Deciding to get your First Ink
So you're nervous about getting your first tattoo. Have a think about this.
When in doubt, focus on your passions
Passion, instead of being a forced and relentless pursuit, is something which we cannot create, but merely carry.
Stopping the spiral before it starts
We all fall down, but it's essential we learn how to identify it so we can pick ourselves up.
Does film only further stigmatise mental illness?
Is film representation being a friend or a foe in our engagement with Mental Health issues?
What's elegance got to do with it
Sometimes it feels like exercise is either a boys' domain or for elegance only. Punch that myth in the face.
Lonely Not Alone
The internet has created a place for our generation to feel linked… to feel valued through the actions of others. Why is it that we only find value in the eyes of others and not in our own eyes? Through high school friendship dramas, unrequited teenage cr
Who to follow in #asupol
5 PMs in 5 years, the rise of the minor party type-a personalities (two of which have appeared on Dancing with the Stars) and the ongoing issues with the Murray Darling Basin, live exports and the NEG (whatever that might be). Although US politics is mess
Should I stay or should I go?
Our generation sometimes has a skewed perception of permanence. We’re very good at living for the moment, making spontaneous decisions based on current thoughts and feelings.
Home Grown Talent
Tucked behind the 7 Eleven on Oxford Street, you’ll find some of UNSW’s most creative talents drawing, sewing, hammering and snapping away their latest creations on our Art & Design campus.
Born a Catholic, Raised a Catholic and Now I’m Free(thinking)
The questions begun on a random lazy Sunday morning, as I begrudgingly dragged myself out of bed at an ungodly hour.
Confessions of an art school reject
I love my art degree. It has been deemed “impractical”, “narcissistic”, “cute”, or, perhaps worst of all, “unnecessary”.
Coming Out and the Not-Choice to Transition
Transitioning: there are few bigger decisions, and yet, should we consider it a choice?
Does the Carpet Match the Drapes?
Let’s talk about how red heads are a pretty fine example of recessive genetics, but when it gets down to it, are also (apparently) growing a Grindylow in our pants?!
Do You Know When Dissatisfaction Become Dysmorphia?
Have you ever had one of those mornings where you have looked in the mirror and realised all the reasons why you aren’t modelling alongside Gigi Hadid and Tyson Beckford?
To the Pointe
For 18 years of my life, every time I have stepped into the shower my feet have stung. The skin on top of them is thick, however certain parts have be worn down so raw that even cold water feels like a burn.
Be Wary of the Metrics You Use to Measure Your Life
It should come as a shock to exactly none of us that most people struggle, at one point or continuously, with the question of whether there’s any point to your life. If you’re not Beyoncé or Steven Hawking, it will come to your attention that the ripple
I Am Busy (Therefore I Matter)
Please kindly slap me next time I tell you I’m crazy busy. You’ll be doing my overinflated ego a big favour.
Fast Forward
When we were little the concept of time seemed irrelevant. All that we would care about was running home to watch Dance Academy and eat red clouds.
(Everyone I know is) Bad At Love
Commitmentphobes, Lonely-Romantics Microcheaters, Breadcrumbers, Ghosters: everyone I know is bad at love.
The Perils of Wearing the Pants
Confidence – something we all want to have, unless we have it.
Why International Women's Day is a terrible idea
Tokenistic and infuriating, diversity days are part of the problem not the solution.
Summer Festivals for beginners
Festival season is nearly upon us. What could be better than spending a day or two hanging out with your mates and seeing your favourite bands play?
The Beauty That Comes With Difference
You don’t need to force yourself into some mold that simply wasn’t made for you.
Should we be de-gendering language?
In the last decade, the fight for inclusivity and equality has bubbled up to a boiling point, with gender labels and gendered language being an increasingly hot topic. But would de-gendering our day-to-day language for instance by replacing all ‘man’ suff
Australian TV's Representation of Female Characters is Cooked
If Australian TV producers had their way, Australian women would be a repetitive mix of blonde, beautiful and constantly lustful. This begs an important question - does the TV you watch change the way you see gender roles?
