Carly Findlay

Writer, speaker, appearance activist. Loving life!

  • About me
  • Say Hello – my book
  • Hire me!
  • Support Me
  • Contact
  • What is Ichthyosis?
  • Ichthyosis + appearance diversity resources
  • Disclaimer
  • Shop
  • Guest post contribution guidelines
  • Growing Up Disabled in Australia

The Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars experience. The ball. The dress. The girls. The belief in us.

September 17, 2012 Carly Findlay 8 Comments

The Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars experience. Wow. I have returned home from Sydney with a smile – my life has been enriched. The three days I spent in Sydney were wonderful. I met some beautiful, talented and driven women, including Layne Beachley of course, and feel valued and know that the Foundation and its supporters believe in me and the other grant recipients. We were all made to feel so special, and I will treasure those memories. (Note – some of these pictures are from the other grant recipients. They were better than mine.)

After surfing on Thursday (see news article), we went to Government House, and on Friday we had life and media coaching with Seed Coaching and Life’s A Gym. I created a vision board (featuring visions of tidy bedrooms!!) and prepared my elevator pitch. The coaches were great – really applying their content to the wide age range, and drawing on Layne’s experiences.

That afternoon we were treated to hair and makeup. I haven’t had my hair done like that since my year 12 formal, and feel uneasy around hairdressers, so this was a real treat! My hair was so straight and full of body – I felt like Princess Diana! Thanks dry shampoo!!

I raced across a busy Sydney street in peak hour in my pyjamas with my hair feeling very crunchy, excited to get dressed in my ball dress I bought in New York.

Camille made my beautiful capelet. I adore it! So warm and chic. It is made from cashmere, has a floral lining and diamante trim and pearl buttons. My very expensive handbag struggled to hold my tiny vaseline, and my super high shoes were easier to walk in outside of the hotel room! (Dress from Macys, capelet by CurlyPops, ring from Swarovski, headband from Mimco, clutch from Witchery, shoes from Forever New, bangle from Envy Jewellery (though has passed for Cartier and Tiffany!), necklace from Tiffany and excitement by Carly.)

We were taken in two groups to The Ivy in a limosuine. Fancy!

Such gorgeous girls! Just perfect.

And when we arrived at The Ivy, Carol Gibbons, the official photographer was waiting, and followed us as we walked through Angel Place. It was like we were celebrities! One group of diners clapped and cheered us!

We were greeted with drinks – I was teased (playfully) about my age by the young ones – and the canapes were fabulous (beetroot and caviar tarts topped with feta!). Here is my dessert – strawberries in jelly with marscapone and meringue.

I danced with sailor Jessica Watson (lovely) and bronze medalist in water polo (or “throwing balls in the water” as I termed it) Jane Moran, who is also an Aim for the Stars recipient. She is such a scream!

The night featured an auction, dinner, and us grant recipients being showcased on stage as we were presented with a trophy. The moment on stage with Layne was lovely. She and I chatted about her husband (more of that to come soon) and my dress and heels. I told her that despite the appearance activism stuff, I am a little vain and love dressing up!

Our trophies are just beautiful.

After the formalities we danced the night away, concluding with all the recipients on stage dancing with the band and Layne.

The experience was amazing. Layne is so talented, smart and encouraging, and generous with her funds and time. She is funny too – made us laugh a lot. I love that she is proud of her achievements and happy to state them in conversation. She has belief in all of us and encouraged us to continue to seek our goals and ask for help when we need to.

I am so grateful to Layne for this opportunity. It has helped me get to London to speak, develop a set of achievable goals and think about my career outside of my day job. Most importantly the opportunity has enabled me to meet a group of inspirational young women who I have forged some strong friendships with. They have all risen above adversity and worked so hard to achieve their goals, and many of their stories left me in tears. Read about them here. Such strength. Many are sportswomen but there are also women specialising in academia, marine biology, community work and law.

One woman who deserves special recognition is Megan, the staff member at Aim for the Stars. She has been amazing to work with this year – always encouraging and lovely in her emails and phone calls, and it was fantastic to meet her in person. She has amazing style and a beautiful smile, and has proved that she is indeed Super Woman – coordinating all the grant recipients, the ball and the Aim for the Stars program. Thanks Megan, you’re the best!

Sharing our experiences in Sydney reminded me of the important things in life – love, friendship, hard work, courage and belief in ourselves and others. Well done, Layne, Megan and the Aim for the Stars girls – I am proud to know you. Thank you!

For more information visit www.aimforthestars.com.au

(I have a couple more posts about the AFTS events, featuring some of the wonderful people I met, so stay tuned.)

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Cait. says

    September 18, 2012 at 11:11 am

    Great job Carly, you summed it up perfectly.

    Log in to Reply
  2. BUSH BABE says

    September 18, 2012 at 11:37 am

    So awesome… how incredible have your life experiences been lately? Inspiring. You look gorgeous in these photos!
    🙂
    BB

    Log in to Reply
  3. Lanelle Elizabeth says

    September 18, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    Wonderful post. You looked and radiated beautiful!
    xo

    Log in to Reply
  4. Lisa @ Blithe Moments says

    September 18, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    Congratulations Carly. What an amazing weekend and something that you really deserve. You go girl!

    Log in to Reply
  5. Rachel from Redcliffe Style says

    September 18, 2012 at 2:33 pm

    You looked great. I love the caplet. It sounds like such an uplifting and inspiring event. Rachel x

    Log in to Reply
  6. Red Phoenix Style by Willow and Lotus Phoenix says

    September 18, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    Congrats on being a recipient! The Ivy would have been fab and loved your dress – you know my views on a shift dress!! L xx

    Log in to Reply
  7. CurlyPops says

    September 18, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    Such an amazing evening! You looked absolutely gorgeous. Just like the superstar you are!

    Log in to Reply
  8. kell says

    September 19, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Carly, you look gorgeous in that pretty frock and hair! So pleased you had a great weekend in Syd and that the ball was so much fun and inspiring for you. Hold on to that star award, one of Ruby's favourite things are stars, she would love to take care of it for you! Hope you're still on a high, have a great week xx

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Socials

  • View tune.into.radio.carly’s profile on Facebook
  • View @carlyfindlay’s profile on Twitter
  • View carlyfindlay’s profile on Instagram
  • View sqoggle’s profile on YouTube

Book me to speak

Sign up for some love in your inbox

Listen to my podcast

Tune in

Enter your email address to receive new posts by email.

Archives

Popular Posts

  • What's with the image descriptions on my social media posts?
  • The death of Offspring's Dr Patrick Reid. The TV death that stopped a nation.
  • Interview with Beth Bradfield from Malory Towers
  • Disability is not a bad thing! - My keynote speech for International Day of People with Disability in Albury Wodonga
  • Callan Mulvey got married
  • Six at Best - Eddie Perfect - Offspring
  • Callan Mulvey's wife reads my blog! Some wedding photos.
  • Stop using disability slurs
  • Coke is my washing machine miracle - it de-greases clothes and the machine.
  • Miss You Love - an analysis of a beautful Silverchair song

Copyright

The material on Tune into Radio Carly is copyright. The writing in this blog is by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Most photos in this blog are by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without permission from Carly Findlay. This blog represents my personal opinions and experiences. It does not reflect those of my employers'. The information I provide about ichthyosis is mostly based on personal experiences. Please seek medical advice or counseling before trying any new treatments I've written about. Where stared, I use affiliate links on this blog. By clicking them, I receive a small percentage of the purchase.

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.