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Health & Fitness

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Leaving home builds appreciation for what's left behind and what lies in the path ahead.

My first memory of Disneyland comes from the living room of an Australian family around the year of 1998. This image was brought to me by the still wonderful film, The Lion King 2. The movie had previews of Disneyland, which created an image of a wonderful and magical place somewhere far away. Somewhere, I guessed, I would never get to see.

Unbeknownst to 3-year-old Jackie, 13 years later I am now pleased to say that I have been to what they call "the happiest place on Earth."

Some of you may think this isn’t such a big deal. It would be my assumption that most people who live in Los Gatos have been to Disneyland ... more than once. For a child on the other side of the Earth, however, Disneyland is something that is yearned for in the heart but seemingly impossible to reach.

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Now, with the memory of it engrained in my mind, never in my life have I seen so much work go solely into the hopes of making a child smile. Disneyland is a truly wonderful, magical and exciting place to be, not only for children but big kids and adults alike.

When we visit other places, it is often said that we return home honestly appreciating what we have. I now know that this cannot be stated by someone who has never travelled from home, for if I hadn’t, I never would have known that feeling.

Talking to the people of Los Gatos, the Bay Area and as far as LA, people seem to be impressed to learn that I am from Tasmania (Tassie); this had never occurred to me before coming to the States. From talking to people about this I have learned to appreciate what a beautiful place Tassie is; and for those who are interested, there is no doubt that I recommend you visiting!

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An appreciation of home is more important than an appreciation of any other place in the world, because let’s face it, where will you be spending most of your time? So the point is, don’t forget where your heart is.

Remember the great things available to you that are within an arm’s reach, things that people on the other side of the world can often only dream of. I have been a lucky enough Aussie to come to this beautiful town and experience what California has to offer ... Disneyland being one of the greatest things, of course!

I hope some of you are lucky enough to then experience what my beautiful turf has to offer back home in Tassie, yet always remembering that home is where the heart is.

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