A year ago I saw a Facebook post to enter a competition to win a trip to Europe. You know the competitions. The ones where all you need to do is Like the page and Tag a friend. Seemed easy enough, but really, what were my chances of winning?

So I entered the competition, and I joked around that if I won I wouldn't take my boyfriend. He laughed it off thinking I had no chance of winning anyway so he thought nothing of it.

A few weeks passed and I got a text message from CQ (the club running the promo) saying I had been shortlisted for the competition and to come to the final draw being held live.

Still, what were the chances of me winning?

It was a good enough reason to come on the night, so my friends and I got ready and hit CQ like it was just any other Friday night. From 11 to 1 we were on the dance floor as usual, completely oblivious to what was about to unfold.

The music stopped and they were going to announce the winner, it was so loud and everyone was excited for what was about to come next. There were a LOT of people there, was I actually a chance of winning...?

I held my friends hands, closed my eyes and did a little chant inside my head "Please please please!!". Then what happened next was a blur.

"...and the winner is...Tianha Haddon" When I heard my name I was in shock, I didn't know what was going on. I was literally standing still as my friends were jumping up and down screaming in delirium. The next 2 hours were a complete blur, from standing up on stage in a state of shock, to taking photos with my crazy big winning cheque, to celebrating with a round of shots with my friends.

I woke up my parents with a phone call at 2am, screaming and yelling into the phone. They probably thought I was just joking around or most likely drunk haha!

We headed back to a friends house to continue celebrating what was easily the craziest night of my life.

The next morning I wake up and the realisation of what happened last night had sunk in. I'M GOING TO EUROPE!!!

Then another wave of realisation came over me... I HAVE 3 WEEKS TO PREPARE TO GO TO EUROPE!!!

The lead up to the trip was anything but easy. This was our first real big trip, travelling by ourselves overseas. We were so excited to travel to Croatia, but the reality is there's also a lot preparation to do. Most people plan this for a few months, but I only just found out I was heading to a European Summer in less than 3 weeks.

So much shopping to do and Summer purchases to be made. Melbourne's weather was a gloomy Winter, so we couldn't wait to get to Europe and experience the sunshine and warmth of a European Summer. Croatia looks so beautiful. Couldn't imagine anything better.

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Stay tuned for how it all unfolded for Tianha and her boyfriend Rafi as they embarked on the trip of a life time. Part 2 coming soon

#croatia #Summer #nightlife #Europe #DalmatianVoyager