5 Summer Dresses to Help You Dismantle the Patriarchy
With the weather warming up, it’s time to start planning your summer outfits! Here are five dresses that are guaranteed to help you bring down the male-dominated world we live in.
"You're Overreacting" and other misunderstandings about micro-aggressions
I want to pose a question as the on-ramp to this discussion: When was the last time someone accused you of overreacting? What was the context?
Crochet for self care
I’m not a crafty person. Paint brushes, sewing needles and hot glue guns are as foreign to me as skydiving. That’s why it came as a shock to me to discover that I really like crotchet.
Sleep Habits
I’ve got a horrible habit of sleeping around 4-5 hours every night, normally playing on my phone before putting it away for bed around 2 or 3am.
Gratitude Journals
When the world is a whirlwind of people in their own monotonous routines, it is quite difficult for one to be grateful. What is there to be grateful for? I have 3 tests, 2 assignments, 9 hours of lectures to catch up on, I don’t understand anything, and e
Mindfulness Meditation
There has arguably been no wellness practice as widely mentioned and practiced as meditation. An activity that has existed for millennia, meditation began as a religious practice and has endured and diversified. Today, there are many forms of meditation (
ADULTING IS...
...budgeting
In the name of all that is holy, read this cautionary tale before your only sustenance is canned vegetables.
...electricity
It was on this day that I became the Electricity Nazi, the air-con commandant, the wicked witch of the light switch. From this day forward not a single light was left on unless it was completely necessary.
...garbage
Avoiding loitering in the kitchen on a Thursday? Prepared strategies to not overfill the bin? We've got some Grade-A adulting avoidance going on here.
...cleaning
The big bad world bites you in the bum in a number of ways. Each razor sharp tooth a responsibility that all come chomping down on you at once. With handling my own shopping being the first of my wounds to tend to, it was time to break out the Dettol.
...shopping
It was when three of my friends and I moved into our shitty fibro share house that I came to realise my free trial of life was over.
TOP TIPS
10 Female Poets You Need To Follow
Poetry is more accessible than ever, and these women are killing it.
8 Things That Can Affect Your Libido
Your libido naturally comes and goes, but it's good to know if your body is trying to tell you something.
5 Types of Relationships You Find on Tinder
I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous of people who can find love on Tinder, but also, you get whatever you’re looking for.
5 Talks to Give You Some Direction
The assessments are coming for you in your sleep, your exercise regime has become doing a handful of sit-ups between readings when you feel inspired, and you're asking yourself 'do I even want to be a professional social media manager after all?!'
10 Ways To Know if You're a Hot, Indecisive Mess
8: Your opinions are a swirling mass that devours all information coming your way but never really takes one solid shape.
10 Ways To Know You're Studying the Wrong Degree
Whether you’re four years into a law degree, considering transferring from science to teaching, or just dipping your toe into chemical engineering, there’s a little voice in the back of your head that whispers ‘is this the right place for me?’
10 People Failing Worse Than You
We fear failure and the possibility of taking stats in summer school but the thing is, there are always people who have it worse. Here are ten people who have definitely had better days.
10 Instagram fitness models that will actually help you get fit at uni
Lacking motivation to head to the gym after class? Struggling to have the time to cook healthy meals? Walking into the gym but having no idea what to do?
5 Body Positive People to Follow on Insta
If you’re like me and you’re addicted to Instagram (forget that Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter crap), you probably spend a lot of time scrolling through #aesthetic feeds.
10 Show Tunes (to Make You Cry Like a Baby)
One of the greatest things about show tunes is that when you’re listening to a song, you’re not just listening to one single song, you’re listening one part of a greater narrative.
7 Things You Should Be Doing ( to Go to Bed Before 2am)
Here are 7 simple things to (hopefully) get you in bed before 2AM - and up in time for your 9AM lecture. Yawn!
