CATALYST: 'RISE', Issue 3, Volume 77

EPISODE RISE

ISSUE 03

Blackberries When you outgrow yourself

Hustlers to watch Weed grower

catalyst

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Catalyst and RMIT University Student Union acknowledge the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University.

Catalyst and RMIT University Student Union respectfully acknowledge the Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging.

We also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and their ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where it conducts its business.

Catalyst is the student magazine of the RMIT Student Union (RUSU). The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editors, the printers, or RUSU.

RISE

SOCIALS

Catalyst Issue 03, 2021 RMIT Student Magazine, est. 1944

Instagram: @rmitcatalyst Website: www.rmitcatalyst.com

CONTACT

EDITORS 2021

rmitcatalyst@gmail.com rmitcatalyst.com RMIT Building 12, Level 3, Room 97

Chloe Karis (She/her), Ellie Barclay (She/her), Sayali Harde (She/her)

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CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORS

ENTERTAINMENT OFFICERS

Chloe Karis Ellie Barclay Sayali Harde

Mackenzie Stolp Molly Magennis

DESIGNERS

SOCIAL MEDIA Diane Armstrong

Bridget Hayhoe Sumit Saha Sushmita Deb

NEWS EDITORS

FRONT COVER

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sushmita Deb

Mackenzie Stolp

CREATIVE WRITING EDITORS

Bridget Hayhoe Jasper Riley Cohen-Hunter Kelly Lim

Charles Oliver Noa Shenker

PRINTER

CULTURE EDITORS Beatrice Madamba Savannah Selimi

Printgraphics Pty Ltd 14 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley Victoria 3149 Australia

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Abigail Leamon Bella Sewards Bridget Hayhoe India Curtain Isabella Podwinski Jasper Riley Cohen-Hunter Jean Wenjing Zhang Jonah Epstein Lola McKimm

NEWS REPORTERS Isabella Podwinski Matt Slocum Molly Magennis

CATACLYSM PODCAST Let your voice be heard Email : catalyst@rmit.edu.au

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JOSHUA FAHMI

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CONTENTS

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Acknowledgements

Hustlers to Watch

American Animals

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25

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Contributors

Catalyst x Compass

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Rise Above Procrastination Today

Letter From The Editors

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Take Care Of Plants Small Things

08 Letter From The President

10 The ‘Rise’ od Sally Rooney

12 Bukje-korreen-ngumi ba Meene-an

13 Growing Up Filipino In Australia

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43 Blackberries

27 Sundown

28 The Boy And The Moon

29 Just A Lover

30 August - September 2021 Calendar

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When You Outgrow Yourself

Book Review - ‘No One Writes Back’ By Zhang Eun Jin

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The Rise Of New Movies Releasing OnDemand

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Weed grower

44 Why Isn’t She Rising?

46 Playlist

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

CHLOE KARIS, ELLIE BARCLAY, SAYALI HARDE

With spring just over a fortnight away, us editors are looking at brighter pastures. Being thankful for the larger pockets of sunshine and blooming flowers in our gardens, and while Victoria is experiencing another period of lockdown and continued online learning for us at RMIT. We hope everyone is staying safe and well.

As a friendly reminder, if you are affected in any way, RUSU (RMIT University Student Union) and Compass are here to help you, with a plethora of support and resources available to all RMIT students via online, email or telephone.

Speaking of personal wellbeing, if COVID has shown us

a positive, it is that the right people can be productive and achieve remarkable things within themselves. And most importantly create a new opportunity for self-development.

This month’s issue RISE is all about the good and the bad life experiences that teach us to grow and improve on future experiences. With so many ways for us individuals to grow in skills, knowledge, or goals, it helps us rise to the top to achieve what we want.

From experimenting with a new skill, completing a semester of university or what mentors can teach us. We would like to

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invite you to our third episode of Catalyst 2021, where we explore what your meaning of growth is.

Students have shared diverse stories of growth which we have compiled into this issue allowing everyone to read, view and maybe relate to.

Office: Building 12, Level 3, Room 97

We hope you enjoy our latest issue and please reach out if needed during the current times.

Sincerely Your Eds Chloe, Ellie and Sayali.

If you would like to contribute in-print or online, visit us (when we’re not in lockdown), send an email or message on social media.

Email: catalyst@rmit.edu.au Social media: rmitcatalyst Website: www.rmitcatalyst.com

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AKSHAY JOSE RUSU PRESIDENT

“Catlystilekku Sawgatham” means “Welcome to Catalyst” in Malayalam, the language of Kerala in India, which is my background.

Last time I wrote to everyone, we were hoping to return to on campus learning and we were all eager to get involved in the many opportunities university life has to offer. Despite all the preparations, COVID has once again showed that it is part of the new normal, and Victoria has entered another lockdown.

I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the past year, and to share with you the services RUSU continues to offer RMIT students, and some of the major wins RUSU has achieved on behalf of students. It is important to acknowledge the continued resilience and strength everyone has shown over the last two years which has been a difficult year for any university student.

Life has not been easy with having to learn online, not being able to

engage in university life and so much more. These difficult times can often be isolating. I want to take this opportunity to remind you that you are not alone.

Myself and the team at RUSU has been actively campaigning for you throughout this year.

As a direct result of our work, RMIT has put a bursary in place to reduce tuition fees for all international students who are currently offshore. It was a huge win as a lot of students were not feeling that they were not receiving the quality of education that they paid for.

We also urged RMIT to drastically extend fee payment deadlines for offshore students in COVID impacted countries, to allow students to complete their semester one assessments without having to pay fees; and we will continue to ask the university to support students who need fee relief.

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We have highlighted the issues that students continue to face with blended learning, and the challenges to study that these issues represent. RMIT introduced seven-day rolling extensions to assessment deadlines during lockdown in response to our campaign.

RUSU have been campaigning for years for RMIT to divest from fossil fuels, and the university finally announced that they had achieved this goal just last month, with the launch of a new, sustainable fund aimed at minimising investments with a material impact on climate change. This announcement is a clear sign that the University is listening to the voices of its students, by placing sustainability at the centre of its business practices.

Since 2018, RUSU has been calling for a new multi-faith facility on the city campus, in response to feedback from students and staff who recognised the need for more prayer and student facilities on campus. Construction is due to begin soon, and the facility will be ready in late 2022, in what is another major achievement for RUSU and RUSU Clubs.

We are listening to all the feedback we receive from students, and RUSU will persist in calling on RMIT to do more to support students through the pandemic and beyond. We see an ongoing need for mental health

support, financial support, and high-quality blended learning experiences, and we will not stop pushing for the help we know you need.

