The Bold Source Issue 2 Transformation/ Metamorphosis

ISSUE 2

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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, The Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nations, Kurung-Jang-Balluk and Marin-Balluk clans. We pay our respect to elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge the devastation of colonisation and post colonialism and the continued disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous Australians that continues today. We recognise and celebrate the rich culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their strength and continued connection to the land. Sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

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Art | Poem | Comic | Photography

ISSUE 2

Transformation/ Metamorphosis

Cover Artist: Abraham Kulu Title: Papillion This piece is meant to convey a sense of growth change, cyclical change and linear transformation.

Materials: Autodesk on iPad

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Editors’ Letter Hey there Reader, Welcome to the second issue of The Bold Source magazine, a youth-led magazine which is curated and edited by a group of passionate editors.

We are young people from Brimbank who are aware of the many worlds youths are navigating through and want to make a difference. We want young people to feel empowered to share their stories, to challenge mainstream narratives - and most importantly - to find ways to explore their imaginations so they can transform their futures.

This issue’s theme is transformation and metamorphosis. Transformation involves trusting the unknown and delving into something uncertain, whereas metamorphosis is the transition between stages, such as from teenager to adulthood. We chose this theme during a time of monumental uncertainty and disruption. To say that COVID-19 changed things for us is an understatement - it flipped our already tilted world upside down. We had to transform how we socialised, studied and worked, as everything migrated online.

We think the theme of transformation and metamorphosis encapsulates the multi-layered and profound experiences felt during the global phenomenon of COVID-19. It captures the unique perspectives shared by young people, who all had to adjust in different ways. Whether they had to learn how to school from home or grapple with being an essential worker, young people everywhere had to reckon with something that transformed how they lived their lives.

Even though the COVID-19 lockdowns were a chaotic time, it did not stop us from creating stories and finding a sense of community. We hope this issue can act as a time capsule of the extraordinary ups and downs that were faced during this time, so that all young people can look back and be inspired by their own resilience. Whether you are ten or twenty-five or somewhere in between, we hope you find inspiration within these pages.

May your creativity and potential be endless,

The Bold Source Editors

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Contents 04 Metamorphosis

Interview with Najma Sambul

Change

The Long-Desired Garden

Our COVID Stories

The Bold Source Editors

06

10

13

11

20

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Metamorphosis A change of form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one.

Charliese Allen We all want to fly, right? So, what’s holding us down?

It’s not the fact that you are aerodynamically not equipped to launch yourself into the air full pelt (although my little sister could prove you wrong). Nor is it the fact that your larger than a swallow frame is a bit too robust to enter the atmosphere. It’s actually to do with a much simpler matter.

You simply have not grown enough. Maybe your current diet of literature, tv shows and choice slogan T-Shirts has been a superficial supplement for the time being, but for actual metamorphism to happen (i.e., growth from a small knowledge pupa into an allknowledge butterfly) you’re going to want a hand.

First step: Nutrients.

First things first, we need to get you some proper nutrients. Real food for growth, and by food I’m talking passions. I’m not talking about trivial passions either, although they are nice to have, real passions are the key to growth. Maybe there is a cause you are passionate about, maybe you have a creative outlet that brings you joy. This is what you need to feed yourself more of, these feel-goods.

Transforming from an unknowing Pupa to an all knowing butterfly can be pretty unnerving, and also quite challenging. Sometimes we can feel like we are being pressured to become someone or believe in something that we do not, and that can be scary. Just remember that you don’t need to make any life changing decisions now, just take all the knowledge of the things you want on board, and when you’re ready you can decide for yourself what you want to do.

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Second food for growth: Experience.

Experience is something that is different for all but impacts our lives just as equally. Sometimes, you may have had a good (or bad) experience with something that someone else hasn’t had yet. Whether that experience is with people, or beliefs, that is okay. But remember that that person hasn’t had them, and maybe they won’t.

It is okay to warn them of it, but not too harshly judge those people for an experience you had.

Let them discover their own. (As its important for the pupa larvae to discover their own leaves to munch on, not the one all the rest are.)

Now for the third and final stage: Self Validation.

