Words by: Zayan Ismail Art by: Monica Ouk
‘There are no conditions, simply a warm embrace and a welcome home. The lack of wholeness in humanity is an indication that we are not yet home, we are not expressing our true nature. And we have not yet flowered,’ says the Reiki healer Richard Ellis, who describes God as love, compassion, justice and forgiveness.
… Spirituality: The Road Less Travelled
Words by: Gabriela Fannia Art by: Stephanie Wong
You can ask anyone from different backgrounds and cultures, and they would agree that food is a huge part of their lives. Food is universal — universally enjoyable. According to trusty ol’ Oxford Languages, ‘Comfort Food’ describes edibles that provide consolation and a feeling of wellbeing. Put simply, it could be anything of sugar, spice and everything nice, right? Well, it’s still subjective. As a foodie myself, all things can be comfort food at this point; some days, Flipboard’s fudge chocolate brownie is my comfort food, sometimes it’s the $3 salmon sushi rolls. Yes, our comfort food is never consistent!
… Food For the Soul
Words by: Xenia Sanut
When I opened my eyes for the first time, it was the small shadows dancing above that intrigued me. They filtered light into the meadow where I lay, playfully casting me in the warm sun before quickly forcing me into cold shadow. Then, I felt the breeze. I smiled as wisps of hair fell onto my face and blades of grass tickled my cheek, but that was when I heard a rustling to my right.
… Garden of Eden
Photo essay by: Lauren Gallina
I am lucky enough to be surrounded by so many incredible women. When I need to turn to someone in my life for much-needed advice, a warm embrace, a hearty giggle, a night of drinking and dancing, or an emotional cry, I turn to one of these confidants.
… Humans of My Life
Words by: Marla Sommer Art by: Therese Dias
I was 12 when my parents bought what is now our family home, nestled in between beach and parkland. I remember being the first to slide my hands across the sold sticker; while my parents were busy adulting, I was already picking my room. It never occurred to me how much being at that one auction would shape what I’d come to know as home.
… A House is Not a Home
Words by: Chanttel Forbes
Now how many times have you been telling your friend about a new guy, and it goes something like this?
Example A: omg he’s so amazing he says good morning to me
Example B: omg he checks up on me throughout the day
To which she replies: I can literally do that for you, that is the bare minimum.
That was the wake-up call I needed to realise I was accepting far too little, forcing me to take a deep dive into why that is and just how influential seeing positive relationships around you can be.
… An Ode to the Talking Stage
Words by: Daisy Henry Art by: Stephanie Wong
Being in your twenties is a confusing time. Graduating from Year 12 feels like it could have been mere years ago and the idea of people you know getting engaged or owning property seems absurd — surely we’re too young for that! Yet as I think about it, my valedictory was six years ago, some of my friends are in long-term relationships and a lot of young people are already saving for house deposits. Um, when did everyone turn into grown-ups?
… The Harsh Realisations of Growing Up
Words by: Caitlin Cefai Art by: Victoria Loizides
Commuting is one of the most universal human experiences: bumper-to-bumper in early morning traffic jams, stumbling while standing on a moving bus, or the sweat on your brow after a cycle to work. What is even more human is being nosey — and there’s nothing quite like peeking at what other people are reading while sitting on the train.
What someone is reading can tell us an awful lot about them, and so below we’ve decoded some of the most popular books you might be caught reading, and what it tells other people about you.
… Literary Clout
Words by: Felice Lok Art by: L. Ching
I love writing, but I didn’t always realise I did. It must have begun when my uncle would return from Sydney every Christmas and pull beautifully wrapped storybooks out of his denim satchel for me like Mary Poppins. I soon fell in love with the touch of textured paper under my fingers as I diligently sounded out the ‘big words’. When I was 12, my mum sent me to an English tutor who left me in tears after every lesson because my stories were simply not interesting enough. In hindsight, I have both of them to thank because my stories were, in fact, not interesting at all. This tutor had made me realise it wasn’t that I lacked great ideas, but that writing was a skill I had to patiently practise in order to captivatingly convey what I wanted to say. When I reached uni, I began watching Gilmore Girls and started living vicariously through the protagonist, Rory Gilmore, who inspired me to study journalism. All these people (real and fictional) made me realise the value of words. Through words, I get to read the most interesting stories, pen thoughts to paper when I am anxious, and shamelessly share carefully crafted puns with my friends. For me, words are a vehicle for self-expression which have become a significant part of who I am.
… How I Got Here: A Recipe
Words by: Soraya Rezal Art by: Madison Marshall
People always say, ‘never meet your heroes’. Often the expectations are set so high that when you finally get the chance to meet them, you’ll be disappointed when they’re not at all what you imagined them to be. Not for me, though. The first time I met my idol was definitely one for the books, despite me making a complete fool of myself.
… Never Meet Your Heroes
Words by: Alice Wright Art by: Annabel Condon
After a few years of failed situationships, awkward first dates and many aunties and uncles asking, “are you seeing anyone at the moment?”, I have somehow found myself in a place of comfort in my independence. But I can confidently say: this wasn’t an easy place to get to.