It is a reality that COVID has disrupted the way we learn and engage with university life, it is often challenging to rise above these challenges when we feel no one is around to offer us that support but I would like to remind you RUSU is here for you always as your student union that represents you! We will get through this together.

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THE ‘RISE’ OF SALLY ROONEY NOA SHENKER

“People are a lot more knowable than they think they are.” (Sally Rooney, Normal People) As is the way of Sally Rooney, she seemingly has the capacity to know people—albeit fictional ones—to an extent most authors might dream of. Her books explore the terse, tense and intrepid relationships young people hold with one another, and with the world around them.

At only 27, her debut novel Conversation with Friends (2017) and follow-up Normal People (2018) had garnered her dozens of awards and international acclaim. The Irish author held the envy of young writers and the gaze of young readers across the globe with her first two novels.

Her musings on young love, friendship, class and politics have sky-rocketed her to the mantle of what is being dubbed as a new genre electrifying her audience: millennial fiction.

Conversations with Friends follows uni students and best friends Frances and Bobbi, and

the complex relationship they strike up with married couple Melissa and Nick. The dynamic between the four titular friends, and the conversations they have, are precise, unique and oftentimes unimaginably absurd, but they feel overwhelmingly real.

Readers of Normal People accompany Connell and Marianne, and the complicated journey of their love for one another across their years in high school, college and beyond. It was adapted in 2020 to television

by BBC and went on to become one of its biggest debut shows ever, with critical and commercial acclaim.

Both novels feature what has become Rooney’s trademark; a dry, sharp and intimate prose that allows no topic to elide the light of her pages—no theme is off the table, and no thought or feeling is too vulgar or too vague—and a relentless intellectual rigour. Her characters are perceptive and unique, but also incredibly flawed.

Her books have just enough

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politics in them to make you feel smart, but enough of everything else to keep you entertained, and have acquired enough attention to make you feel like you’ve earned a badge of status in society (a notion her characters would vehemently oppose) simply by reading them.

Between her debut publication in May 2017, and Normal People’s debut on TV in April 2020, Rooney had risen to the top of the literary world. The lens through which she views young adulthood and the tumultuous path people embark upon to get through it as unscathed as possible has struck a chord with readers.

‘Coming- of- age’ is a term often reserved for teenagers finding themselves, but that exploration is being unleashed from the constraints of teen-years. People rarely know who they are by the time they turn eighteen. Rooney understands that, and has inspired other authors to explore that too. This metamorphosis of her protagonists is particularly compelling, but more than that, it is unflinchingly honest.

There’s something terrifying in feeling known. Being seen.

There is also warmth in the knowledge that you aren’t invisible. Rooney invokes these feelings masterfully, allowing readers to feel naked in her sight, but emboldened by it, rather than afraid. Her optics of adolescence are matchless. By writing about people who consider themselves

unique in the worst way possible, she has tapped into the largest market of followers possible, the group of people that relates entirely and unabashedly to this feeling of lonely and burdensome singularity: normal people.

While we might not see ourselves in her peculiar or idiosyncratic circumstances of love, or the swathe of emotions that come along with it for her characters, there is a commonality all young people will empathise with that Rooney is wonderfully adept at conveying, and it is the sharp growing pains of becoming an adult.

Her next novel Beautiful World, Where are You? releases this September.

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BUKJE-KORREEN-NGUMI BA MEENE-AN JASPER COHEN-HUNTER

The long in the tooth highway, a life of the idiosyncrat, Salt scent omits to the eye of the sun peaking hill over-the-hill.

Stinging skin knuckles splits on the crisp air of the heir to one’s oneness, Grains scratch the nasal with every inhale to the light-burn on the eyelids.

Red grains reflect the pollution hundreds of kilometres beyond, Oneness is limited for only eight minutes of light, a crescent mirrors the burn.

Who is the idiosyncrat, I or the crescent?

JASPER COHEN-HUNTER

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GROWING UP FILIPINO IN AUSTRALIA BEATRICE MADAMBA

For the most part, my childhood consisted of moving. Moving from house to house, but also country to country.

When I was five years old, my family and I left the Philippines and moved to New Zealand.

Gone was all that was familiar to me in Metro Manila: the thick sometimes unbearable - humidity; the potent exhaust fumes from cars and jeepneys; the rumbling motors of tricycles zooming past the seemingly endless chaos of traffic; Jollibee’s ever-iconic fried chicken.

I spent three years in Wellington, New Zealand, living a care-free life as a little Kiwi kid. Even though I’ve forgotten a lot from that time, I do remember being the only Filipino kid in my school. I thought that was pretty cool.

In 2010, we made our second move across the sea all the way to Melbourne, Australia. By now, I was a little older, a little more fluent in English and a little more awkward.

Regardless of where we lived, aspects of Filipino culture have always saturated my home life.

Mundane things like taking your shoes off when you enter the house, cooking Filipino food like my favourite, lumpia (spring rolls), or our parents speaking to us in the language of Tagalog.

But I think back to the tableau of my home country with a faraway familiarity. This was once my norm, now so distant to me. Soon enough, being Filipino wasn’t so much as an inherent identity, but rather a mere word to label my ethnic background.

I distinctly remember sitting in my VCE English class studying two books about the immigrant experience, specifically that of Asian migrants moving to Western countries. One of those books was the anthology, Growing Up Asian in Australia edited by Alice Phung. The inclusion of such texts within the curriculum does see a greater effort to acknowledge Asian narratives and cultures within

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Australia’s diverse population.

But when I look back at VCE, I realise that I never really applied a lens of empathy to our reading material, and I sensed that most of the students didn’t either.

School texts were merely there for the purpose of study, to write essays about and for those essays to be graded. But perhaps my reluctance to engage entirely in these texts was a product of my own internalised othering.

Internalised othering. I don’t know if such a term exists, but it is something that I have now become acutely aware of. To me, it refers to when an individual subconsciously harbours and projects hurtful notions of othering - even unto oneself.

This is not a piece for me to lament on my experiences with microaggressions and racism.

Nor is it a piece to break down my fears of colourism, tokenism and Asian fetishization. But it is important to recognise that the latter are some of many factors that have caused me and perhaps other POC to suppress the very things that make us ‘different.’

As a teenager, I have lived to seamlessly assimilate into the social landscape of Australia.

It has always been a natural process, one that occurs without conscious thought. One of many examples of this is my change in accent. Code-switching is a frequent occurrence, wherein an ‘Aussie’ accent is always present

unless I am speaking with my family.