5 Reasons to Use Your Libido for It's God Given Purpose
Looking for reasons to tell your m9s that there is nothing wrong with playing the field? Look no further than our exploration of the benefits of a healthy sexual appetite.
Arc PROGRAMS
Walama Muru | National Reconciliation Week
Ammbi Muir, Walama Muru Volunteer gives a heart-rendering speech on the importance Reconciliation Week.
Artsweek
Artsweek is all about UNLEASHING your creative side. No longer are we just a feel good art festival - welcome to the creative stomping ground of UNSW Kensington's campus!
The Student Cookbook
Whether your signature dish is toast and the entirety of your cooking experience is watching Tasty videos on Facebook, or you whip up dishes worthy of a Michelin star – the Cookbook is your back pocket guide for simple, delicious meals.
SATIRE
Instagram Rebrands as 'Chris Hemsworth's Diary'
After the long weekend coverage of Chris Hemsworth’s life, social media giant Instagram has decided to call it quits and go with the market demands.
World's supply of irony is officially exhausted
Contrary to popular belief, irony is a finite resource in the world, and was sustainably used for centuries, only dipping when a humorous calamity or great work of art was created.
Philosophy for Fun
Tradies of UNSW strike fear and admiration into the hearts of female student population with stream of Foucault references in casual conversation.
BLITZ GUIDES
Blitz Guides | Perfect Places
Be you a food lover yourself, or a novice of all things Sydney culture, sometimes its worth following the crowd.
Blitz Guides | Places to Be Single
Couples sure seem to have a lot of fun! Leisurely late lunches, picnics by some picturesque lake, rooftop bars in summer, even quiet nights on the couch with a greasy box of pizza seem more enjoyable with a significant other.
SCHOOL ME
Australian TV
“TV? I haven’t watched that since Guy beat Shannon!?” Streaming is no longer just something that trendy kid in your English class does. From the grandparent’s watching The Crown, to your younger siblings trying to explain to you just who Jojo Siwa is and
Contraception & Sex Etiquette
Birth control is complicated. No seriously. If the world were as simple as selecting when a baby could be created (like with an email subscription service or something) then we would have a lot less anxiety about contraception, and a lot less anxiety abou
The Lure of Riverdale
At the end of every episode of Riverdale, I remember that it is not a show I enjoy and that I should just stop watching. I’ve been doing this for two seasons now.
CREATIVE
Ongoing Compendium of Notable Bus Passengers
Somewhere, a fantasy tale set in the middle ages is missing it’s loveable-ey dull giant who runs ‘round unknowingly causing chaos in the kingdom.
A Series of Experiments
When I was filled with sadness, it was only because I had forgotten the silver-green creek at the edge of my family’s property, which served as the backdrop of my existence.
Uber Differences
Nola: “Anyways, I don’t actually think Donald Trump is thaaaat bad.” Me internally: Okeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
SPORT
Problem: sports bore me to tears. Solution: Lyra.
Aside from the endless giggles and fun that come with aerials classes, there is the body positivity that feels inherent within the practice.
Hate running? Try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
I’ve read about the high that people experience when they run or go to the gym and I suppose it just was not meant to be. So if like me running is not your thing perhaps martial arts is.
I exercise to stay sane
Your relationship with exercise doesn't have to be about beauty standards, it can be about your optimum brain function, it can be about self-control, it can be about transcendence.
Sport | Where Failure Is Success
Failures flying at your head from all angles? Tired of walking the long path of mediocrity in cycles of failures? Why not give sport a try where failure is success!
UNSW LIFE
How To Survive Life After Uni
For university students, graduation is a term that can evoke low grade anxiety and a turbulent influx of uncertainty, yet at the same time, it can perpetuate an unbridled sense of liberty and relief.
Get your best thoughts out you UNSW brain geniuses
This is one of those illusive chances for you young, bright and ~ a n g e r y ~ folks with big ideas for how to change a deeply imperfect world around us, to get a foot in the door.