… How To Be Single
Words by: Coby Renkin Art by: Lauren Easter
I spent a lot of my high school years feeling a little disconnected from the people I surrounded myself with. I had friends — people I adored and spent all my spare time with, but I often found myself questioning whether they were really ‘my people’.
… Finding My People
Words by: Tess Kent Art by: Jessica La
TW: Infertility
As if it were the most casual of conversations, my gynaecologist handed me my prescription and let slip, “when you start thinking about wanting kids, come see me 12 months earlier to begin fertility treatments”.
I’d just come in for a check-up as my period erred on the side of few and far between. Instead, I found out that I had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and potentially endometriosis, and had just been slapped with the fact that I don’t ovulate properly. Suddenly, I was very aware that having children would need to be an incredibly conscious decision for me. I would have to try very hard to conceive, and even then, it would most likely be a rigorous process of testing and heartbreak.
… I Don’t Want Kids
Words by: Emma Sudano Art by: Lauren Easter
We all want our BFFs to be happy in love, on one condition: that I’m happy, too. It’s an age-old dilemma, you don’t like your friend’s partner. So, what do you do?
You probably want to yell ‘you can do so much better!’, maybe even grab their arms and shake some sense into them. You think back to all the wine-induced hours spent mapping out their ideal partner, based on everything from personality to how they will look in the wedding photos. For fuck’s sake, there were probably even Pinterest boards made. Why didn’t they listen to the Pinterest boards?! You love your friend and vow to always be there for them — yet any time they mention their significant other, you cringe with every fibre of your being. But what are you going to do? Tell them that their partner is a jerk? Is it truly your place? Should you shut the fuck up, keep your head down and secretly loathe their spouse? None of these seem to be viable possibilities.
… A Guide To Dealing With Partners You Cannot Stand
Words by: Kate Zhang
When I walked into the Chinese restaurant opposite Coles in Caulfield Plaza, its owner June Wang greeted me with enthusiasm and asked me what I would like to order.
“Which one do your customers like the most?” I asked Mum Wang, flipping through the menu.
“It’s a difficult question,” she replied. “Everything on my menu is created by my customers. They said to me: ‘I want to have eggplant pot.’ And then I tried to cook some for them to taste. They told me: ‘Oh, it’s delicious!’ Then I add it to the menu. Every dish was created in this way. So, my menu is filled with what my customers like.”
… Mum Wang’s Private Kitchen
Words by: Juliette Capomolla Art by: Annabel Condon
It’s undeniably human to have crushes. I mean, what’s the point of going to your weekly uni tutorial if not for the guy in the green sweatshirt who sits in the back left corner? Crushes enliven an excitement, giddiness and youthful feeling in us all. A crush takes me back to the start of Year 7, when 13-year-old me thought all the boys would just die over my side pony and rolled up skirt (spoiler: they didn’t). Whilst I’d like to think I’m past that particular trend, the sentiment remains — there’s nothing quite like a crush.
… A Love Letter to My Short-Lived Crushes
Words by: Kiera Eardley Art by: Natalie Tran
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
Michel de Montaigne might have written these words in the 16th century, but it’s still a sentiment that would resonate with introverts everywhere. In a world that places a lot of importance on life-long partners, and at an age when popular culture is screaming from all angles that you should have a huge, boisterous friendship group that does everything together and goes out every night, it’s an easy one to forget. Society is built for extroversion in many ways, and there’s a lot of good that comes from that — but at the end of the day, all you really have is yourself. And that deserves to be celebrated.
… Party of One
Words by: Jackie Zhou Art by: Annabel Condon
“You always pick on my words. I don’t know what I say that hurts you, but you get angry at me anyway.”
… When Culture Meets Queerness
Words and art by: Madeleine Galea
I used to think I was my interests,
favourite things,
books, quotes, colours, foods,
the idiosyncrasies that others could see,
the things that had come naturally,
the things I had done,
now, I’m not sure.
I feel like a grain of sand
washing around in the ocean,
trying to gain traction,
to form an island all of my own,
Instead, I’m blown from coast to coast.
never quite mine,
roving right into rivers of righteous irritation,
trying to find myself among cohorts of lost souls,
trying to build my home in a hurricane.
Instead of me are the fragments of what people have left behind,
those I admired,
people I have loved,
the way I cook my eggs and order my coffee,
my own reflection,
and maybe it’s not such a curse,
to find yourself lost
Words by: Sarah Wilkes Art by: Brooke Stevens
As I began writing this piece, I found myself instinctively addressing an unborn earthling. A twinkle in a mother’s eye, a tiny heartbeat, a bun in the oven. We all wish there was some manual, instruction booklet or dictionary warning us of the T&Cs that come with humanity. So, it seems fitting to dedicate this to you, Little One, whoever you are. Here’s what it means to be human:
… Define: Being Human
Words by: Elodie Ricaud Art by: Naiyanat Sauratanahai
Post-lockdown, everyone is still fixated on the importance of mastering the art of self-care. And rightly so. While in certain contexts, this word has been rendered a cliché with its focus on beauty and wellness consumption, its introduction also serves a deeper purpose. It reminds us to invest in ourselves and prioritise our needs in this fast-paced, chaotic and unpredictable life.
… The Real Face of Self-Care
Esperanto Magazine 