But years of cultural dilution takes its toll.

I have inevitably become guilt-ridden for my cultural disconnection; I have grown insecure that I am not wellversed in the history of my home country; I have borne the weight of cultural tensions between myself and my family; I have felt shame for losing the language of my country - how is it that I had spent six years of high school learning Italian, but have made no effort to keep Tagalog alive?

I have begun to feel like I am not being true to myself.

I, and many other Filipinos, are faced with a weird dilemma of having to adapt to the landscape on which our parents have settled to benefit from what the new land has to offer, but in doing so means having to downplay our ethnicity. Assimilation into Australian culture has compromised my cultural identity and has perpetuated a disconnection to my Filipino heritage, whether intentional or not. And this reality doesn’t sit right with me.

It was only until this year when I realised, it doesn’t have to be that way.

A few months ago, I had a browse of my bookshelves for some new reading material. My eyes landed

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on the pale, blue spine of Alice Phung’s anthology, which had been sitting there on that shelf, all forgotten and gathering dust.

Let’s give this one another go.

I read these personal accounts, essays, and poems through a new lens - I felt like I had just been given a massive hug. These were real stories about being outsiders, written by outsiders.

It was incredibly comforting reading about common, shared experiences, the good and the bad. I found the most solace in reading the anecdotes written by the second-generation Asian Australians - they too, felt stuck between two worlds and struggled with juggling their multiple cultural identities.

It was eye-opening to realise that for a long time, I have carried a very blurred perception of my own place and perspective. I have always felt like a hyphenated identity. Am I Filipino? Am I Australian? Well, I am both. And that does not have to be a bad thing.

I am incredibly fortunate to have grown up in a place with so much opportunity and privilege. To even have the time to ponder on the complexities of my identity is a credit to the love and support that surrounds me and enables an environment in which I am safe enough to do so. Safe, because of the trustworthy networks of friends and family that I have formed over the years. And for

that I am eternally grateful.

I have just reached a point where I have ultimately grown a distaste to this white washing cultural dilution. I think I have acknowledged that my cultural identity is not one solid thing; it is dynamic, constantly changing, and will continue to do so as I grow older. It is my job now to ensure that I don’t lose a significant part of my identity at the expense of another. My journey of acceptance and unlearning has begun, but there is still a long way to go. It will take time and effort, but it will be entirely worth it in the end.

Because I am Filipino, and I am proud.

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WHEN YOU OUTGROW YOURSELF SAVANNAH SELIMI

Eating ice cream in the freezing Fitzroy cold, my friend talks about her frustrations in keeping up appearances. White fog trails her words on the dread of seeing old friends, ones who have a fixed perception of you from the past that you can’t seem to shake, like an actor struggling to fit into a costume adored by the audience.

She stares blankly into the cozy shop in front of us. An excellent metaphor into what she’s feeling: although it’s warm in there, and we know we can eat our ice cream inside comfortably, we take to the cold to appreciate the lit up street and different people that walk by. We’re embracing discomfort in the promise of seeing new things - much like when you humbly outgrow the people around you; or when you outgrow their version of you; or when you outgrow yourself.

This is something I myself have been grappling with, so the reaffirmation that I wasn’t alone

was grounding. I, along with the people I’m surrounded by, are in a transitional period bordering unpredictability and stagnancy.

There are times when you change your whole wardrobe for the hell of it; stress over switching degrees or careers; and then there are times when you cry to a song you loved in high school or scroll through old conversations that make you cringe or laugh.

There’s so much going on and everything changes faster than you can even process it including yourself.

I’ve found there’s a strange dichotomy that accompanies trips down memory lane. When I look at old photos, I am both missing and feeling gratitude for the moments that are over.

I consider myself to be somebody who loves change. I like new places, new people, new learnings and new environments. But I’ve realised that I only like good change. The kind of change that makes me glad to have grown up, to have formed new identities and styles and mindsets. But when the coin is flipped, and uncomfortable, sticky changes appear in actuality, like drifting friendships or sunken mental states, I simply cannot bear it. I spiral in unfamiliarity.

I wonder what the rulebook for outgrowing old habits and ways of life is. Do you need people to approve of your growth for it to be real? Or is it more important

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that above all, you like the version of yourself that you’re becoming?

The need for validation and reassurance that I’m growing in the right way and not gloriously fucking up, is something that I need to work on (like a plethora of other things as I approach my twenties). It’s strange to think about the aloneness in growing up, despite the fact that everyone around you is, albeit subjectively, going through the same motions.

Maybe if we were there for each other more, and didn’t try to act so cool all the time (shameless self-deprecation), we wouldn’t feel so lonely.

Because that’s the thing when you’re outgrowing yourself.

The voice in your head morphs; your clothes look different; your circle gets bigger or smaller; your passions change and you feel nostalgic for things you once thought would last forever. It’s like rooting for the main protagonist in a movie. You have no idea who they are yet, but you’re on their side anyway.

Here’s something I’ve been affirming to myself lately.

As long as I’m being authentic, everything will be okay.

Do what you will with that.

SAYALI HARDE

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THE RISE OF NEW MOVIES RELEASING ON-DEMAND PLUS NEW MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH RIGHT NOW! MOLLY MAGENNIS

Releasing new movies straight to streaming services isn’t something entirely new. We’ve seen Netflix do it in the past with movies such as Apostle (2018),The Kissing Booth (2018) and Velvet Buzzsaw (2019).

It’s clear there has been a huge rise in the number of Hollywood blockbuster movies made by big name directors that have skipped the theatres and gone straight to streaming. In the past it would have been unheard of, you’d never release a David Fincher film straight to streaming. But last year that was the case, with Mank (2020) releasing straight to Netflix after a very limited release in theatres.

Of course, a huge factor in this rise has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many release dates pushed back entirely or in many cases, saw big blockbusters released straight to streaming services, with Oscar nominated film The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) being the

perfect example.

Now, there is no comparison between seeing a film on the big screen in a dark cinema and seeing a film on your laptop.

But unfortunately at this point in time, repeated lockdowns are imminent and it’s evident the film industry is not going to be without difficulties any time soon. Any film, no matter how big or small, is a labour of love for everyone involved in the project, so streaming services have been somewhat of a lifeline for the industry.

With that being said, now more than ever there are new movie releases on-demand all the time.

Below are a few new movies that are ready for you to watch right now from the comfort of your home.

