Kirsten

My name is Kirsten Grant. I'm a freelance journalist intent on travelling the world and using all my working visas up before my 30th birthday, just one year away! Reaching my third decade in life is an achievement in itself in many countries in the world and although I'm happy with where I'm at right now there is still much to learn. One thing I have learned wherever I have travelled is that experiencing the world as a lone female is nothing to be scared of but something to be undertaken with passion and respect.

I'm very flattered that my aunt and co-founder of 2020 Women, Vicki Buchanan, has asked me to be involved in such a wonderful thing and I hope my story can also inspire.

I'm from the generation that never had to fight for real feminist change. I grew up playing sports, riding BMX bikes, surfing waves and experiencing life alongside the boys. I was definitely a tomboy. I never wore skirts by choice until I hit university. A modern day feminist perhaps? I found it unfair that my mum who worked alongside my father in all his various business pursuits also did everything around the house. And that I was expected to as well! I would much rather be outside chopping wood or pulling weeds in the vegie garden than vacuuming or putting the washing out. I was against marriage as I didn't want to end up a housewife for the rest of my life.

As I grew up though I saw that there is satisfaction to be gained from making the house you share with your loved ones beautiful. My mother has always been a master of everything feminine in the house. From baking, cooking any kind of meal from sushi to roasts, weaving delicate lace doilies, knitting snuggly jumpers and creating gorgeous quilts. This kind of feminine creativity was almost lost in the first wave of feminism but I believe is making a comeback. My own peer group even started a stitch and bitch group where we pass on what we know about crafts while spending much needed girl time together.

Only now in my mid-twenties did I finally discover the joys of creating something tangible with my bare hands and not just as ‘women's work'. Mum is so proud!

My dreams for 2020 women

2020 seems like such a long way off, I am only entering the point in my life where I have a five-year plan! But the state of the world's environmental future is constantly playing on my mind. I try in my everyday life to do my best in this sense and influence those around me but it seems so many are apathetic to the state of our earth. I hope by 2020 my worst fears for our precious planet won't be realised and that maybe the girls on planet earth can lead the way in reducing our impact.

By 2020 I hope Australian women have the following:

• Equal pay;
• Stricter environmental laws on carbon controls, recycling, and car manufacturing;
• Stricter environmental controls on industry; and
• Employers who help and support women to participate in work at a meaningful level.

My advice to women of the future

Get out of your comfort zone. It seems more and more women are happy to stick to a stereotype of girly femininity, not exploring their depths or challenging their limits. There is more to life than material wealth and a pretty face. Get amongst it! Show the boys up! Don't be like the lads, be better! But also be mates. Some of my best friends are guys and they have shown great patience with me, teaching me all manner of useful and life-changing skills. Using your brain is great of course, but not all of us are blessed with an academic intellect and their are many other ways to reach your full potential, whether it be on the farm, in the bush or even on the battlefield.

My proudest accomplishment

I think this is still to come but so far I'm pretty proud that I passed university, the first in my immediate family to do so. I was never naturally smart at school and always struggled to concentrate and study hard. I really had to spend a lot of time and try much harder.

I am also proud that throughout my short life I have always railed against the smaller things that make women feel less adequate. Like wearing short skirts to play netball and hockey. As a 17-year-old at a strict private school in Tasmania, the oldest most traditional one in Australia, I started a petition to bring in soccer for girls. By the end of Year 11 my girlfriends and I were finally allowed to play a competitive sport in shorts, and in mud!

The important people in my life

Katy Woodroffe and Helene Weeding, Launceston Church Grammar School - high-school

Like most teenagers I had a hard time at school. Mrs Woody and Mrs Weeding saved my life! The strict school I went to only aggravated my rebellious streak. These crazy ladies would let me hide in the art rooms when we were meant to go to chapel, encouraged me beyond anything their jobs required and were always there to listen when I was going through hard times at school and at home.

Mrs Woody's supreme enthusiasm never failed and her success outside her day job as an amazing artist was truly inspirational. She has had residencies all over the world, has regular exhibitions featuring amazing bodies of work and even has a piece in the Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, the only hotel of its kind in Australia.

Mrs Weeding showed me that you don't have to have the same career your whole life. She broke the Grammar mould of teaching there for life and has since gone on to do amazing things at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.

My occupations

Bakery assistant, Waitress - Tasmania

Bartender - London

Retail assistant - London

Dancer, pizza cook, dishwasher - Greece

Waitress - Dublin

Feature writer - University magazine

Bush walking guide - Taking multi-day trips all over Tasmania, involved interpretation, cooking, knowledge of Tasmanian European and Aboriginal history, fauna and flora

Public servant

Environmental campaigner - While still at university I interviewed Leader of the Australian Greens party Bob Brown. I wrote a story which I tried to get published in Tasmania's largest regional newspaper, The Mercury. I was on a placement there and had my first taste of the media's narrow mindedness. I also marched in a number of protests against the destruction of Tasmania's forests and the concept of the Bell Bay Pulp Mill

Grape picker/pruner - picked and pruned grapes all over the Tamar Valley, Northern Tasmania

Advertorial writer - The Aucklander, New Zealand

Journalist - The Aucklander, promoted to this community newspapers main office covering the North Shore of New Zealand's biggest city. It was the perfect starting point for a newbie, covering everything from council news to school fairs and even one bloke setting a new record and jet skiing around NZ to raise money for cancer

Waitress, cleaner, driver for a White Water rafting company, freelance writer - Lytton, Canada

Receptionist, waitress, freelance writer - Rossland, Canada

Full-time journalist - Canmore, Canada

Reception, sales and bookings for a kayaking company - Tasmania

Waitress, guide on a tour ship - Tasmania

River Base Manager - Golden, Canada