Words by Sachini, 22 ACT “Jamie said you were a Brownie,” said my friend Katie. I remember looking down at my arms, feeling a stab of defensiveness shoot through my stomach. “I don’t care,” I had said. In that moment, 8...
Words by Kyara, 22 VIC I’m eight hours away from home at a festival celebrating the city of Adelaide’s 60th birthday. Crowds mill about, taking in the art displays and the food vans in the street. It’s easy to lose...
Words by Georgie, 28 VIC Sit down with your beverage of choice, put your phone on flight mode and read this inspiring story. Lauren from the WhyNot team sat down with Shulah – a young transgender woman from Melbourne to...
Words by Laneikka, 19 NSW I didn’t come from a homophobic household.And yet I remember crying at Jamberoo because my sister groped a mermaid statute’s boobs with her hands. There was something about same sex couples...
Words by Kyara, 22 VIC “We have other sizes in the back,” the shop assistants say when they see me looking through the racks. I smile and say thanks. Slim young women and athletic young men inhabit the beaches and the...
Words by Núria, 25 VIC Back in the village, Lin Shwe is the first tattooed woman I meet, and the one who makes the strongest impression on me. I don’t know if it’s because of her hypnotic deep voice or the way she...
Words by Núria, 25 VIC Lin Shwe Htang, from the Mun tribe, is at her home with some of her grandsons. It’s their day off school, so they all hang together while their parents are working in the fields. When heavy rain...
Words by Sachini, 22 ACT “So, what do you think of Denmark?” I look over at Caroline, sipping my wine. My boyfriend and his friends are engaged in easy conversation borne from growing up together in Denmark. ...
Words by Miriam, 19 NSW Siblings are the worst, aren’t they? Not my brother. He’s pretty great, but not everyone sees him that way, because he’s different. People don’t like different. Of course, there are times when I...
Words by Lachlan, 25 QLD Why was this the spark that lit the bonfire? Was it the fact that this murder was documented on camera? Was this the proof white people needed to believe what Black, Indigenous and people of...