Amazon Prime The Tomorrow War If you love time travel, aliens and Chris Pratt, I think this movie is for you. The Tomorrow War isn’t

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without its flaws, but boy is it a fun and entertaining film. Chris Pratt stars in The Tomorrow War as high school biology teacher Dan Forrester, who is drafted to fight in a war that is taking place 30 years into the future against a race of aliens who are destroying the human race. If you want something easy to watch that is action filled with some great sci-fi, this is a great choice.

Val Top Gun (1986), Heat (1995) and Batman Forever (1995) are just some of the films American actor Val Kilmer has starred in. Val (2021) is a documentary film documenting Kilmer’s life, all the way from his childhood to his career as shown through home videos he shot himself.

Kilmer wanted to share his life story after a tough battle with throat cancer that resulted in him losing his voice. The film is narrated by Kilmer’s son Jack, but using Val’s own words. It has so far received positive reviews and even if you’re not a huge fan, it’s an interesting watch about a life behind the scenes of the big screen.

Netflix The Fear Street Trilogy Based on the books by legend R.L Stine, each installment, Fear Street 1998, 1978 and 1666 was released each Friday for three weeks and made for a very entertaining and thrilling viewing experience. If you’re looking for a fun, teen horror trilogy with

some nice supernatural elements thrown into the mix, you’ll have a great time with Fear Street. Plus, all are currently out which means it’s the perfect time to binge watch them!

The Kissing Booth 3 Now personally I haven’t gotten into this franchise very much, but I know there are people out there who consider The Kissing Booth their guilty pleasure and I don’t blame them. Luckily for all of you who fit into that category, the last installment of this franchise is out this month and I hope it lives up to all your hopes and dreams.

Blood Red Sky Blood Red Sky is an interesting mix between From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and 30 Days of Night (2007). I’ve also seen people throw Snakes on a Plane (2006) into the equation and I’d probably say that is a fair assessment.

Blood Red Sky tells the story of Nadja, a woman afflicted with a mysterious illness and her son as they embark on a trip to New York to see a doctor who may be able to treat her.

However when their plane is hijacked by terrorists, Nadja unleashes the true origins of her illness in order to protect her son and the other passengers on board. Blood Red Sky is by no means the perfect movie, but it is an absolute roller coaster which for the most part I enjoyed.

If you’re into horror and you’re looking for something easy to watch, Blood Red Sky fits the bill.

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HUSTLERS TO WATCH INDIA CURTAIN

It’s undeniable we’ve seen a boom of creativity within the last few years as accessibility to online selling platforms and social media influence grows. We love to see people turning their passions into a career, evolving the seed of an idea for others to enjoy. However, it takes a tonne of time, effort, and money to keep a dream off the ground.

As young people, it can seemlike a pipe dream to make money out of our passions, but we’ve brought together a handful of young people who are getting it done.

These young twenty-somethings are here to show us it’s possible.

Check out their impressive brands on the rise.

MAIH PORFYRIOU

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INSIDE VOICES (@insidevoicesco) Inside Voices was founded in 2020 by Jack and Isabella, young Graphic Designers and Creatives from Melbourne. It’s an independent creative practise which aims to balance clothing, art and design, and have a mission to make zero contribution to textile waste.

What inspired you to start Inside Voices?

(J) We both had a large gapyear planned overseas which came to an immediate halt when coronavirus arrived. Instead of getting bogged down, we both realised we needed to be productive with our extra time at home. (I) Jack and I had both played around a bit with screen printing and fell in love with the overall creative control that the process provided. It’s a really fun and rewarding art form which we wanted to explore even further.

What was the most difficult aspect of getting your business off the ground as a young entrepreneur/s?

(I) I would like to say it all happened quite organically, but it took some really hard work, perseverance and belief in our designs. It didn’t help that we were in a global pandemic and morale was low, I struggled with this a lot. Whilst it was the perfect time to get creative it was also really hard to stay motivated and feel inspired.

(J) If I’m honest, to me it has

never really felt like we have “got off the ground” as a brand and business. We both started this with very little knowledge of the industry, so are coming across new challenges everyday. For me, the hardest thing has been maintaining confidence in our work and processes and staying consistent with our delivery of meaningful goods that people actually want to buy.

The Inside Voices process is hands on. They experiment with hand dyeing, colour mixing or diving into some op shop rails, then let their idea flourish into a collection. In every aspect of production, Isabella and Jack are ensuring purposeful and sustainable design. “With every step, we are always taking into consideration the environment and how we can control and reduce the impact of our processes,” Isabella said. “These can be simple things such as how much water we use throughout the printing process or the decision to work with inks and materials that are non-toxic to our environment.”

They hope to see Inside Voices become a creative outlet, rather than just a label. Jack and Isabella Look forward to collaborating with bigger brands.

HYSTERIA STUDIOS (@hysteriastudios) 20-year-old Brisbane student Maih Porfyriou began Hysteria Studios after attending

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Splendour in the Grass in 2018.

While studying Communications and Business at QUT, Maih still manages to explore her hobbies in designing, painting and jewellery making.

What inspired you to start Hysteria Studios?

(M) I had never been to a festival before but knew I loved colourful, and bright clothing but didn’t know how to express that in myself properly. When I went and saw all the amazing outfits people wore, I knew I wanted to start designing my own clothes. I had never been fully comfortable in my body and appearance and always struggled to find clothes I felt empowered in, while also feeling super cool. I decided to make my own handmade clothes for the next Splendour in 2019 and gained a lot of feedback from people asking me to make an outfit for them as well. So, I decided to create my own brand from there!

What was the most difficult aspect of getting your business off the ground as a young entrepreneur?

(M) It’s funny hearing these questions because it implies that other people see my business as one that has already taken off or is “off the ground”. But it’s important to note that everyone defines success differently. For some, the brand is taking off, but for

me it will always be a work in progress.

I find that the biggest roadblock that young people face is their lack of belief in themselves. It’s about finding your strengths, finding that motivation and coming back down to the reason as to why you started something. The challenge is honestly this.

Waking up every day, knowing your worth and believing in yourself. People need to find that power within themselves for their passion to grow.

Sales, followers and traction are just bonuses to the journey.

Maih Attributes her success to her Tik Tok page, where she’d shared videos of her garments and gained a whirlwind of responses.

“Some businesses wouldn’t even see that kind of growth in their lifetime, so I was shocked to see how quickly it took off over a few videos,” she said.

The young designer encourages everyone to start creating and reassures us that we shouldn’t be limiting ourselves because of our age. She hopes to continue in influencing and empowering others through her brand.

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“Having my own studio or warehouse one day is a massive goal of mine! I wish to start a small team as well in the future,” she said. “Watch out!”

