IamAn Aussie girl that grew up in the bush living in a shed contending with no electricity, bucket showers, cooking on a fire, homework by candlelight and liked to think of myself as a young herpatologist. AMA!

Ok , wow. Thanks for doing this. 1) did you feel any resentment to your parents? 2) what do they/your brother do now? 3) would you put your kids through the same? 4) plans for the future?

No worries, feels good to unleash the story!

1) At the time there was some resentment, being poor and not living in a house like all the other kids made it tought o fit in ( especially being the only black kids in school made us really stand out).

2) My mother sadly continued to deteriorate and lives in a women's home where nurses come morning and night and make sure she takes her tablets, sometimes they work sometimes I'm still the spawn of Satan. She does have the odd good day a few times a year and it is awesome to talk to her :). My brother is a concreter that has been in and out of employment since he was 18, he is now 23. He is an amazing person, people flock to him and he lights up any room with his presence. It's a shame he hangs out with people that don't have higher aspirations than making enough money during the week to party hard Thursday to Sunday. My dad is an arborist now, he used to work itinerate jobs here and there, in and out of employment. He has found a partner that keeps him focused and really put him on the right path. I'm 27 and still undertaking an undergrad degree in science on a pathway to medicine. I'm definitely a late bloomer, I feel I only started to mature in the last few years ( even though I've been out of home since I was 15)!

3) I couldn't say I'd want what I had for my children as it wasn't an easy life with everything taken into account as thankful as I am for the way I've turned out. I'd want a stable home life for my children in a small, coastal town where they would grow up in the one house until they were 18/ early 20s. Prior to the bush life period we'd moved 3 times and changed primary school twice. Since I've left at 15 I've moved at least 10 times.

4) All I'm looking to do is to get a stable job out of medicine, I'd like to work in indigenous health in rural Australia and build my own family. I long for that stability. Thanks for your questions!

Edited for easy readability!

Ok , wow. Thanks for doing this.

1) did you feel any resentment to your parents?

2) what do they/your brother do now?

3) would you put your kids through the same?

4) plans for the future?

No worries, feels good to unleash the story!

1) At the time there was some resentment, being poor and not living in a house like all the other kids made it tought o fit in ( especially being the only black kids in school made us really stand out).

2) My mother sadly continued to deteriorate and lives in a women's home where nurses come morning and night and make sure she takes her tablets, sometimes they work sometimes I'm still the spawn of Satan. She does have the odd good day a few times a year and it is awesome to talk to her :).

My brother is a concreter that has been in and out of employment since he was 18, he is now 23. He is an amazing person, people flock to him and he lights up any room with his presence. It's a shame he hangs out with people that don't have higher aspirations than making enough money during the week to party hard Thursday to Sunday.

My dad is an arborist now, he used to work itinerate jobs here and there, in and out of employment. He has found a partner that keeps him focused and really put him on the right path. I'm 27 and still undertaking an undergrad degree in science on a pathway to medicine. I'm definitely a late bloomer, I feel I only started to mature in the last few years ( even though I've been out of home since I was 15)!

3) I couldn't say I'd want what I had for my children as it wasn't an easy life with everything taken into account as thankful as I am for the way I've turned out. I'd want a stable home life for my children in a small, coastal town where they would grow up in the one house until they were 18/ early 20s. Prior to the bush life period we'd moved 3 times and changed primary school twice. Since I've left at 15 I've moved at least 10 times.

4) All I'm looking to do is to get a stable job out of medicine, I'd like to work in indigenous health in rural Australia and build my own family. I long for that stability. Thanks for your questions!

Cheers, bit spastic on the readability :p

I'm 27 and still undertaking an undergrad degree in science on a pathway to medicine. I'm definitely a late bloomer, I feel I only started to mature in the last few years

Ohhhh... I feel you! I'm female, Australian, 27 and started my first undergrad last year. Good luck to you. Fantastic story and all the best.

Cheers! It is great to hear from fellow mature age students! All my peers are about 17-20 :/ Good luck in yours!!

I'm 35. Starting undergraduate in october. part time over 6 years. Good luck.

Awesome, hearing from other mature age students keeps me going! Good luck to you!

I was a wrangler in Colorado when I was in my 20s and we were ordered to kill all the rattlesnakes we saw on the trail, so they didn't scare the horses. It was scary at first, but after you catch the first one, and realize that they can only strike when coiled, putting a "V" stick on their necks and cutting the heads off became pretty easy. I never got bitten, but had a few close calls (crawling through undergrowth after a snake), What is your best snake story?

