Welp, we've made it through a whole year of teaching. When did that happen? It's true what they say about time passing faster the older you get. Both freaky and kind of humbling, in a way. Just when I'm starting to thoroughly enjoy my existence, too. Not that I didn't before, but also - sometimes… Continue reading New Year, Same Me: Bodies (Part One)
On Karen Carpenter When I was about six or seven, I learned that my favourite singer in the world at the time had passed away at a young age. In age appropriate language, my mum explained anorexia to me: about how Karen Carpenter (vocalist of the 70s brother sister duo The Carpenters) got told that… Continue reading Karen Carpenter, Fatphobia and Cultivating Self-Love
I'm all Coronavirused out, so I'm fully not going to talk about it - other than to say it has been a weird, chaotic and uncertain last few weeks, has it not? I hope everybody is staying safe, well, and being nice to their flatmates/family/partners during this stressful time. Sparing a thought for all the… Continue reading The Covid19 Diaries: Isolation Staycation?
Recently, in the dentist waiting room, I had an epiphany. As I sat there, I saw everyone was glued to their digital devices: smartphones, tablets, the whole shebang. I asked myself, how can we so socially connected and disconnected simultaneously? Then I typed these preliminary thoughts into my own mobile device... am I not the… Continue reading Dial-Up Days, Mother Nature and Digital Detoxing
Yeah, so, New Zealand is not doing a fantastic job. We're miles ahead of Australia, for example - make no mistake - but our micro-aggressions towards ngā tāngata whenua are all too real, sometimes subtle and sometimes more like actual aggression. I will never ever know what it feels like to live in the skin… Continue reading Colonialism in Aotearoa and te Ao
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
Suicide. Many people that I know, myself included, have contemplated it at difficult periods of our lives. My grandfather died by it – so I never got to meet him – and so did a fellow high school chorister. Those deaths will never ever escape my mind; both for different reasons. People need to come… Continue reading Suicide and the Value of Te Whare Tapa Whā
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