There has never been and there never will be, another person like you. You are a one-of-a-kind, decent, unique person, yet you do not treat yourself that way. You doubt yourself, lower your self-esteem and question your choices. You have validated so much in your life, from celebrities to ideals, but you now need to validate the most important thing: yourself. Once you do, you will feel more passionate about the causes you stand for, and the choices you make. Because you know yourself, and what you love, and who you are. This doesn’t then mean that you won’t make bad choices, or falter along the way. But you’ll be able to pick yourself back up and stand taller than before.

Now you’re ready. Come on, lift yourself up, stretch out your newfound wings. You’re ready to take flight into a new world of possibility.

Sincerely, Charliese Allen

@charlieseeuphemiaart

Charliese Allen

You’re the only you, so make this you the best it can be.

Live up to your expectations, challenge yourself with ideas, and projects. Try and give yourself some time (especially during COVID-19) to write down or memorise a positive message to yourself.

Surround yourself with positive people, or try and find some on social media, or create your own group!

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Interview with Najma Sambul The Bold Source Editors

Najma Sambul is a Somali-Australian freelance journalist and writer living in the inner west suburbs of Melbourne. She has written for HuffPost Australia, MTV Australia and Eureka Street. One of her greatest passions is connecting with her community through volunteer work. She is currently working on the committee of the East African Women’s Foundation.

The Bold Source team invited Najma for an interview to learn more about her community work and writing and how these were impacted

by COVID-19. This interview was held in November 2020.

What does transformation mean to you?

Transformation is about accepting that what you may have thought you would have accomplished by a certain age doesn’t really define you. I think it’s also about acceptance really, that you can go in any kind of trajectory. You don’t have to pigeonhole yourself, and you can be better at something else. I think it’s accepting that moments of transformation happen far more often than you think. So my transformation as a writer was very much “I’m not going to be a journalist, no way. I just want to write fiction.” And then I found nonfiction writing to be actually quite rewarding. Using my voice to help others was incredibly useful, and it’s really fun interviewing people. It’s something that I completely did not see in my future. I would say transformation definitely is something that you have to embrace, and just go with the flow.

What guides you in exploring the topics that you choose to write about?

Necessity. Growing up in the western suburbs, within the Somali community and seeing what I’ve seen, I think that really

affects what I want to write about.

I don’t know if you know the quote, “Write what you know” but I think it’s really important, especially if I’m writing fiction, to draw on those experiences that I’ve had from living in the western suburbs. That experience is so valuable. Not everything has to be this amazing tale - sometimes it can be a really cool story about going to Footscray Park. When you have a skill like writing, and you’re able to talk and connect with people, you feel almost obligated to write for, and represent a group of people who are marginalised and underrepresented in the media. As a writer I feel the need to lend my voice to my community.

Is it very important for you to share stories about the Somali community?

Definitely, because my Somali identity shapes everything, really. I think you don’t realise how significant your identity is until you get a little bit older. Now I’m 25. I think around 19 when I was writing, I didn’t think about my Somali identity at all. My fears and concerns had nothing to do with being Somali. Now, when I think about something that I want to write, I always think, Oh, my God, I have to have a Somali character or it doesn’t make sense.

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You do a lot of advocacy work with the East African Women Foundation.

What inspires you in your work?

I’ve always been a part of the East African Women’s Foundation since I was young because my mom is the chairperson. I’ve always done the youth volunteer programs. What I do with them at the moment is work as the communications coordinator. I realize I’ve got a bit of a skill with communications and I think that’s really important when you’re working for a charity organisation because it can be a very big task. It’s quite daunting because you want to save the world, help the people, change the man in the mirror - you want to do all these amazing things. But you can get overwhelmed because there’s so much to do. I think that as a communications coordinator, I found that niche now where I may not be able to raise so much money or be on the ground all the time, but I can definitely make sure our communication is top notch. I think everybody has a skill to bring to a charity organisation.

I’m incredibly passionate about female empowerment within the Somali community. I think a pivotal point for me was when my mum went to Ethiopia and was rebuilding a rundown hospital.