EXCHANGE DIARIES
Oz From The Outside #2
“Straya is a rough place to live in, mate.” I don’t think he really said “mate”. Never mind. It seemed to me that it was a nice way to make this article more Australian. But was he right? Is it that rough?
Oz From The Outside #1
"There's no place like home" said my Australian neighbour as the plane was braking on the runway. I was now 17000km away from what I used to call my home for nineteen years, heading to what I was supposed to call my new home for twelve months.
Art vs Artist | Sticky Fingers
I’m of two minds. I would like to think that I can recognise musical talent, or the importance of someone’s work regardless of who they are as a person. After all, I don’t know them.
Procrastination is a disease and I have it
If you relate to this you'd better check yourself into procrastination rehab.
Lawyer and Cheese Maker - why not both?
Sometimes we forget that most people have multiple careers. Time to remember that even career choices are temporary.
On the Importance of Just Turning Up
The under-appreciated art of turning up, regardless of the consequences, is a girl's best friend.
Rewire Your Big Mood with a Big Tune
A new playlist is more than just procrastination, it's a scientific way to change your mood.
Take a Hike Multipassionites
Sometimes you've gotta get outside your comfort zone before you can think about what you're really passionate about.
Art for the Artless
Hopeless with a paintbrush? Can’t tell the difference between a Manet and a Monet? Don't let that stop you from getting creative!
Creativity is not just for the Arts
Imagine you’re one of those fancy-pants Fine Arts students over at the Paddington campus. You’re a genuinely fine painter, exquisite at drawing and a master of the socio-political histories that made your art forms what they are today.
Old Answers To New Problems
Artists are usually represented as the tortured soul: the ones who express their debilitating misery, impassioned curiosity and dark desires through the lenses of their work.
Fail in order to succeed
Failure as an outcome can cripple us, shadowing us in lingering moments of self doubt, paralysing us with fear and uncertainty: Will I ever be good enough? Is it the end of the road for me?
Practical Ways to Get Sh*t Done
Here’s how to get shit done: Look at when you’re most productive and build systems to replicate it. It’s really that simple.
Quarter Life Crisis
It was during summer break of 2017 when I read an article that predicted your date of death based on ABS statistics, your age and where you have lived. The article predicted that I would die on 26 December 2079. Needless to say that’s when my quarter life
How to Make the Most Out of Your Mornings
Your sweet sleep is ruined as your obnoxiously loud alarm rings, irritating not just you but your parents as well. You groan as you reach over for your phone to turn it off before settling back into your cosy and warm bed.
Books Worth The Time
Everyone knows that life just gets in the way (of everything), and this is especially true once the rush of semester comes into full swing...
Colin Dray's New Novel Sign Explores a Non Verbal Life
Colin Dray's ground-breaking novel throws light on what being unable to speak is like.
The Dark Side of Sims
the later versions pale in comparison to the nostalgia and malicious glee of the original edition of ‘The Sims’. It was a game that gave a kid with limited control over their own life total control of adults. It’s an invitation for curious irresponsibilit
What Your Coffee Order Says About You
They say if your coffee order is over three words you’re a coffee snob (read: ‘hipster’). We see you there, lining up outside the Coffee Cart for your double ristretto which could have been served to you as a long black and you probably wouldn’t have know
Whatever Floats Your Boat
For some, the mid-sem break was a week of catch-up studying; for the lucky few, it was a week of rest and relaxation. But some people take the rest in ‘rest and relaxation’ to the zen master level. To them, ‘rest’ is an acronym for ‘Restricted Environment
Things that were cool in 2007 but make you ~ c r i n g e ~ now
Have you ever looked at pictures of your parents from the 70s and physically felt second-hand embarrassment because of how awful they look? And every time that you cringed/laughed at them, they would say things like, “Hey, it was the fashion back then.”
