I’m pretty lucky, I had 27 years with 4 grandparents. By 28, I’ll still be lucky with 2.
July 14th, my anxiety was spiking as I was scheduled to sit my first law exam. Mum came home, tears in her eyes, I said “what’s wrong?”. She said “I don’t know if I should tell you”. “Just tell me”, I replied.
I would hope most of you are aware of the current same-sex marriage (SSM) postal vote; to be more specific, a plebiscite. A non-binding survey, used to gauge the position of the Australian electorate. The last national plebiscite was in 1977 to determine what our national song would be. The only other national plebiscites were in 1916, and 1917 regarding military service. Considering our current level of technology, the fact that this is neither mandatory, nor binding, as well as costing roughly $122 million, the question of why ‘bother with a plebiscite?’ is a reaction many have had.
Today is International Nurses Day. A day many of us wouldn’t know about.
I owe a lot to the nurses I’ve crossed paths with. In fact if any of us have ever had to experience the medical world and walk into a hospital either for ourselves, or a loved one, we owe more to the nurses we crossed paths with than we realise.
More gratitude, more appreciation, and more respect.
Graduating university; a significant achievement for some, an inevitability for others, and an impossibility for many.
I never imagined finishing university. Actually, that’s not entirely true.
Growing up, especially during high school, university was an inevitability for me. After all, that’s what you do, you go to high school, finish your exams, go to university and get a degree, and then get a job. That’s what we are taught to do, that’s the way the education system is structured. I never imaged any other path was realistic, let alone actually possible.
Today is international Women’s Day, and so to the women in my life...
Dear women,
If there’s anything I know it’s that you have had, and continue to have an immeasurable role in my life. I quite literally wouldn’t be here without you – in fact none of us would be.
Thank you for bringing me into this world, and more importantly for keeping me in it.
You have loved me when I was unlovable; you listened when no one else would.
The mental health journey of 24-year-old university student Adam Schwartz has taken him to the darkest places since he was 10, but "hope for the future" is what saved him from severe depression.
Mr Schwartz — who is now an author, speaker and Black Dog volunteer youth presenter based in Sydney — said he had suicidal thoughts from a young age.
"Mum has reminded me that when I was 10, I told her my heart is black, my body is full of anger, and that I wish I was dead," he said.
A few weeks ago I did an interview with the Black Dog Institute discussing my experience with suicide, suicidal thoughts and ideations, how I got to such a dark place, and the importance of hope.
It's mainly been used for educational purposes in a program that is being designed for GP's to better understand suicide.
Every now and then I ask my friends from overseas what they’ve learnt from the ‘eloquently rich and diverse’ Australian language since they arrived.
Generally, there are the uniquely Aussie (this is one of the words!) phrases such as bogan, drop bears, and Maccas. We also try to shorten as many words as possible by adding an ‘o’ or ‘ies’ to the end; arvo, servo, vego, sunnies, boardies, mozzies, etc. A mate can be a best friend or a complete stranger, and of course the most valuable lesson is realising that thongs are something you wear on your feet.
This is a personally signed copy.