My dad is a nature enthusiast and never condoned killing them, unless they started trying to make a home in our home... The best would be when I'd take my brother down to the property border to a spot I knew often had baby browns. We'd gear up, gumboots, jackets, balaclavas ( we used to horse/ motorbike ride so nana would make us "whole face beanies") and 2 liter lemonade bottles and meter and a half long sticks. They were under the same log every year so we went on down, lifted the log and herded the little herps into the tiny opening of the lemonade bottles, it was cold so they moved slow and kept them for a few hours while we made observations. Then we would re release them and carry on. We didn't tell dad until about 2 years ago. He would have gone off chops.

I'm going to start using "would have gone off chops".

Hahha, I love that, please do. It goes down a treat in aus.

speaking of chops, your dad has an impressive manly beard!

Haha, he looks like a famous aussie bush ranger, Ned Kelly.

How did you survive summers?

They got a bit rough when the drought had really set in. Our tank water got so low we had to buy water to drink, which I was so thankful for because the eucalyptus leaves would land in the tank and the tannins/ eucalypt would stain the flavour, ugh, I hated that water. The dams got so low that it became a bit stagnant. Shower water got a bit smelly at that point :/

Were there any bouts of sickness where you were unable to get medicine or see a doctor?

We were extremely lucky. The only time we had a real cause for concern was when I got stung by a scorpion. Might be the most afraid I've ever seen dad, also the fastest car ride into town was had that day. Turned out that the scorpions we had in Victoria weren't life threatening ( if you didn't develop an allergy to them) but are just painful as fuck. Dad was allergic to bees and we had an extensive first aid kit that covered snake bite post care treatment, burns etc...

Did you always wish that you had a different life or were you content living in the bush?

At the time it was all I knew but seeing the kids at school with fancy clothes and staying at their houses with clear water made me long for a bit more. Now that I am older I appreciate the unique experience and treasure the memories of the good times.

That's quite an upbringing. What did your parents do for work? I know their goal was to live off of the land, but having a car and diesel generator means fuel was needed, and that can't be foraged.

Welfare basically. Dad would do odd jobs but having a schizophenic wife that couldn't work, trying to raise my bro and I and living in the middle of bumfuckidaho meant jobs were few and far between.

Lived off-grid a bit myself, and plan to again. I definitely agree that it can do good things for a person's character and perspective.

How are you living now? Do you find that you are drawn to modern conveniences a lot now, or are you still more attracted to the simpler, wilder life?

It was nice for awhile but I do have the urge to leave the city to the coast in a small town so I can go free diving and surfing and feel the warmth of a small community :)

So... what are doing in the present?

I've been out of home for 12 years now and feel like I am ready to take on a degree. I'm studying an undergraduate science degree as a pathway into studying post grad medicine so I can work in Indigenous health in rural Australia!

Awesome! I just spent a year in Australia and loved it. I only got to spend a month roadtripping the outback/bush but it was a nice contrasting experience vs the coast.

What kind of foods did you guys eat growing up? As in, I assume you went to the supermarket or grew your own foods, but did you ever go out to look for bush foods?

Where in Australia did you guys move to?

There's a lot more stories and exhibits on the aboriginal culture in NT, did you live near other aboriginals? I've never really fully understood what they meant when they said they 'lived in the bush' or are 'going back to the bush'. Forgive my ignorance, but when I read that I kept imagining them literally living in the bush (no shed, no cover).

Wow, alot of people miss out on the awesomeness of Australia that doesn't entail the coastlines! Such contrast throughout the country, climate from north to couth and the landscape from coasts to center!

W were pretty poor so we would have a lot of one pot stews, you know the packet mixes? Dad would sometimes shoot kangaroos and we'd have meat and veg stew. Lots of stews... Lots. Of. Stews :/ Dad would also make his own kangaroo jerky, that was questionable in flavour.

We moved to central Victoria( a state) that was old gold mining country. The towns were set up early 1900s and flourished till the gold became scarce and our closest town was a remnant of an old mining town.

The land we lived on was old aboriginal territory (along with the rest of Aus) and we found shield scars on trees surrounding our property. These were very old though and Aboriginals hadnt lived in the area for a long, long time. We were among 5- 10 black kids that lived in the area ( 50 km radius) and none of us lived truly 'in the bush'. A lot of the indigenous culture was obliterated since settlement so many of the traditions of living 'in the bush' have been lost to the majority of descendents. There are elders that try to pass down the knowledge of how our ancesters were hunter/ gatherers. They wouldn't have had shed but traditionally they made huts from young, thin, flexible trees that they would layer and provide them shelter.