LOWANNA SKINCARE (@lowannaskincare) Lowanna Skincare is owned by 24 year-old Sinead Vandenbroek. The indigenousowned, Australian-made skincare brand reflects the belief of the Narungga people, that nature provides us with all that we need. Sinead was born and raised on Kaurna land (Adelaide), and graduated mid-2019 from a Bachelor of Business, majoring in tourism and event management. She lost her job at a luxury hotel in Adelaide after COVID hit, and after a couple of months, she began Lowanna.

What inspired you to start Lowanna Skincare?

(S) I feel like I’ve always had a business mindset and I liked the idea of starting my own side hustle, but the inspiration to actually follow through on that came from my boyfriend. He started his own e-commerce business a year prior. Then after losing my job, it seemed like it was now or never.

What was the most difficult aspect of getting your business off the ground as a young entrepreneur?

(S) Figuring out all the little things that you don’t think about was really hard whether it was shipping, packaging, legal aspects like writing business policies. I felt like every time I thought it was all ready to launch, something else would pop up.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to business owners, because in my experience we get excited knowing that someone else is about to embark on a really exciting journey.

The process relies heavily on Sinead’s desire for environmentally friendly, vegan and cruelty free products and packaging. After lengthy ingredient research, she decided on a focus to utilise native Australian plants from her culture. She developed a relationship with a manufacturer to create and produce her products in a lab.

The young entrepreneur says her biggest successes are the relationships she has formed, including large scale stockists Nourished Life, as well as other small businesses and agencies.

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Sinead says she does not know what the future holds for Lowanna Skincare. “At this stage I’m focusing on making sure my current customers are happy, growing my customer base and wholesalers, and figuring out more ways I can give back to the community,” she says.

STÜM (@stum__) STÜM Productions a fashion and creative label owned by 20 year-old Jack Stummer.

Jack is a talented DJ and lover of fashion, expressing himself through fashion and design.

However, he never thought one day he would bring his vision to life in his own label.

What inspired you to start STÜM Productions?

From the outset, I wanted STÜM to portray the feeling of ‘sound creates vision’ – that being the motto for what the brand truly encapsulates.

STÜM instils my loves and passions for music and the culture from which it’s inspired. I will play music for a theme or a mood that I am trying to portray in my garments in each collection.

STÜM isn’t defined by one medium as it spreads across, art, film, photography and music.

What was the most difficult aspect of getting your business off the ground as a young entrepreneur?

(J) There are two main aspects that proved to challenge the initial launch of STÜM. Firstly, getting the money to launch the brand and secondly, being patient. It took time to realise the time it takes to gain traction.

The production process has continuously grown with the brand over its three years.

Jack starts with a mood which influences a sound and visual genre for his art. Being 100% Melbourne made, the young creative ensures he has control over the garment’s high quality. Jack is confident that in the future, STÜM will become something “so much greater than just clothing.”

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RISE ABOVE PROCRASTINATION TODAY YUSHA AZIZ

The end of semester was fast approaching and I hadn’t watched any lectures from week three onwards. I had multiple assignments unfinished; I hadn’t gone to a single class since week one; I didn’t know where the class was anymore. I relied sorely on passing my exam, worth 60%, and surprise, surprise, I failed.

Now, I attend all my classes, hand in all my assignments, and pass my subjects. Sometimes I do better than a pass.

So what changed?

To tackle my horrific procrastination, I had to implement changes to my study habits and lifestyle. Now I’m hoping you can learn from my efforts and avoid your own academic disasters.

Start with the basics: don’t be hungry, don’t be tired. You can imagine David Attenborough at a university campus narrating, “These unfortunate creatures are perpetually tired, tragically malnourished…” You get the picture. But it’s easy to forget the basics when there’s a 3000word essay due. Sitting down to

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work on a big assignment won’t help if you’re stomach’s making embarrassing noises and you’re nodding off. So remember to be well rested and well fed – or at least try to.

In terms of specific advice, the first is to block chunks of your day and dedicate that to a task. Say you have 12-5pm free, you can dedicate 1-2pm to one assignment, and 2-3pm to another. I use Google Calendar to help me block chunks of time.

Similar apps work too. You don’t have to block out big chunks of time. Just do whatever’s manageable.

Next, focus all your attention on that task you’ve blocked out time for. I’m echoing Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’ here. Simply put, deep work is focusing all your energy and attention to a singular task. One hour working on an essay at full intensity beats spending an entire afternoon drifting between exam study and TikTok. And that brings me to the third step: get rid of your phone. Or anything distracting. When I sit down to work, I switch my phone to silent and hurl it into another room. Seriously. If I’m on campus, I’ll slip it into my bag, out of reach.

You’re not going to focus if you have your phone buzzing, pinging, and flashing constantly. Your best work will come when you’re clear and distraction free. Phones don’t help with that.

Having a consistent schedule helps. Jobs and other commitments make it hard to follow one, but I promise you that having a regular schedule for university work will help in the long run. I try to approach university like a fulltime job, meaning I do all my work during the weekdays. That leaves nights and weekends mostly free. Your weekly life will be different, so find a schedule that works for you.

Finally, you should set up nonacademic goals. Here are some examples: Attend all tutorials and lectures Hand in all assignments on time It’s easy to get caught up only thinking in terms of GPA and grades, but having goals that focus on habits, not just outcomes, will help you feel satisfied with study in general.

You’re going to fall short though – and that’s okay. When that happens you should accept that you’re human. You will procrastinate sometimes. It’s normal. The goal is to manage how often you do it. Be kind and constructive to yourself, and, please, avoid beating yourself up. You can get a handle on procrastination today.

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SMALL THINGS

They’re fragile and fleeting.

You could fear them for this Or you could be in awe of them.

It’s the blue-black wing of a timid butterfly.

The sweet tea warm on your tongue.

And the winking light at dawn when everything in the world seems possible.

TRACY HWANG It’s the spattering of freckles on your lover’s nose.

The creases around their eyes when they give you that smile.

And the tingling smell of the freesia they tuck behind your ear.

But if that’s not enough to please you, Then like the universe expands, We will only grow, until the small things aren’t small anymore.

SUN DOWN TRACY HWANG

I see honeyed leaves Like suspended ambrosia Among the evergreen.

I hear rising birdsongs Or frantic calls And imagine conversations to which I am not privy.

I feel the evening air trickle over my cheek And wind through my hair; It bends down like it’s about to tell a secret.

I wait to hear one, But all it says is a single word— Patience.

