This may surprise some, but I don't write-off my entire Christian past as negative. The relationship I have with that life stage is a complex and nuanced one, and I learned a lot through this time - through people, experiences and community. Autistic Burnout My mental health as a Christian teenager regularly fluctuated. I had… Continue reading Ex-Christianity Revisited: Mental Health, Autistic Burnout & the Church
Despite numerous drafts on the back burner, none have quite made it live for quite some time. I would say must do better, but this is my playground, not homework. There are no deadlines, quotas or gradebooks. I'm not letting anyone down by not posting - at most I'm just barn-egging my free range-destined ideas.… Continue reading Qualified, Medicated, Elucidated.
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?
Kia ora glorious humans! This month, I have decided to get involved in Mahuru Māori, which is all about normalising te reo, and participants can opt to pledge the whole month or a day per week. For me, it will involve pledging to speak, sing, and write solely in te reo Māori for every Tuesday… Continue reading Mahuru Māori
Kei hea tātou reo, Aotearoa? Where is our language, Aotearoa? This is a question that has been buzzing around in my head over the last few months. In January, I attended a summer camp in Ōtaki. It was an opportunity for youth aged 17-30 to come together and discuss politics, environmental issues, play music, dance,… Continue reading Why Te Reo Māori is Relevant Now
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
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
There are three things I choose to believe: At their core, people are good.*Everybody has shit to deal with.Hurt people hurt people. Most of the time we hide our mess and our problems and the things which we'd rather not have people see...things we're ashamed of, things that are too tender, things that make us… Continue reading Deep and Meaningfuls in the Kitchen
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