Some of the stories that she told me were quite saddening, like the lack of access to healthcare for women. As a woman, I feel that everybody deserves a good life and access to healthcare. Within the Somali community, I was always conditioned to view men as more important even though I saw women as more mature than men.

So I began to think about how that had shaped my life. I really want to empower our young girls. I’m really passionate about that, because

had it not been for the people around me, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am. So that’s what really inspires me.

How have you utilised your background in journalism and your activism?

I’ve been fortunate enough to work in a community organisation where we have a lot of contacts with a lot of different people in different places. When they do hear of somebody that’s a Somali writer, they get excited because there’s not many of us. I know how to speak to my community and how to represent them fairly. I build that trust with people and use my identity to bridge the gap between journalist and person because I have better access to networks and resources.

What have been some of the impacts you have seen from your advocacy? How has the community responded to this work?

My biggest takeaway from my advocacy work is that people are far more generous than we think they are. From my background of being born in a refugee camp and coming to Australia at three years old, all I knew for those first years of my life was charity. As an adult now, when I give back, I think about that little girl. I think, without charity, where would anybody really be? I think now I have a different understanding of this and the community has been incredibly grateful. I think a lot of this work that we’ve been doing has united the community. For my birthday I decided to do a GoFundMe for a woman who suffered something traumatic in

the refugee camp that I was born in. A lot of people donated, some that I didn’t expect to. There were people that were donating $10 here, $50 there, and I felt really inspired when I realised that people really do care. And when you organise a fundraiser yourself and it’s from the heart, it’s one of the most rewarding things ever.

How has COVID affected the work you provide to the community and how has it affected your writing?

We had so many plans in 2020 and we took advantage of technology just like everybody else. For example, we had an elderly women’s group where we wrote down their stories because a lot of Somali history and stories are passed down orally. During the 2020 lockdown we weren’t able to see these women. To address this issue, we began using Zoom and Whatsapp to continue the group’s activities.

With the challenges that came with COVID-19, I had to adapt marketing and promoting the organisation online because that was all I had to work with. I’m becoming a communications whiz, hence the title communications coordinator. I’ve been managing the social media accounts. It’s really cool because now I know what people like and what they respond to; people really like human stories. When you put a face to a name, a story to the cause, it really changes how people react to it.

I think it’s been an amazing year for my writing, I was able to get published a few times. However, when you have so much time on your hands, you become a master procrastinator, unfortunately.

That’s something that I have to be kind to myself about. Having a balanced and fulfilling life allows

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Interview with Najma Sambul you to get the best work from your writing. When you have a busy schedule like “I’ve got to go to work, and then meet up with this person”, where there’s some variations, you’re able to get so much more done. I think that’s something I learned about myself.

I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but it’s definitely been good and bad. I’ve changed in terms of what I like to write now.

I always start my writing and gear more towards drama. I realised now, I prefer comedy. I prefer, really fast, snappy writing now.

That’s changed due to COVID. I think it’s changed what I want to do and it comes back to that whole transformation thing in life - I didn’t really take myself as someone who wanted to write comedy. Writing is serious for me.

I need to write, like a great literary work. At the same time, I’ve been reading a lot of them because reading a certain type of genre doesn’t mean you have to write that genre. I read a lot of Russian lit. Do I like to write about sad, deep and meaningful things? Yes, you can take the meaning from the comedy.

What’s the future of news agencies in relation to covering diverse communities?

It’s going through a phase now of being quite tokenistic. I think once we get past that tokenistic phase, there’ll be some good stuff towards the future. At the moment, the industry is scrambling. They realise they’ve been getting it all wrong.

But unfortunately, a lot of editors aren’t doing it. I don’t want to generalise so I’ll speak on the ones who aren’t doing it properly.

They’re going out and finding anybody - finding non-writers to write - which is great to give people opportunities. However,

it’s a little bit frustrating that it comes down to that when there are a lot of people who live and breathe writing, who know the industry, but aren’t given those opportunities. They would represent the organisation really well but they are not being sought after. That’s not acceptable in this day and age because everybody’s got Twitter and have their expertise in their bios. I think it’s just the lack of effort on their part for sure. You need people who are from diverse backgrounds in higher positions. You can’t just have them as junior writers. You need to have people from diverse backgrounds that are producers and editors. That’s a start, and maybe just grabbing Murdoch media and putting it right in the bin.

