Where did all the professionals go?

Professionalism. We all know it's important. If you don't know, you are probably not a professional.

The problem I have with it, is that it is so clearly a facade. I have never met someone who is, in their essence of self, a professional or someone who wants to behave like one. The line between personal and professional has become increasingly blurry with the introduction of social media and text messages. When someone says something on facebook, there seems to be more room for personal judgement, comment or voice where in the past, this has not been possible in a professional environment. Does it make our jobs better? Well no. I would argue that it makes our jobs harder.

When someone tells me something on a professional facebook page, I find it impossible not to take personally. It might be good, it might be bad, it might just be plain unprofessional. Whatever the context, it interferes with my personal life. You can no longer escape the professional world to come home and be yourself, and you can no longer be yourself in a personal world, in case the professional world sees it.

It often makes me feel as though I am in limbo and leaves me wondering when I can be my true self, if ever. Ideally, I would like to go to work, come home and forget about the day, leave it behind and never think of it again, particularly if it was a bad one, but I come home to check my email, my facebook and my phone to find that I am being followed, watched and scrutinised on many levels and it is therefore simply, not a possibility. I have to stay professional all the time, despite some things that are said over social mediums being so clearly unprofessional, sometimes, just downright mean. I suspect this is an issue for almost everyone and leads me to believe that the truth is, professionalism is a facade. Social media is starting to show it for what it really is.

It leaves me wondering, if the world continues in this way, what will become of the world in which suited people make important decisions about the lives of the less well dressed and those who can't make the decisions for themselves. What will they do and where will they go when all the lies surface?

The truth about forever.

“That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.” 

― The Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen

Why hello there 2013...

(Sydney NYE website)

Thanks for this pretty little display Sydney! 

RIP 2012

2012-2012

What's wrong with this picture?

Well it's that time of year again. The big man is on his way around the world to deliver lot's of toys, MP3 players, a various assortment of apple branded electronics and other expensive gifts sought after by materialistic young children and in many cases, teenagers...and in other rarer cases, adults who are lucky enough to be on Santa's nice list.

Oh, I don't a problem with this at all. God no. I am one of those 20 somethings who is very much looking forward to receiving my new Prada sunglasses, which I assisted an elf in picking. I expect they will be wrapped and placed with the greatest of care in my Santa stocking some time tonight while visions of sugar plums dance in my head... most likely these visions of sugar plums will be a direct result of my spending Christmas eve with some friends, in their pool, getting cheery, because that is what 20 somethings do on Christmas in Australia.

What I have a problem with is the whole notion of a stressful Christmas. Christmas should be spent enjoying the company of family and friends, appreciating how lucky you are to have whatever you have, relaxing over the break that the government itself has deemed compulsory for everyone to take. Families shouldn't care about whether your windows are a bit salty, when you live on the beach. Grandparents who have been divorced more than 30 years should not be acting like children over not wanting to be in the same house as each other for the same meal at the same time and hence creating two separate Christmas's. The air should not be thick with tension and stress for absolutely no apparent reason what so ever, beyond a dinner that is more than 24 hours away.  There should be no accusations, indirectly or otherwise, of a ruined Christmas towards one person due to a silly miscommunication. It should not be the end of the world that one person wants to do community service work in the hours that couldn't otherwise be filled, despite it being a mild inconvenience to the grandparents who are boycotting dinner because they don't want to be in the same room as another grandparent.

At first, I honestly thought I was being immature and naive about the whole Christmas situation. Then I realised, that actually, I am the one who is;

 Telling people to relax.

Telling people that cleaning on Christmas eve is unnecessary because family is here to see you not to judge the cleanliness of your windows.

Volunteering to lifeguard the beach at lunchtime because I was told we were having Christmas dinner not an additional lunch and because I want to give something back to the community.

Trying to come up with solutions to the problems of a family Christmas rather than yell and scream about it.

So actually, I don't think I am being naive and immature, I think I am acting like a grown up. To top it off, all I really want for Christmas, is for my whole family to just get along and act like a loving family who is grateful for the incredible opportunities that they have been given, and proud of the enormous achievements and effort they have made to get to this point in their lives. I want Dad to at least pretend to listen when I talk and I want mum to stop being stressed over the tiniest little things. I just want everyone to be happy and merry. I think that's a pretty grown up wish.

I guess if that can't be the case though, I will settle for tomato flan and turkey.

Merry Christmas.

A Summer Fling with Shakespeare

I have been so stuck for what to write about in this past month. All the things I am thinking have been thought before. All the things I am feeling have been thought before and so it seems rather pointless to ramble on about things in a repetitive fashion.

One thing I have been doing with my summer, given that there has been no writing,  is reading books. I have been reading everything from reality criminal trials to Stephen Kings paranormal fiction. What I love about reading is that it is such a silent form of communication and entertainment. So many things can be happening! Wars are breaking out, heroes are saving the day, aliens are taking over the planet and people are falling in and out of love and all this is happening over a couple of pages. Nothing is said out loud, in fact there is minimal movement at all. Everything is inside your head. No one sees or hears anything. It is such a personal experience. There is so much to learn from books it is overwhelming.

I know e books are all the rage in this technological age, but I just feel that there is something perfect about turning the pages physically. There is something  glorious about a book that comes with a history, a personality and a few random smudges. The simplicity, the assurance that it will not disappear at a wrong click. It does not require electrical power, only mind power. I am privileged to be able to share something as special as a story, with all the great literary geniuses.

My Playground

It was early one weekday morning. We had work, we had study to do, the water was freezing and it was forecast to rain, so we decided to go to the beach. It is a place that I don't just like. It means more to me than that. 

I live it, I breathe it. I can't live without it. I basically came out of my mothers womb and strait into the ocean. It doesn't matter what kind of water craft I am on. It doesn't matter what kind of waves are happening, if any. What matters, is that I can go to the beach and be surrounded by nothing but water, sun and sand.

 It is so raw, and the ocean holds so much more power than most people can ever comprehend. It can kill you in a second, or it can provide endless hours of entertainment. It's the worlds biggest playground and on this morning, it was all ours.

Walking towards the sunrise

Surrounded

Morning glory

Home

Adventures with Dementia

Here is the latest of my Journalism projects. An audio slideshow based on the confronting nature of dementia.

Dementia is an extremely confronting disease. When you are talking to someone with advanced dementia, you never know whether there is truth to the conversation or not. Often, no matter how many times you have met them, they will not remember you. Eventually, people deteriorate to a point where they can do nothing but lie there. They can't talk, walk, or control their mind and body.  They often end up in high dependency dementia wards, with no family nearby and no one to support them.

 Future geriatrician, Ben, recognized this issue within the community and started a group that goes by the name "Adventures with Dementia." It is a group of 20 something year old university students who travel around once a week to these high dependency wards to have tea and scones with those who are able, and hold the hands of those who are not. It is a way for the youth to engage with the elderly community, so that they feel appreciated and loved. Ben takes us through the some of confrontation, shock and also the appreciation that comes with getting involved with the disease, and the people behind it.