead, it became a channel for personal growth. The cattle station exposed Savannah to skills and experiences beyond anything she could have imagined back in Indiana.
“I went pig hunting… which was very interesting. And I learned how to butcher cattle,” Savannah explains, adding that she also worked with the chef and learned to make sausage rolls and meat pies from scratch.
Beyond practical skills, the station challenged her to adapt to a very different cultural environment. Initially feeling like an outsider, Savannah found value in the immersion in a lifestyle so different from her own. What began as a plan to complete three months of rural work turned into a six-month stay that became one of her most cherished experiences.
“I learned a lot of stuff that, if I didn’t put myself in that environment, I probably wouldn’t know any of that now.”
This willingness to embrace cultural differences not only expanded Savannah’s comfort zone but built a new sense of self-confidence in what she was truly capable of doing.
Discovering Inner Confidence
Perhaps the most profound aspect of Savannah’s growth came not from any single experience but from the cumulative effect of successfully navigating so many challenges.
“One thing that has surprised me recently is this sense of courage or bravery I discovered about myself,” she reflects. “Despite always hearing from others how I am ‘so brave’ when I traveled to work out west, I honestly never truly believed what they said. To me, moving out west to work for Yellowstone, then later for Glacier, just felt like a natural step in the right direction for me. It honestly felt too easy.”
The Australia experience, however, brought a deeper recognition of her own resilience.
“When I moved to Australia on the Work & Travel visa, this did feel like a step out of my comfort zone. While it wasn’t a ginormous leap, it was enough to make me realize the courage it takes to do something like this. Many of us have these dreams and aspirations to do something like this, but only a few actually dare to chase them.”
This realization changed how Savannah views herself and her capabilities.
“When I came back, I just, at least from my perspective, feel a lot more confident about myself. I have a strong intuition of what I want, and I know if I have a goal or something set in mind, I know I am capable of doing it, and I’m very strong and confident about that.
“I think I had that kind of before I went to Australia, but now it’s more definite—I know now that I can do anything that I set my mind to, and as long as I just have that mindset and I just strive towards those goals, I know I am able to achieve it. And Australia really kind of set that in me.”
Evolving Perspectives on Culture and Identity
Living abroad inevitably changes how one views both their host country and their homeland. For Savannah, this shift in perspective encompassed work-life balance, social connections, and broader cultural values.
“Australians have this very nonchalant, chill, calm mindset,” she observes. “I always tell people that when you’re in Australia, no one’s in a rush. Everyone goes to work, but work is not really their life. I feel like in the U.S., it’s kind of like this hustle, this grind culture, but in Australia, people after work go to the pub, go to the beach, they’re outside, they’re active. They have lives outside of work.”
This cultural difference extended to how people form and maintain friendships, as Savannah further commented, “I did notice with Australians that they have core friends because they keep friends from primary school. In the US, at least for me personally, I don’t really have a lot of friends from primary school or middle school.”
Beyond interpersonal dynamics, Savannah gained a new perspective on broader societal structures.
“I just saw a lot of things where I felt like as an American, you’re just hearing that America is this greatest place, but you go to Australia and see how the government takes care of their people a lot better. Going to Sydney and all the beaches, all of them have ramps going down the beach for people with accessibility problems, and you don’t see that really in the U.S.”
This experience of seeing her own culture from the outside has permanently altered how Savannah views both Australia and the United States.
“I just feel like when I was in Australia, I had so many opportunities at my fingertips, and I felt like I could just be whoever I wanted to be or try new things. I ended up kind of flourishing in that.”
This newfound perspective has made returning home both challenging and enlightening, as she brings her expanded worldview back to her life in the U.S.
Coming Home and Moving Forward
Returning home after such profound experiences abroad presents its own set of challenges, commonly referred to as “reverse culture shock.” For Savannah, this has meant discovering how to integrate her new self into her old environment.
“When I came back to the workforce and I’m meeting my co-workers, like no one really has these hobbies outside of work. And I feel like in Australia, everyone has some sort of hobby or they don’t identify a lot with their work.”
She’s found that people are initially inquisitive about the surface-level aspects of her Work & Travel Australia experience, but less curious about the deeper personal growth that she’s experienced.
“They ask about things you did, experiences, but then a lot of people just go on living their daily lives,” she says, adding, “It’s going to be your obligation to keep that in and hold that within yourself and be that person instead of going back.”
Despite these challenges, Savannah remains committed to carrying her Australian experiences forward through continued exploration. “I want to do road trips in the U.S.,” she says, “and I want to go to different countries, and I want to learn new things.”
Savannah encourages other young people to indulge their curiosity, as well. “I just feel like we as Americans just don’t get out enough. I just feel like Americans should start striving to, instead of after high school immediately go to college and after college immediately go into the workforce, take breaks for themselves and try new things and travel and experience life and different societal structures and different lifestyles before you kind of settle down.”
The Courage to Keep Exploring
Looking back on her year in Australia, Savannah sees a journey that transformed her relationship with herself, with others, and with the world around her. What began as a simple “Why not?” evolved into an exercise in courage, adaptability, and self-discovery.
“What draws me is the unknown outcome of it all,” she reflected before her departure. “Living in Yellowstone and Glacier was a step into unfamiliar territories, but they were still in the bounds of what I know and what I am familiar with. Australia promises me unfamiliar faces and an undetermined path. It promises a fully transformative experience that goes beyond anything I have ever encountered before.”
This promise was fulfilled beyond Savannah’s imagination, leaving her with not just memories but an evolved sense of who she is and what she can achieve.
Her advice for others considering similar journeys reflects this transformation:
“I would say just do it. I’m very much pro-if you want change, if you want something different. I’m always going to be that person in your corner that’s like, ‘Do it’… It’s your life, and I always tell myself, ‘If I don’t do it, will I regret it later?’ I don’t want to live life with regrets, so I just do it.”
This philosophy of embracing the unknown, trying on different hats, and venturing beyond comfort zones has become not just a travel strategy but a life approach for Savannah. Through her year in Australia, she discovered that the greatest souvenir she could bring home from abroad wasn’t photographs or trinkets, but a more courageous and confident version of herself.
For those considering that leap into the unknown, Savannah’s journey stands as both inspiration and invitation. As she discovered, sometimes the most rewarding path is the one that begins with a simple question: “Why not?”
Learn more about the Work & Travel Australia program and stay tuned for more stories about Savannah’s experience abroad!