Metamorphosis means to transform between stages, how have you transitioned into being a writer?

I have always written, so maybe an alternative question is how I have become a better writer. I think reading is the pillar of any good writer, but not speed reading. If you don’t like a book after the first 20 pages, put it down. There’s going to be a book that you’re going to like within the first 20 pages. Keep reading that and go back to that book. It was so disheartening going through a writing degree because it took away everything that I liked about writing, which was that freedom to write what I want. Getting through that annoying phase and moving into adulthood, I think what changed was I began reading a lot of good books. My transformation to becoming a good writer began as a child. I would write all the time. People who have any passion, you just have to get it out

there. You don’t feel like your day is complete until you have done that one thing. For me, I grew up just assuming that I would be a writer. Transformation came from my self-fulfilling prophecy. It is so clichéd, but I would say, as a seven year old, I knew I wanted to write and I just did it.

How would you describe your growth as a writer?

Cringe worthy to less cringe worthy. Sometimes you look back at your work and think, “I have to kill my darlings, get rid of my clichés and find my own voice.” Elmore Leonard said something cool, “If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.” Reading widely has helped me because I see the mistakes I make. I see them in a printed book and I’m like, Oh my God, that is so horrible. Then I go back into my own work, and I’m like, Okay, I keep doing this, why do I keep trying to sound like a writer? What is a writer? I think it’s a game changer once you start reading different types of writers.

Reading writers who are rebellious, who are pretentious, and everything in between allows you to form what kind of writer you are or your own voice when you write. I think it’s so important to know that there’s not just one type of writing. You don’t have to sound fancy, but in saying that, you can have a really profound sentence in there. I think for me, it was about finding authors that were different and not feeling the need to mimic their style, and being okay with not sounding like W. Somerset Maugham or Roald Dahl. I’m not an old white English man living in 1952. I stopped trying to write like that. But I think it’s also good when you start to find inspiration from your favorite author because it helps you understand what good writing is.

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Interview with Najma Sambul It’s really good to be able to look at your work objectively. I think being within a community like Goodreads and within the writing industry, it happens naturally. It’s like watching a movie and looking at the reviews afterwards. I don’t think it’s something that you need to remind yourself to do. When I want to know what people thought of this book, I go on Goodreads and read their answers to questions like “What was that character like?”, “What was that about?” or “Was that a metaphor for something else?” I think being both a reader and writer comes hand in hand.

I think it’s also about perspective as well. I remember getting advice from a family friend, a now retired journalist from The Age. He said to me, “Your armour against rejection is always having something in the pipeline.” I really listen to those words a lot. I’m big on just moving on, cutting right through it. What can I write next? I think that really helps with rejection.

What advice do you have for young people interested in writing?

Don’t do what I did. Avoid the excuses. The problem that I had was I used to always think that the first draft was so bad that I’d be like, I’m gonna go out with friends. I was so deterred by that first draft that I would often use that as an excuse to not write. So I would tell young people, write fast. Get that first draft out of you, just speed write.

Do it every day, make it a habit, something that is a nonnegotiable, like showering every day. The more you write, the better you get at it. You’ll have a lot of great things, but you’ll also have a lot of crap things. After that you’re going to be more

determined to keep going, you’re gonna be like, I can actually do this, this can actually be a really solid story. If you look at all the great authors, they write every single day. They don’t miss a session. I think six days a week is fair enough. But if anything else, it’s just about consistency. You need to read as well. You can’t write and not read. It doesn’t mean you have to know what’s happening in the industry too much, but you have to find authors you love because they’re going to change how you write. There could be that one author that changes how you view a short story or how you’re going to tackle that memoir piece about you and your mum. There’s going to be that one writer that will change that for you. So you need to find that writer. That’s the advice I’d give: write every day and read as much as possible.

How do you envision the future?

I hope that more people will write. I hope that the people growing up during this social media age don’t lose their love for books. I really hope that people still find magic in books and turn that magic into something else, whether that inspires them to be a basketball player or astronaut. I guess I hope people read more.