We moved to central Victoria( a state) that was old gold mining country. The towns were set up early 1900s and flourished till the gold became scarce and our closest town was a remnant of an old mining town.

I grew up in one of those up in North Queensland, called Charters Towers. Pretty little town, but the bogan to normal person ratio is way too high. The pub to person ratio is nearly 2:1 though, which makes up for it somewhat.

I have immense respect for almost all of the Elders I have met, as well. They were always a staple of the community, and acted as counsellors to both troubled Aboriginal and Caucasian youth. Some of the nicest people I have ever met were Elders.

It's nice to hear someone from a small town up there with positive things to say about the elders, I hear a lot of heart breaking ignorance. Thanks :) Cracked up at bogan to normal person ratio :p

How did your parents teach you to chop wood? Here in the US we won't even give kids sharp scissors, how does one teach a kid to safely handle an axe?

Edit: I realize there are plenty of kids, most from rural areas, in the US who learn early to chop wood, drive tractors, bale hay etc. I was referring more to stereotypical middle-class urban/suburban Americans, no intent to offend or exclude anyone!

We would watch my parents do it and as children we were inquisitive, fast learners. My brother and I had very good hand eye coordination from a young age and we built up to it, watching, choping small sticks and getting aim right. My dad was a rough bushie and a good teacher. He had a lot of confidence in us as capable beings and we respected his trust in us.

Parenting done right, if you ask me.

Cheer, my parents copped a bit from the locals in the town, raging alcoholic towns people that they were stood their ground on a child's right to access to tv :/

What do you mean by your dad was hitting the bongs?

Mums schizophrenia took its toll on my dad so he would smoke marijuana every day, heavy. To the point where It was Christmas day one year and my dad my stoned in his chair, saw my little brother and I come into the room and started singing Happy Birthday to my brother.

Look on the bright side. He could have been a violent drunk.

Oh absolutely. I don't hold resentment towards him for it. He needed an escape from the insanity that stole his life partner. He did a great job raising us, he had a troubled childhood and he's done so well to get through what we all went through.

How did your dad get access to marijuana? Would he grow his own?

Living in isolation plenty of opportunity to make your own...

Have you ever considered enhancing your knowledge of herpetology by studying derpetology alongside it?

Was waiting for the derpetology comment :P

Do you have any funny stories about when you were growing up?

Did you ever have any bad experiences with the snakes?

I have many funny stories, always involving my little brother coming out not so well haha. One time we saw a cartoon ( at a friends house). There were two characters that tied a rope to each other around their bellies, stood on a branch and jumped off either side, swinging gracefully past one another with super man poses, back and forth. Cue awesome idea. As soon as we got home I got a rope from our old house, the tool shed. It was about ten meters long, connected ourselves to it climbed a tree to a branch about 5 meters high. We fist pumped before yelling 'cowabunga', jumped with the confidence of an acrobat and promptly smashed heads. Me being the eldest and heaviest then plummeted to the ground to leave my brother hanging halfway up the tree, blood, snot and tears dripping from his hanging body. We were still both attached to the rope at this stage, it took all of my 12 year old strength to stand up and untie the knot that was held fast by the weight of his little body to get him down. We kept that story under wraps for a long time. TL;DR almost hung brother

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Bang, definitely that general area, we probably know each other haha. Small towns are small.

Dang! You got banged up, but turned out all right, girl!

Haha, few battle wounds but I'm pretty happy with who I am :)

I'm sorry if this is a really crass question, but, do you know (think?) if your parents made the choice to live in the bush because of their economic situation or if if there were other reasons?

I always wonder (early 20's) what I would do to support a family if I lost a job or something, and if that is the case as to your situation, it seems like they've done a pretty damn good job raising a family under very trying circumstances.

Good question! It definitely would have been easier for them to stay in town and live in the commission housing ( think Us calls it the projects?). It was purely a decision based on my dads love of nature and their shared belief that this was the only time we could experience this life, because really, not many people in the prime of their lives pack up and go bush. This way we could experience both living styles as they knew we would inevitably go to uni/ find job that would require us to leave the bush. Also had occasional extra finances on the side if things were particularly trying, though they were seasonal and rare.

