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Hello to all my friends and my community. I am really missing seeing people face to face, socialising at events and having a chat. I hope things will return to normal soon, well - return to a new definition of normal especially post-COVID. I am really looking forward to seeing you all again.
This video is to give you all an update on what comes next for me. As you all know, over the past 1-2 years I have been involved in a lot of different things to the point where it was all a juggling act! I recently celebrated my first year of founding my company, continued my work with WFDYS and moved into a new role, as President. You may also be aware of two of my projects, Auslan Media Access and Deaf Community Australia Forum that I worked on voluntarily - I tried to make progress on both projects however my other commitments took over and I was not able to devote as much time to them as I would have liked. One of my true passions is the deaf community.
Some of you might know, I have been actively planning to move overseas and find work there and do extensive travel or a while now. Right now, with everything happening - this dream is not a reality… YET! I still hope to do this at some point in my future. There are just too many risks right now, around the world. As a result, I have had to reconsider my priorities and what I want to achieve. This was not an easy process, letting go of my dream and looking closer to home.
In the last couple of weeks, an opportunity was offered to me. It took me some time to work through my thoughts and feelings about this opportunity. I consulted with some people who were more than supportive, telling me to go for it! Ultimately, my heart, my brain and my gut were all screaming “YES Shirley, do it!” I would be silly not to listen to all three!
So what is this opportunity? I have accepted a full-time role, working for Deaf Australia. The role that I have accepted is Community and Development Officer. So what does this mean? The two voluntary projects I mentioned earlier, I will finally have capacity and time to pursue those under Deaf Australia. I am keen to support the community with different opportunities to advocate and to spread awareness. I have really missed working closely with the community on a range of issues while focusing on my other priorities so I am really excited to be able to focus on those issues again.
I have really appreciated all of your support up to this point and look forward to your continued support. Please keep an eye on Deaf Australia for further information about what’s to come.
Perhaps you are wondering what will happen to my company, Creative Mint Digital? It will still continue, however as a side business. This means my availability and time will vary time to time. For the two voluntary projects, I plan to discuss this with the wider community whether they would be open for me to continuing the work that I have done, in my Deaf Australia role or working out a continuation plan for the community to take control and continue the work that we have achieved together already.
Overall - I am incredibly excited for the next chapter in my life and the journey that lies ahead. There are some things I am still working on, that I will still find time for. Managing a full-time role like this, along with my other commitments will be definitely a new learning experience but one that I am so excited to get started on!
Thank you for watching, take care and I hope to see you soon!
