For some reason, over the past few weeks, I’ve started doing something that feels oddly unfamiliar and deeply familiar at the same time: I’ve been watching Friday night footy. NRL. On purpose. Enjoying it. And I can’t fully explain why. It’s not like I’ve suddenly become one of those people with strong opinions about forward […]
I think one of the strangest parts of getting older is realising your parents were never as fixed, certain, or all-knowing as they seemed when you were a kid. At some point, without really noticing when it happened, I came to a conclusion that unsettled me in a way I’m still sitting with: It really […]
There comes a point on some nights out where I stop talking. Not because I’m in a mood.Not because I’m bored.Not because I’m cooked.Not because I suddenly have nothing to say. It’s usually because every sound in the room is already saying so much. One minute I’m fine. Drink in hand. Conversation flowing. Music loud […]
Birthdays feel different now. Less main character montage.More quiet stocktake. No dramatic reinvention. No manifesto. No sudden urge to become a person who enjoys hiking or journaling in a linen set. Just a pause. A moment to look around at the life I’ve built and admit (a little reluctantly, because humility is so important) that […]
We talk a lot about intimacy like it only really counts if it’s romantic or sexual. Like closeness only becomes meaningful once there’s desire attached to it.Like being deeply known only matters if someone wants to kiss you. But some of the most intimate relationships in my life have been friendships.Quiet ones. Steady ones. The […]
Living alone changed me in ways I didn’t expect. I’ve been on my own for about five years now, and somewhere along the way, that quiet became informative. Not lonely, just quiet. Spacious. Honest. I love my own space. So much so that I can easily go an entire weekend without orally speaking to another […]
I’ve had jobs that gave me financial stability; the kind where you can finally tap your card without checking your balance first. I’ve had jobs that gave me space to look after my physical health; predictable enough that I could train consistently, meal prep, and not crawl into bed by 8pm from pure exhaustion. And […]
I’m much braver with words than I am with people. On a page, I can say things clearly. Thoughtfully. Without interruption. I can sit with a feeling long enough to understand it before letting it out into the world. I can choose the right phrasing. The right tone. The right moment to pause. With people, […]
New Year’s Day always feels different from New Year’s Eve.Eve is loud, sparkly, chaotic! A night where everyone collectively decides to be their most unhinged, glitter-covered selves.But New Year’s Day?That’s the exhale.The slow morning.The soft reset.The quiet moment when the world feels suspended between who we were and who we’re becoming. This year, I’m not […]
Driving back “home” to Orange for Christmas, I felt this strange blend of nostalgia, affection, and a quiet sense of dislocation. The streets are familiar. The same pubs, the same corner shops, the same footpaths cracking in all the same places. A few new cafés have appeared, a couple of shiny developments on the edge […]
