It's been two years since Jorja Harris passed what she had thought would be her future, on her way to a present reality she is glad to be experiencing.
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Still, the 18-year-old has not given up on one day living that alternate reality; she still dreams of working as a jillaroo in the Northern Territory.
Bathed in sunshine and glory, after her stunning second-half strike helped Tamworth FC to a 5-2 major semi-final win over OVA at Johnson Field, the Carinya Christian School alumnus spoke candidly about her life.
Harris, who lives on her family's small property near Attunga, has long desired to work as a jillaroo in the Northern Territory
"I wasn't mentally prepared to go over there at 16 by myself," Harris said.
"And I had too much here that I had to finish and I had to do. So I ended up staying, and I honestly don't regret it."
"There's still always a part of me that wants to go there - and I will go there one day, it just may take some time," she added.
Harris, a receptionist and barista at the 360 Fitness Club, spent the first few years of life on a Bendemeer farm before her family moved to Hillvue and then the property near Attunga.
Her father Noel was her "absolute hero", she said, given his positive impact on her. "He's probably the most tough-love person you would ever meet."
Unsurprisingly, then, Harris said the most important life lesson she had learned was to "keep going".
"If you get knocked down, get back up," she said, adding that sometimes she was "a little bit iffy" in the resilience department. "But for the most part, I'm pretty good."
Right now is perhaps the happiest Harris has felt. She said she loved being outdoors, "running around with people" that she could share a laugh with.
"I've got all of my family, my friends - I've got a life. Like, I'm doing things, I'm seeing everyone that I know, and I'm not sitting at home any more."
Those friends include her Tamworth FC teammates. The side will play either OVA or North Companions in the grand final on September 23.
"These girls, I love them," Harris said of her teammates.
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