Me

Sunnies @raybans //

Hey! I'm Hazel and I want to share my crazy life with you! My main goal is to inspire people to live the life they WANT to live. So, I want to tell you my story and everything that lead me to where I am now..

I grew up in a small city across the border from Detroit, Michigan, which most might know as Windsor, Ontario or Rose City. Growing up, I was always the straight A student, the jock, the one who everyone loved to hate. That changed towards the end of highschool.. I remember walking into my exercise science class on the first day of senior year and my teacher told me to "get the hell out" and said I'd never pass her class. I guess she remembered me in her grade 10 gym class where my girls and I thought everything was a joke, still passing with flying colours! Typical teenage behaviour though, right? After she yelled at me infront of the whole class, I left and went straight to my guidance counsellor as she was the one who told me to get into that class to begin with. She then put me into the advanced art class thinking art would be a better future for me even though I insisted that I take more science classes. Nope, I ended up taking interior design in college because she had convinced me that I would be better in design than in science. During my first year I decided I wanted to finish my Masters at Griffith University in Australia (this will mean more later) and I'd become a famous movie set designer in Los Angeles. Turns out, I didn't like having people limit me from my creativity and designs, so I dropped it and decided to move to Toronto after just one year. I was 19, with barely any money to my name, my parents disapproved my decision and my older brother hated the fact that I was leaving him..

I settled in Toronto with my bestfriend and her family and a couple years after, I decided to go back to school for Kinesiology. I had my own place, had a part-time job and was going to school five days a week, while picking up modelling gigs here and there. As you can imagine, things didn't go as planned and eventually I got sick of Kine and thought modelling was where I wanted to be. I was dating the "man of my dreams" and thought I wanted to marry him, I was making good money and I was on the road to becoming a top model. Eventually, I came to my senses and broke up with him after six very toxic years and three programs later, I finally graduated from Fitness and Health. During my time in college, I met some of the most amazing people and learned some of the best life lessons from the best profs. I even got the opportunity to go to Florida for a school trip that let us work with the Dunedin Blue Jays and got to watch the NBA Pre Draft training camp as well as work directly with some of the pro athletes at IMG Academy. That school was athlete heaven! I was in heaven! But more on that adventure on my next post ;)

Boots @stevemadden // Vest @mendocino // Hat @rootscanada

Its been over a year now since I've graduated and I've traveled to so many different places, experiencing new things I would have never imagined. I traveled to LA by myself for a photoshoot with someone I barely knew. I had a modelling gig on Rodeo Drive and got the chance to meet the management team for the LA Clippers. WHAT?! I was being held from my dream job because I couldn't get a green card. But I'll go into more detail about that later.. A few weeks after I got back, this dude was blowing up my IG with Dm's and liking/commenting on all my posts. This guy definitely got my attention and so, I messaged him back as he was super keen on meeting me. Our first date? Lifetime Athletics! If you don't know what that is... It is the most amazing gym I have ever known and I got the chance to work there for almost two years before leaving. I'm not a fitness guru but if you take me to the gym on our first date and teach me something I don't know... I'll be impressed. Take me to a bar? Not so much. Anyway, we had such a good time that we continued the date for the whole day and well into the night. We hung out a few times before he went back to AUSTRALIA! Yes, he lives in Australia, Bondi Beach to be exact and he convinced me to go visit just a few months later. I know, CRAZY right?! I got an amazing vibe from him the moment we met, so I went.. and I had an amazing time! Not only with him, but with a few others I met in different cities along the way, Goldcoast being my absolute favourite.

Fast forward to eight months later.. I ended up moving to Australia. Not to be with him, although he is still a good friend of mine, but to get away from the life I lived in Toronto. It was turning me into a materialistic monster and I couldn't handle the person I was becoming. I needed a change.. I needed my independence back. So, I left. I quit my job at Costco where I worked for almost nine years, moving from different positions from being a cashier, to a supervisor, to being a tire centre certified installer. I wanted to quit years before this but I was just TOO COMFORTABLE. It paid my bills, got me through school, worked around my schedule aaandd had great benefits! Who wouldn't want to stay? A few weeks after, I quit my second job at Lifetime, where I was an operations supervisor. In other words, I was at the bottom of the barrel working my way up because I thought I wanted to be a personal trainer. I did whatever I needed to do to get my foot in the door at the facility I wanted to train at and the Regional respected me for that. They told me once I get back from Australia I'd start my training as a PT, except I didn't take it. I pretty much quit my whole life in Toronto and left all of the people I love because I wanted more. I needed to do something that meant more than life itself. When I left, it felt as if I was only going on vacation and I'd be back in a few weeks. Not to mention, I stopped in BC to hang with one of my bestfriends and we went to Costa Rica before aaactually heading to Aus!

I'm about one month into the move and now its finally hitting me. I LIVE IN THE GOLDCOAST. I live 15 minutes away from Griffith University and I had no idea!! I was on the tram one day and I heard, "next stop, Griffith University" My eyes lit up and my smile grew bigger as we approached the university. I couldn't believe I was right infront of it. It was as if I was meant to be here. Maybe I wasn't meant to go to school here but I was meant to live in Australia. And this is what I mean when I say I want to help others realize that they can live the life they really want to live. I know this may sound cliche but if its meant to be, it will be. But you can't wait for it to happen! YOU have to make it happen! I want to show people that they can travel without having all the money in the world. I want to teach people how to travel on a budget and show they can still live a healthy lifestyle. I want to inspire girls like me who didn't know what they wanted to do when they were younger and show them that its okay to not know what they want.

CLICK TO SHOP MY LOOK! Photography by @radwan // Crewneck @pherosphere // Beanie @rootscanada

In other words, see the life I live through the eyes of Haze! Trust me, You can live this life too! So, Won't cha stay awhile and get to know the real me...

Always,

Me xo