Any Yowie stories?

Legend of the drop bears was rife. Also rumours of escaped pumas from a travelling circus early 1900s still lurking in the area. Why do adults tell these stories?! I was scared of the dark for a long time.

Indigenous people in Australia get a bum rap for being lazy and unwilling to work. What's your take on it? do you think the Indigenous people aren't given enough opportunity at education and work?

I think the government has let them down, 200 years of oppression is gonna get you down. Do you know about the assimilation and stolen generation of the indigenous children? They were still classified under 'fauna' until 1969 when they were given 'homo sapien' staus. Basically an entire generation were taken from their parents, communities, culture and made to learn the white Australia ways. The culture was obliterated and they became a people in limbo. Racism is rife in Australia and is still affecting indigenous opportunities in life. They even have a significantly lower life expectancy than white Australians. It's horrendous.

Same as the USA and their treatment of our indigenous people. Things seem to be turning around here though.

Good luck on your awesome quest!

I was going to liken them to indigenous Americans but I don't know enough of their history. Thought they were similar, good to hear there is progress!

You should write a book.

I would love to! I have so much to say on everything, I wish I could go into more depth on here but there's just too much. I sometimes write snippets of stories down, maybe I'll start compiling them and mash it together!

Living in the US Virgin Islands is nearly the same. Bad electrical system, live off of cistern water, and you must be extremely conservative with the things which help you survive. People think it's great until they have to live like that. Great to see someone else knows how to take a shower out of a bucket!

Ah, the old bucket shower, so cold in Winter when you can't fit all the way in!

Truly fascinating, thank you. I love reading about your years in the bush, but I'm also curious to know more about what you've done since you moved away from that experience. Seems like fertile ground for stories between then and the "blooming" of your current path toward medicine. For instance: - what precipitated your move away from the bush in the first place? - what was the transition back into a less rural experience like? - how, specifically, has your bush life informed the way you've lived since then? - what led you to your interest in medicine and finally settled you in to getting your degree?

reat questions! There is so much more to the story! I left home at 15 because my mum's schizophrenia was so out of hand I'd come home ( her house in town at this point as she left dad) from school to the windows all broken and crockery smashed over the floor. She had a house mate who lived with us and would tell me he'd committed suicide, the first time hearing that I thought she was serious. That was a scary time. Time to leave that house. Moved out to a larger town to a share house of ten people and tried to go to school. Was tough, 15 was too young. No friends. I got through the year and moved back closer to my old high school and moved in with a friend and her parents. er mum became the mother I never had. Stayed with them for a year and finished high school, terrible scores but got into arts degree on the south west coast of Victoria and started surfing, free diving for crays spear fishing and other awesome coastal town stuff. Things were going well there but mum was deteriorating further. I remember having to go back to my old town and meet dad and we had to take her to the hospital. I was sitting in the back with her holding and trying to comfort her and she was wailing and crying and screaming 'mum,muuuuuum,muuuuuuum'. That is truly one of my most haunting memories. I tell you this because not long after I developed Panic Disorder and had to quit uni as I developed agoraphobia for 3 months and moved in with dad aain, he had moved into a caravan park at this stage. Pathway changed again. I tried a few other courses in that coastal town, tourism, management but nothing really piqued my interest. One day I was sitting around with no plans for the future so I called a friend I had in Melbourne and moved the next day. I got a job waitressing the same day and started working 60 hour weeks immediately. First month I was living between my friends house and my car. Waitressed and traveled until I turned 24 and started my undergrad of which I am currently still completing! Oh, medicine always intrigued me. My dad had medical books and encyclopedias lying around and I loved to look up all the pictures and know what they were. Also when we got into horses my dad bought an equine veterinary book. I loved that book and I ended up diagnosing a few of the horses at the club I went to with certain things. My favourite was diagnosing cushings in a horse, I can hardly remember but I think it was a tumour on the pituitary gland and the symptoms were a distinct wavy fur and increased thirst. It was awesome luck I got it right! I've left out so much but I'm fading I'm sorry, it's almost 4am here! Will try to get back to this!

Did you face racism from your classmates growing up?

Ignorance more than racism. Also some funny stuff like kids asking why the palms of my hands were worn out, why my skin was tanned and how was he my dad if he was white haha. I always went under the radar, quiet and nice to everyone so I never drew attention to myself. The odd racist jokes were a bit hurtful if I heard them telling them nearby. Skins a lot thicker these days.

