In January 2014 I went on a volunteer trip to Nepal with an organisation called Student Volunteer Placement’s International (SVPI). SVPI is a relatively new organisation that was founded a few years ago by Neville and Banita, an Australian couple. On a visit to Nepal, the couple met Keshab, the manager of the Children’s Welfare…
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**Trigger Warning: Discussion of sexual and emotional abuse** Between the ages of 13 to about 16, I used to watch Law and Order SVU religiously every Thursday night. Recently, on holiday in Italy, I indulged in watching SVU while eating smallgoods and drinking wine with my best friend. I saw an episode in which a…
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The New Day Box project began just a few short weeks ago, ‘almost by accident’, says project founder, Cyan Ta’eed. The project asks us to make a box and fill it with cosmetics, skincare and treats that will be sent to women living in crisis accommodation this Christmas. ‘It is a way to show…
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Ah, the smell of popcorn at the cinema. It’s something that follows you all the way to the bathroom. Or maybe you can just smell the stench of urine all through the theatre? Huh. Who would think such a thing? Well me, on my first and so far only trip to the flicks by myself….
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There are a couple of phrases that are guaranteed to disturb; subjects steeped in so much stigma that, once raised, make most people uncomfortable and nervous. When I see a cute baby I will, without fail, gurgle ‘ermahgawd I want one’, successfully disturbing my parents. If it’s an unusually cute baby I’ll hug myself and…
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Whenever I start a new job and fill in paperwork that asks whether I have any medical conditions, I always pause for a moment. I don’t have epilepsy, I’m not deathly allergic to anything, nor do I have diabetes. But I do have bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed seven years ago after a manic episode…
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In Martin Amis’s novel The Rachel Papers the protagonist Charles Highway says that twenty is the real turning point in life. The oft-celebrated milestones of eighteen and twenty-one are unimportant. In his opinion, twenty ‘may not be the start of maturity but, in all conscience, it’s the end of youth.’ At twenty you like to…
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I’m writing today’s tip in a cosy living room in the Richmond District with an attention-seeking cat on my lap. I just made myself a cup of tea and later on will make myself dinner. The UPS guy just came to the door to deliver a package. ‘Coraly?’ he tried to pronounce the name on…
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The thing about humans is we want all the wrong things. We want what we can’t have, we want things that are bad for us, and we even want things that don’t exist. Take certainty, for example. We are practically programmed for certainty. We crave it. Some of us want it more than others and…
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I hate to be a burden. At the supermarket register I frantically grab my groceries, change and receipt and bolt away somewhere less conspicuous to organise myself. I know that when someone asks, ‘What do you want to eat?’ answering ‘I don’t mind, whatever you want’ is NOT helpful. So instead I will try to…
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I spent two weeks in an ashram in India earlier this year. While I was there I wrote a few tips. * On my first day in the ashram I enjoyed the yoga, I enjoyed the vegetarian dinner and I enjoyed the chanting. I took in the statues of Shiva and the swamis and contemplated…
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As a survivor of many sorts, I appreciate the newly popular use of “trigger warnings” – warnings appearing before an article/forum/email to let the reader/listener know the context may cause strong emotions or fear. These are often used surrounding discussions of rape, violence against women, fat-phobia, and many forms of violence systematically engrained into personal…
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I spent two weeks in an ashram in India earlier this year. While I was there I wrote a few tips. * Today as my karma yoga I cleaned a fridge. Karma Yoga, or selfless service, refers to the duties each person in the Ashram must carry out each day. When I arrived here last…
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For the whole of my long childhood, I had a nanny. Someone to pick me up after school, drive me to clarinet, make sure I had a nutritious afternoon snack, and entertain me until Mum and Dad traipsed home.When I was young I thought everyone was like me. Everyone had two working parents – and…
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