While in the changing room post-swim the other day, a poster caught my eye. Christchurch City Council's new campaign, It's Cool Not to Be Cruel centres around reminding people to treat CCC's employees with basic human decency. Abuse towards customer service employees has been on the rise. Part of me was shocked to learn this,… Continue reading Kind Strangers, Angry Strangers
During our second teacher strike recently, I met with other kaiako and wrote letters to politicians about our desperation, frustration, and why we are advocating for change. Initially, I wondered whether I was overstating things. Upon second glance, I realised the opposite is true - we are absolutely always understating our workload, day to day… Continue reading Open Letter to the Ministry of Education
I never thought I'd get paid to pass on existential dread to teenagers. I'm kidding of course: they bring their own, and they bring it in bucketloads. We share in the joy that is questioning everything, including but not limited to unmovable movers, uncaused causers, infinite regresses, and... temporality. Enter: Jeremy Bearimy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFm9ClqlGuo This term… Continue reading Philosophising with Kids, Paradoxes and Inventing Religions
The year has only just started and I'm already finding it difficult to turn my work brain off. Whenever I have a significant shift in my schedule, I struggle to adjust for a while. Often, a week or two (or three) is spent in limbo. Going back to school is a prime example. Does anyone… Continue reading Bribing Teenagers and Dragonfly Brain
It's hard to believe this is only the second time I'm discussing my autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. The first time was my "coming out" blog: Aspergirl Gone Rogue. It's genuinely like that, in a way. As someone who has worked extensively with special needs youth, and is both autistic and a lesbian, the disabled… Continue reading 8 Things Women on the Spectrum Want You to Know
This is my first of what I hope will be more bilingual posts to come! Shout out to my te reo Māori lecturer for the prompt of writing a letter for my grandchildren - I'm so down with that kaupapa. Whatever your level of reo, I hope you get something out of it, and I… Continue reading Navigating Pākehā Identity Part Two: Letter to My Grandchildren | Reta ki āku mokopuna
The older I get, the more I realise that identity is extraordinary complex. In my own context, I have a lot of questions of myself, my friends, my whānau, and the communities I am involved in. Shock horror - Abby has more questions? Such is the life of a philosophy major, a poet, a writer,… Continue reading Navigating Identity: Being Pākehā in Aotearoa
In the last month, I have been employed (on a casual basis) at two, going on three, different jobs. I know, I'm insane. As if studying full-time wasn't enough already? I'm a serial over committer - help me? In all seriousness though, I have needed to get better at saying no: forty-four hours of work… Continue reading Working Hard, Hardly Working?
Wow. So it's been awhile. Long time no blog, lil' Abs. So, why not hit the ground running again with something personal and freeing, with just a touch of advocacy? Life is weird. I've recently been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), more specifically, the kind that used to be known as Asperger's. This has… Continue reading Aspergirl Gone Rogue
Unlike most Christians (and ex-Christians), I grew up in a secular household. I now thank Ranginui, Māori god of the sky, that this was the case. In my opinion, what drew me to the Christian faith in the first place (for eight years) was my innate need for spiritual exploration, influence via Christian extended family members,… Continue reading Addressing My Internalised Homophobia
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