That means I have a job!

Do you have someone who has supported your growth without a doubt and encourages you to think big and do big?

I have had a person in my life who is very close to my family, Ursula. She’s an 86 year old nun. I’ve known her since I was three years old when I first came to Australia. She was supportive

even at my lowest. I remember telling her, “I don’t believe in myself”, and she would reply, “You can’t think like that!” She was, and still is, my number one fan, that one person who supported me completely. I think when you have someone like that, you don’t want to disappoint them. When you have someone that believes in you more than you believe in yourself, it inspires you to take action.

How do you work around people who don’t support you?

People who don’t exactly understand what you are doing, how do you explain your passion to them?

You don’t. You tune that out and when you get published, get an accolade or when somebody else tells them, “Your daughter’s a really good writer,” that’s enough. You let your writing speak for itself. They think your writing’s airy fairy or they may think your arts degree will amount to nothing. For me, I filter out that kind of disinterest or shady comments because when it comes to writing, I’ve got bigger fish to fry. There’s real rejection heading my way. I don’t have time to sit there and dwell on the fact that you don’t care about my writing. Some of those people don’t understand because they’re just not interested in it. But I think when it comes to people like that, you just have to put your energy where it’s most important, and that would be towards your writing. You can write something beautiful from just that. People like that, really just observe them.

The naysayers are great inspiration for a fictional character!

Change, self-portrait by Haylee. L. Bissett

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The Long-De

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esired Garden Haylee. L. Bissett

Change. It’s scary. It’s like going into a deep dark tunnel and thinking, will I ever get out?

But as you walk it gets easier and easier. With every step you take the more fulfilled you feel. But when you sit to rest from the progress you’ve made, you doubt yourself. You think is it worth it? Will I fail or will I make it? You take a little time to figure out why you walked so far in the dark. What will the unknown bring in the pitch black? As you worry and go to turn back, it hits you.

Why stop? Why go backwards when you’ve already made it this far? Why stop now?

What is stopping you? For centimetres, metres, kilometres you have walked – it all means something. Something huge or something small. Life isn’t the greatest, so what? We didn’t choose this life; we just live in it. So, get up. You can do it. The dark may be scary, but it’s going to be scarier if you just sit there dwelling in fear. You can do it.

You will get through it. You’ve always had it in you.

You persuade yourself to get up; you start walking again with the same fears as when you first started. But once again, it gets easier with each step. You walk for what feels like days, months, years. Yet with every step you feel more confident, less worried and happier. But suddenly, you drop to the dirty ground. You feel dry gravel on your fingertips. You feel blood dripping from your knees. The scrapes on your elbows and cheeks. The swelling bumps on your forehead. It stings.

Bad. The pain shoots through your body like it was a bullet wound. You sit there and try to control yourself but fear gets in the way. Every step you made meant absolutely nothing in that moment. You sit there terribly frightened once more.

You’re in the thick of it now. You sit there terrified and in pain.

But remember what you said before? Why stop now. Dust your shoulder off and get up.

You can do this. You are worth every step.

You take a breath. You get up once more and walk. Each step feels better than the last as you walk through the unknown. You are so determined to see the end. As you feel your way in the dark, you suddenly see a burst of light. You smile in glee. It is the finishing line. You run. You sprint to the bright light as fast

as you can and boom… you feel the warm sun on your back.

The fresh wind on your face.

You feel enlightened. You turn around to look at the big hole you just came out of. Look at your grubby hands to see the blood, sweat and tears on them.

You did that. You made it.

You turn back around to see gardens of beautiful flowers and plants. You finally sit down from the great journey you just made. You sit there not in fear but in satisfaction and happiness. As you look around these gorgeous gardens you find a little hut amidst your new found glee. You investigate the old hut but it looks like no one is home. You start looking for supplies and you find bandages in a cupboard. You bandaged your cuts and bruises. Finally, you can get some rest and you can heal fully. As you explore more, you realised… this is just a pit stop. There is more to come.

Change. It’s scary. Yet can still be so rewarding.