Is your accent as sexy as i picture it too be?

I actually don't have that rough accent a lot of aussies have, I think it was something to do with trying so hard not to be like the rough girls that went to my school that all got pregnant at 14 and 16...

At what age were you first exposed to Western media, and how do you look at it? Does it seem unappealing or do you accept it?

Edit: What I meant was that if she was living in the bush with no access to TV and media from the formative years of 8-15, it must have been a bit strange to move to a place where all of the advertisement, politics, and culture is available 24/7. I didn't think this question was difficult to understand.

I didn't move to the bush until I was 8 so I had had some exposure though and I left the bush at about 15 so I've been exposed to it for a long time now. I think it is disgraceful population control but I'm no extremist and am guilty of watching and being sucked into its bullshit.

Is there anything that people do that you find totally alien because you were brought up differently?

Eating in front of the tv. We would always sit at the table and make conversation. It was a treat when we would go to friends houses and we got to sit in fron tof the tv AND eat! I'm thankful now that I got to spend that time with my family as I didn't have as much time with them as a whole as I had hoped.

That honestly doesnt sound too bad. What do you miss about the living that way? What have you carried over to your current life style?

I am very self sufficient, I taught my last bf how to set up a fishing line, how to cast, bait and kill fish. I taught him how to change a tyre, how to surf etc... Being with a city boy made me realise I can do cool shit.

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We were the fastest and fittest kids in school. We had no tv so as soon as we were home we were riding horses, playing on our rope swing, riding motor bikes, hunting rabbits, chopping wood, playing footy, trying to make rock houses. We could make fun out of anything and were always active. Also we never ate out as we couldnt afford it so I guess meals were always healthy. Now though, I have a poor diet, still active and good weight but I know I could be so much healthier.

If you had children, would you want to raise them the same way?

Do you think your mother might have fared better if she were closer to mental health services?

Not so rural, I'd definitely raise them in a smaller town, community feel to it, on the coast. Yes, I think mum could have come out of it all better due to many circumstances she didn't receive the help she needed for a long time. By the time she got what help she has now she is pretty bad. Social skills low, picking cigarette butts up off the street, having episodes where she'll smash her house up, giving her money away and living paycheck to paycheck. There is a lot to this part of my life, I was thinking I would do an ama on the experiences of growing up with a schizophrenic parent to expand on it.

I don't wana sound retarded but I thought we were talking about Herpees at one point. I still don't know what a herpatoligist is

Haha that would add an interesting element to my story. Herpetology is the study of snakes.

What's the farthest from home you've been?

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.

what is your favorite childhood memory?

Playing cops and robbers with my little brother. We were the bestest of friends and our dog Noah ( he's in the photo) would play as well. We'd put him in his cage and close the door but not lock it, get about a 15 meter head start then call him and he'd come bolting out after us. If he touched us we were out and had to go to the cage and be the cop hahah.

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie that's going to be made about your life.

Haha, I'd watch that. I'd make sure the funny stories where my brother gets sabotaged in most of our adventures were in it!

Nice AMA. I'm from coastal Victoria and I'm curious as to which area you're referring to with conditions as you described. Anywhere around Horsham, or further up toward Mildura? Also, what did your parents do for money? Was there work available or did you have to just get by on unemployment benefits?

Central Goldfields Shire area. Money was mostly welfare but dad did get a few itinerate jobs until he couldn't leave us alone with my mum any more. Then just welfare. I lived on the vic coast for awhile and loved it! Warrnambool, too windy there but am keen to move back to coast for surf and diving.

How do you think your upbringing has affected your intelligence? Do you know your IQ? Do you think you would have been more intelligent if you had grown up in an urban area? Did you/have you gone to university? Do you feel remarkably different compared with city people?

Thank you :)

EDIT: I've evidently upset some people. I'm sorry, it was never my intention. OP, if I've upset you, I'm sorry.

In Australia we don't often have our IQ measured. I don't think it impacted my intelligence, I do think that not being exposed to intellectuals throughout childhood limited my perception of my own potential. I always knew I was different to a large amount of my peers that did seem to be less intelligent to myself, they all got pregnant at 14/16 and dropped out of school. My home life got pretty chaotic at 12-15 so I left home and tried to go to a better school on my own. I didn't have the best scores when I finished but I got through it and that gave me the opportunity to see what others were doing outside of my small town school and I've been growing intellectually ever since!