Does it know, then, that I am waiting?

For what, you ask?

For the beginning.

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THE BOY AND THE MOON NADIA HARARI

There once was a boy who could not sleep.

Instead he would sit at his grand piano, in a large ballroom lit only by the moonlight, with a cigar in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, wondering why his music would not make the moon weep.

All night he would write and wonder, and yet, the moon still would not weep.

One night he asked the moon, Why will you not cry for me?

And the moon replied, You, boy, are too focused on what you don’t have.

You are so far away from reality that the sole purpose of your music isn’t to make me weep and isn’t to make something so beautiful that it would bring you all the happiness and love in the world, but it is instead to gain, it is an ugly lust thatyou hold centred on fame and fortune and those who will get you there.

The boy was shocked.

He took a long drag from his cigarette, which was not a cigar, and placed down his wine, which was being held captive in a plastic cup.

He looked at his grand piano, actually an electronic keyboard, and around his empty apartment.

He, for the first time in his life, accepted his reality and how much he had to gain.

He looked out the small window and stared at the moon and wept.

He cried at the beauty of the moon, and also at the beautiful music that he was producing.

He poured his heart and soul into into the notes, a melody as bewitching as Spiegel im Spiegel, a song so beautiful that he didn’t have time to check if the moon had wept.

The boy was finally able to fall asleep.

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KELLY LIM

JUST A LOVER NADIA HARARI

does a space become any less of a place without you in it? the memories remain only to be nostalgic, a recollection to reminisce made anew with the next lover, the next warm space taking up a new form, a new place. a secret rebound a love now lost the tears are dried yet the heart not forgotten just stolen away looking for an affection that i could not give.

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BOOK REVIEW ‘NO ONE WRITES BACK ’ BY EUN -JIN JANG ALEYA SHARIF ZADEH

No One Writes Back is a sublime journey of self-discovery, loneliness, and connection entangled with a sense of wit.

The story follows a young gentleman who embarks on a rather aimless journey for three years, accompanied by his blind dog, Wajo. His days and direction are solely dependent on where his dog leads him to. He meets many people along his path, and if they agree to exchange addresses, he agrees to write them a letter in exchange of receiving one back himself. Every few days, he calls his friend and asks him to check whether he received any letters in the mail.

He claims that his journey will end once he receives a letter, but no one ever seems to write back.

We never actually read any of these letters addressed to strangers; we only read a description of their struggles in what seems to be his personal journal. Which begs the question, are these people simply a figment of his imagination? He never really gives them a name; he simply gives them a designated number, creating a systematic order of all the encounters during his journey. The only letters accessible to the reader are four addressed to his mother, father, older brother, and sister.

After a series of odd events during his commute on the subway one morning, he becomes entangled with a traveling writer, whom he designates the number 751 to.

She travels from one town to the next selling her novel Toothpaste and Soap. He is inconvenienced by her presence at first, but eventually builds a budding relationship with her as she tags along with his travels. She claims to be on a journey of her own, which will come to an end once she completes writing her next novel. Is she, perhaps, the author of this very story?

What seems like a mundane storyline at first unravels itself into a whirling journey of selfdiscovery and the hunger for human connection. At one point, he ends up staying the night in a unique motel that has rooms named after famous artists.

The motel owner gives him the

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KELLY LIM

key to a room titled ‘Edward Hopper.’ After entering the room and being awestruck by the paintings, he begins to decipher the true meaning of loneliness and detachment, which raises the following question: are we more afraid of being comfortable with loneliness, or never finding a way out of it?

The real charm of this novel lies in its universality; at the end of the day, we simply want to feel connected, loved and accepted.

Human connection is like the dash of salt in a bland bowl of soup, the quenching glass of water you reach out for in the haze of your sleep at three in the morning.

You don’t know how much you

need it until you’ve experienced a moment without it.

“Life is bearable when you have someone to write, and someone who writes you back. Even if it’s just one person.” - Jihun, No One Writes Back

No One Writes Back is part of a series of translated Korean literary works from Dalkey Archive’s Library of Korean Literature.

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WEED GROWER

RORY YOUNG WEBSITE: HTTPS://ARTISTREFLUX.BLOGSPOT.COM/ INSTAGRAM: @RORYYOUNGCERAMICS

I make a lot of pots and I grow a lot of weeds. Over the course of my ceramic journey, I have fired many lumps of clay into hard permanent forms. Some vessels make the cut, ending up as gifts to family or ornaments for the fireplace, a lot though and a lot end up in the backyard. Originally, I would plant ornamental flowers and bulbs into these pots.

Whether they were annuals and perennials they all turned out to be ephemeral. Nudged out of the way by weeds, my backyard was occupied by surprise inhabitants.

I came to like these new residents more than my previous occupants. Inspired, I set out to create a series of pots whose sole purpose was to be infested with weeds.

Three vessels fashioned out terracotta and glazed in lead bisilicate would provide a home to these wandering floras. Rocks and charcoal formed the bottom layer of these planters, allowing water and air to flow and filter

through. A mix of manure and soil formed the centre, a free buffet for the plants to come. Atop of this whole charade was a coat of sphagnum bryophyta, thick woolly moss that held moisture like a woolly jumper holding warmth. Open to the elements and ripe for the picking these plots of soil were left alone for nine months to see which plants would call these vessels their home.

Out of the three pots, the realm of my blue triangle was my favourite. A scene of death, destruction, and rebirth, this is the story of how this landscape came to be. In the centre of this vessel, we see the archaic ruins of a once-great Black Nightshade.

This shrub had worked itself rather quickly into the lush soil.

Tunnelling its roots further and further, the plant grew quick on the profuse nutrients. A stem grew supporting shiny, jet-black berries bursting with a poisonous, glycoalkaloids syrup.

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Small grasses thrived around the foot of the growing behemoth.

Bigger plants tried to outgrow the nightshade but would find themselves strangled by the plant’s obstructionist roots.

The black-stemmed monster found itself all-powerful. Too poisonous to be touched by mammals or birds and too strong to allow competitors to contest, this Nightshade owned this pot. But alas it would be the plant’s success that would be its downfall. The beast had outgrown its surroundings and like a big fish in too small of a pond it slowly began to starve. As it rotted the plant sagged towards the Earth.

It was here when summer’s heat engulfed the pot. A week of low forties and high thirties sucked the vessel of life’s fluid. The scene lay as dead as a desert, the oncegreat Nightshade becoming no more than two tortured stems.

The sun punished all flora who dared to set foot in this pot.