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Our COVID Stories

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Wait for the future

In the future, there will be fireball that comes from space to the Earth. If fireball comes to the Earth from the space the Earth is going to be destroyed and no one will survive. I draw this picture using colour pencil.

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Thinking about life before COVID-19 This is a girl that was thinking about life before COVID-19. Before COVID-19 began the girl was having a good time with her friends, playing, dancing, talking, laughing and singing compared to life now which is very different. I used pencil to draw this picture and a cotton bud to smudge the grey lead (pencil).

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The Difficultie s of the World

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The Bold Source Editors Haylee

Abbey

Ysabella

Hi there, I’m Haylee Bissett. I am a 15-year-old autistic editor, photographer and writer for The Bold Source. I love being a part of this magazine because it gives others and myself a platform to speak on important topics. I also love to simply be creative in my own skin and to spread positivity.

My favourite shows are The Umbrella Academy, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Brooklyn-99.

Hey, I’m Abbey and my love of writing is matched only by my appreciation of music! Watching The Bold Source grow from an idea to what it is today has been a surreal experience and I am proud to be a part of a team which has succeeded in establishing a space for young people to have their voices heard and their talents recognised.

Your local bookworm, Ysabella often finds herself adding more novels to her never-ending ‘to read’ list - hoping that one day, she might find the bottom of the pile. As well as being the ultimate procrastinator, Ysabella prefers to spend her time rambling in the Notes app on her phone and stressing over the latest show on Netflix while also fixating on that one tiny detail in her writing that shouldn’t really matter but it really does.

Sacreana I’m a student who loves music and learning about languages and culture. This eager idealist also loves photography and wishes to study media arts/performing arts to proceed into her dream career.

Sacreana is my name and I’m one of the proud editors of The Bold Source and maybe, just maybe, you’ll see this name more often.

Lani Hi there! I’m Lani and I love reading and trying different cultural cuisines. I’m so thrilled to be an editor for this magazine because I love being involved with young people and seeing the different stories and perspectives that each person shares. In my free time, you can find me reading a book, baking sweets or playing with my cat.

Shani Hello, I’m Shani. My middle name should be ‘readaholic’ - I love reading, whether it be novels, manga, news articles or nonfiction texts. I joined this editorial team because I love seeing the creativity and individual perspectives of young people.

Outside of my university studies and books, I’ll likely be listening to Taylor Swift albums on repeat or baking.

Samantha My name is Samantha Smith and being an editor of The Bold Source has allowed me to delve into my love of English and be a part of something special. Writing gives me a voice and therefore I have been thrilled to help create something which will give our youth a voice too. In between social justice work, studies and concerts I always come back to reading and my passion for literature. It has truly been a rewarding experience.

Her favourite quote - “I feel it now: There’s a power in me to grasp and give shape to my world…”

(Rilke, 1905) - She hopes that the youth of today will realise that they too have their own power.

Mona Hi I’m Mona, my love for community and volunteering is what got me involved in the Bold Source Magazine, being able to cultivate and edit content from transformative leaders who have shown commitment to their art and community has been an incredible experience.

The experience of working with fellow editors, creating content and hearing from the members of the community on what they love and care about has been so worthwhile. As editors, listening and editing the stories and art forms on transformation was funnily enough a transformative experience for us, learning and engaging with the public, made the magazine an important way to share and communicate. I sincerely hope you appreciate the magazine, and we look forward to the next one! All the Best!

Issue 2 | 21

Are you an aspiring writer or artist looking to get published and/ or want to join our team of editors?

Get in touch with the Brimbank Youth Services team to find out how you can get involved with ‘The Bold Source’.

 9249 4000  bys@brimbank.vic.gov.au

CONTACT US Telephone: 9249 4110 Email:

bys@brimbank.vic.gov.au

Post: Brimbank City Council

PO Box 70 SUNSHINE VIC 3020 Website:

brimbankyouth.com

Like us on Facebook: Brimbank Youth Services Follow us on Instagram: @brimbankyouth

Brimbank City Council acknowledges the traditional custodians of this land, the Wurundjeri people, and pays our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of our young people.

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