The Many Colours of Happiness

Without exaggerating in the slightest, I can honestly say that in the last year I have come across hundreds of articles that encourage the reader to ‘follow their dreams’. I myself am guilty of writing pieces of a similar nature. After all it’s good advice, isn’t it? It’s far better to aim for what your heart really desires than convince yourself that it will never happen and live a less fulfilled life as a result. These articles are supposed to make you act; first by deciding what your dream life is, and then by devising a set of goals designed to help you reach that dream life, if only in teeny tiny baby steps. While at first glance this all sounds great, I am starting to take umbrage with the entire idea of ‘dream life’, as it implies that the life you’re currently living isn’t good enough as it is, and is simply a waiting room for the life you want to be living. Too often these articles ask the question: ‘are you stuck in a nine to five job?’ knowing that the answer to tha...

Ahh so it’s that time of the year again. The skies are grey, the icy cold wind is digging its way through your thick jacket and heading straight to your bones, you have become used to sludging your way around the office in rain drenched shoes, and the faces around you are glum at best. Now I love Canberra. I am the first to sing the praises of this beautiful city. But Canberra winters are the worst. The. Worst. Clearly I’m not the only one who thinks so, judging from the stormy faces around that only seem to brighten up on unseasonably sunny and warm days. Most years I hibernate, only emerging from my apartment when the cherry blossoms start to come out. However, despite my refusal to go anywhere without adequate heating, and ingesting more tea than should be humanly possible, I still find myself hit hard by the winter blues. This year, rather than sit on my butt in front of the heater with an angry expression and a mouthful of complaints, I have decided to  embrace tolerate ...

On Saturday June 28, myself, my brother and over 1200 other Canberrans braved the bitter winds and rain, making our way to Llewellyn Hall to show our support for the people currently locked away in the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres by one of the cruellest governments Australia has known. The Stand by the Refugees protest meeting was organised by the Canberra Refugee Action Committee, and included speeches from Professor William Maley, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Julian Burnside QC. This meeting was organised both as a protest and to show community support for a motion that will be delivered to the Federal Parliament. The motion calls for the humane and dignified treatment of asylum seekers; including speedy processing of claims and timely resettlement, as well as permanent protection for those found to have refugee status. I have been to a couple of protests over the last few years, but never before have I seen a group more passionate. Cries of ‘shame’ and ...