Nothing could survive, nothing could grow, nothing thrived in this vessel. No relief was in sight...

Autumn would arrive. With the fall, came the shrinking days and replenishing showers. With the hail and precipitation, dry soil came back to life. Microbacteria, long-dormant awoke, together they would gnaw at the rotting skeleton till only the hard, cellulose shell was left. Into this boneyard, thistles, milkweeds, and dandelions carved out their plots.

All in the shadow of the longdead nightshade they dredged

up nitrogen and other minerals broken down by buried fungi.

Using the energy of the deceased the weeds began to bloom. The moss now wet swelled as its sleeping cells began to awaken.

From a barren landscape to a thriving metropolis a whole new way of life had formed in the blue triangle. A mishmash of undergrowth now lives in the skeleton of a long-dead shrub.

Together they all continue to compete for the glory to grow, to reproduce, to thrive.

Weeds are the outlaws running wild in our ordered societies.

Outcast plants whose right to be sowed into our Earth’s Soil is brought into question. To be a weed is to be free from human control. We see weeds as leeches, parasites; plants that do not belong. Weeds are defined as “a plant not appreciated for its beauty or its use.” Well, I am here to tell you weeds, you are gorgeous! Screw the beauty standards. I would take a sea of Black Nightshade over a sprawl of Daffodils any day. Why are we so intimidated by an independent plant? The lactating flowers of the South African Milkweed are surely as beautiful as any of the invasive species in the Bunnings Isle.

It has been an enriching experience to take a step back from garden politics. Acting not as a referee but as an observer, I’ve come to appreciate and revere that raw drive for survival

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that all weeds share. Whether it is the smallest of cracks or the blandest of soils something will take root. Something will conquer a plot of the earth only to be overthrown by a more adaptable, sturdier organism. These pots aren’t filled with an assortment of shrubs and mosses but filled with the tales of survivors and opportunists. To revere weeds is to appreciate these soil-driven dramas, these fights for survival, these dynastic overthrows of floral power. To revere weeds is to appreciate how indeed life finds a way.

RORY YOUNG

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AMERICAN ANIMALS AND THE PRESSURES OF SUCCESS CULTURE VIVIAN DOBBIE-GLAZIER

Everyone loves a heist movie.

Reservoir Dogs. Ocean’s Eleven.

National Treasure.

Everyone loves the elements to a heist movie. Building the team. Execution of the plan.

Misdirection and red herrings.

It’s always fun to talk about heist movies.

However, there is a particular film in the heist film canon that has not received as much discourse as its peers in the field.

This film is called American Animals.

Released in 2018 and directed by Bart Layton, it tells the story of a real-world heist in 2004 that took place in Kentucky where four young men plotted and executed the theft of priceless historical pieces from the Transylvania University library’s special collections room. The film stars Barry Keoghan as Spencer Reinhard and Evan Peters as Warren Lipka, the ringleaders of

the heist.

This is a film that isn’t afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve.

It dabbles in well known heist film conventions while also mixing in documentary elements with the real-world counterparts, making for an interesting concoction spread across two hours of viewing. However, as much as it can be spoken to about its underrated nature, there is an interesting commentary through the film that is core to the characters decision and actions.

This commentary focuses on the culture surrounding success and personal fulfillment within the material and psychological worlds we inhabit.

The four, before their eventual heist have achieved things like academic success or scholarships for sporting talents, but they easily talk themselves into a mindset that this supposed success they’ve reached isn’t enough. It’s a mindset that permeates through each

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member of the group almost like a disease that rots away at their morals and empathy. They become fixated on avoiding answering to any higher power that isn’t themselves or being trapped within a typical ‘9-to-5’ job until they retire. Instead, they seek a solution that can get them away from that life.

projected that what an individual has now in their life isn’t enough and that there is something better out there that can fix that.

It is a hard thing to escape. These big philosophical concepts of what true fulfillment and success have just become another part of the spaces we occupy, and it is getting harder to navigate.

That solution coming in the form of committing a heist.

Now American Animals doesn’t exactly seek to find a solution in terms of how to solve this issue, but it does succeed in presenting an interesting discussion to be had around what that culture is and the broader impact it has on others.

While it’s not exactly a revolutionary concept to want to avoid that kind of life and seek true fulfillment, it sparks off another type of conversation surrounding this type of sentiment and how there is a toxicity to it. A loss of perspective begins to arise when there is a fixation on this singular moment that they can rise to that solves all the problems and leaves one feeling fulfilled. Instead of focusing on what the issues going on internally are that are causing these feelings of unfulfillment and not actively rising to the occasion to build better foundations, all that’s left are band-aid solutions.

It also opens up the discussion around how prevalent these sentiments are today, especially within the social media landscape.

The pressure to skyrocket to success and achieve a fulfilling life on one’s own terms rather than an outside force determining things is ever present and projected from high profile influencers. The message being

Overall, regardless of all the conversation that can be had around the content of American Animals, this is a great watch and extremely enjoyable. The film is available on SBS On Demand to stream for free over the next year.

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CATALYST X COMPASS

WRITTEN BY JENNA MACLEOD

Can I ask you to take a moment to read and recognise this next statement: You have made it through 16 months of an unforeseen global pandemic.

The impacts of this disease are vast and extensive. The RUSU, HDR Student Rights department runs Sit and Write sessions that are attended by PHD students at RMIT. Since March 2020, these sessions have been running online and attended virtually by students. When converting these sessions to the online world, we were initially sceptical of attendance, as we had heard from students, they were sick of the increased hours of screen time since COVID began. Despite this, all of these workshops have been well attended by students and that in itself is something to be commended.

The most recent, Sit and Write was run online on Thursday 8th July. RUSU’s HDR Student Rights Officer and the event organiser,

Ashlea Henley writes, “Writing a PhD is not an easy feat, in fact, it’s a huge achievement.

However, the experience can be isolating at times. Even more so during a global pandemic, experiencing lockdowns, and many other challenges we’ve faced over the past twelve months. The Postgraduate department is proud of the opportunity we’ve had to bring students together in a forum that encourages self-care, productivity, and building a sense of community, through the Sit and Write event. The Sit and Write day is an event to bring postgraduate students together in a supportive, engaging environment. The day is broken up into hour “leaps” following a pomodoro technique, where participants can turn their cameras off and get some work done! We also held mindfulness sessions led by our Compass team, a yoga session focusing on stress-relief. Pursuing a PhD is such an incredible achievement and is not easy in the best of times.”

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As Ashlea mentioned, our Compass service ran a session that was structured to highlight the importance of looking after your mind. We often hear the importance of looking after our physical health.

If you reflect on the tasks, we have been taught to do every day, we do these all for a certain reason.

We brush our teeth twice a day, for our dental health.

We wash and shower, for our personal hygiene.

We eat and exercise, for our physical health.

We are aware we can build and grow our physical fitness. This is often easily measured, as we can monitor and witness the increase and growth of our muscles, balance, strength, flexibility and coordination.

What do we do every day for our mental fitness?

Although but we cannot see it, mental health training is no different. Our brain is a complex organ. We need to nourish and look after it. We have the power to re-train our negative thinking habits. We can create new pathways in the brain.

This can improve our levels of autonomy, empowerment, hope, resilience, mood, confidence

and self-esteem. While these are just as important as the skills we build during physical activity and training, we often can forget about them as we cannot visualise them or see the increase of these muscles growing.

What can we do for our mental health training?

During the Sit and Write, we discussed the impact of using strength-based theory and cognitive behavioural therapy to help us train our mental wellbeing.

We discussed the importance of positive self-talk and bringing awareness to our strengths.

Everyone has strengths, skills and values. They shape the decisions and choices we make. If we are aware of our strengths, we can repeat them to ourselves. We can write them down. We can remind ourselves of them in times of stress. This helps brings us back to the present.

We all have them. Without you even being aware, they have shone through since COVID. Especially, resilience. We have all built our level of resilience during the pandemic, increasing our ability to bounce back from adversity and challenges. We have created a higher level of coping. Be proud of yourself!

Next, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy explains our thoughts impact our feelings and emotions.

This then impacts our behaviour

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and actions. One impacts the next which impacts the next and so on, like a domino effect.

Our mental fitness can be strengthened by awareness. We all experience stress. Our minds get busy and overwhelmed, even more so in the last year. Focusing our mind back in the present can help. If we can develop insight into recognising and noticing our thoughts in the moment, we can learn to reflect on our feelings and behaviour patterns. This can be empowering to unpack when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

You don’t have to remember these techniques and do it all on your own, there’s support out there. If you need help, information or referrals, please email Compass: compass@rmit. edu.au It’s been a hard 16 months for everyone. No matter what you are studying or how the pandemic has impacted you, please be proud of your achievements, whether they are big or small!

If you are a PHD students. Ashlea says, “we hope to run many more Sit and Write’s throughout Semester 2, so if you’re able to come along - we’d love to have you join us!”

Stay up to date with RUSU events on Facebook.

RMIT SUPPORTS: RUSU Compass RUSU Community Resources RUSU Student Rights Medical Hub @RMIT RMIT Counselling RMIT Crisis line: 1300 305 737 (after hours)

HELPLINES: Lifeline: 13 11 14 Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636

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TAKE CARE OF PLANTS

MACKENZIE STOLP

A phoenix is a common metaphor for rebirth, Rising and renew But I believe water makes more effort.

Trauma can both be frozen and boiled soft, Cold water soothes the burn, Warm water repairs the wound.

Every week I water my plants from my yellow watering can, I give them a kiss and say: Today is better than yesterday.

KELLY LIM

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BLACKBERRIES

OLIVIA ALLAN

gently leaning, balancing picking bundles of blackberries straight into my basket stood with precision, humming hindering collision with the thorns this summery day is for me with my broad brim and my boots my little promise with myself today is my day tomorrow too and all days coming after as light or as large they may seem it doesn’t matter the excursion the version of myself the fruit i choose to grow i’ll stand wide stand wild like the berry bushes thriving entwined with life we know firstly and forever how to keep growing

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WHY ISN’T SHE RISING?

STELLA THOMSON

What happens when you choose not to rise? Not to grow, succeed or improve? What happens when you choose not to be the best you can be?

It sounds really wrong, doesn’t it? It sounds like the opposite of what we’ve been taught, of what every life skills seminar or TED Talk says. It goes against the ‘growth mindset’ we are taught to have, the prosperity we are meant to want, the development and expansion we are meant to aspire to. We are told we will be successful and be our best if we think, do, create and be this way.

But why is self-improvement so tied to the notion of success?

As a self-confessed perfectionist this is really hard for me to get my head around. I’m endlessly eager to please and an absolute stickler for doing the right thing.

I’ve always been driven and I carried around my perfectionism as a chip on my shoulder. Add in access to Instagram and I became

obsessed with the original girl bosses of the 2010’s, the myriad young girls who were blogging, Youtubing, writing bylines at age 16, featured in Vogue by 18. I felt like a whole world had opened up where I saw girls like me, girls who were driven and creating and doing cool things. I wanted to be like them, I wanted to succeed in the same way, and I wanted to do it quickly like they had. Whenever one of these young women posted about an achievement, I would feel overwhelmingly jealous and insecure at my lack of achievement in comparison.

Other than a coffee addiction and an anxiety disorder, it left me with this idea that in order to have a good life , and succeed in the way I saw others succeeding, I needed to improve myself.

It wasn’t until recently, when the term ‘girl boss’ became satirically revised in popular culture that I realised how much of that persona I had subsumed, how entwined and entranced I was

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JOSHUA FAHMI

with these young women who seemed to be the epitome of success for me. For so long I had been wrapped up in trying to achieve the level of perfectionism that social media was showing me, without really even questioning if I really wanted it, or why I wanted it. I ate healthier, worked harder, read about the best tips for productivity and listened to more podcasts on

other young women who had reached the top. And they were all telling me what I was doing was right. I was on the right path.

I would get there one day. As a society we are obsessed with improvement. In my increasingly cynical mind, it keeps us insecure enough to buy more, spend more and do more in the achievement and maintenance of our capitalist society. But whatever you ideologically believe, it’s undeniably true. Social media acts as a concentrated version of this, that we carry around in our back pockets. We try our best to morph and distort ourselves into better, newer versions of each other. It’s confusing and convoluted and I’m really quite sick of it.

So, I’m choosing to unlearn this.

To unravel and untangle my warped sense of what it means to succeed. I’m choosing to read books about women who do nothing, take my time drinking my coffee lazily in the morning, and choosing to say no to the pressure. There’s way too much goodness in this moment for that. Success is singular and individualistic and means you don’t need to do anything to achieve it. I am a good thing just the way I am, and so are you.

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PLAYLIST WOMAN’S OFFICER - HARSHEET CHHABRA

I Want To Break Free Queen

Hard To Explain Aleksandir

Old Time Rock & Roll Bob Seger

Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap

Sirens Monolink

Home (feat. AURORA) Icarus

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