Welcome to our Blog

bestteacher
Nitasha Akerman

Preach Teacher

There’s often a lack of appreciation when it comes to teachers and what they bring to people’s lives. There are many instances where teachers are abused, harassed or ignored by students, which I remember seeing all throughout school. Sometimes I would look at a teacher and see how drained and fed up they were. In hindsight I don’t know how many of the teachers from high school put up with some of the things which they did. It now makes sense as to why many were withdrawn and not as invested in the learning, teaching and guiding of their students. This is a shame as the role of a teacher is so important in people’s lives. It’s special when teachers come into students’ lives every now and then and really leave that lasting positive imprint. The value and impact of a passionate teacher can be lifechanging. I’ve been thinking back to the teachers which I’ve had over the years and a few come to mind, who genuinely supported me and who tried to help me when I couldn’t comprehend concepts as easily as other students. I wasn’t someone who was naturally academic and excelled in school. Especially in high school I hit a lot of roadblocks. I did try to seek out help from my teachers when it came to my senior years, but I often felt dismissed so I left it. I did develop a pretty poor attitude and didn’t invest as much in school as I should of. I gave up a bit and accepted it as just how it is. I understand that it must be tough to be a teacher and sometimes if a student comes to the teacher and they don’t know how to support them, then it can result in a bit of a stalemate with the student’s learning. I’ve found learning languages to be pretty challenging, more than most people. This year I started to learn Swedish which has been exciting and challenging. I have a teacher who has been incredibly supportive and who has never condemned me for not being able to understand things at the same pace as everyone else. My teacher has taken the time to repeat and explains things in other ways. This may sound basic but in many instances I have been told that I will understand and that will all be ok, which is lovely but not helpful. I am someone who does require more time and space to be able to ask questions and learn in a different way, for some subjects and areas of study. When I fell behind in French in high school I remember hardly completing one of my exams because I didn’t know anything. I tried learning independently but this was something which I really needed support with. The feeling of incompetence and not being able to move forward past a certain point with French was really crushing. I was hesitant when I started learning Swedish and when I experienced challenges my teacher provided such support and encouragement for how I was learning and for how I will improve. From this experience I’ve felt lots of hope and motivation to apply myself more and in different ways. The difference which having a passionate and willing teacher has made on my life to be able to pursue and learn new things for self-development has been profound. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have the teacher I do.

Read More »
A thousand paper cranes
Nitasha Akerman

A Crane for Ukraine

I’m trying to think of a time when there wasn’t a dire humanitarian crisis around the world. I keep trying to reminisce on more peaceful times, even if they’re fiction. Perhaps that’s why many of us remember the past with such nostalgia and romanticise periods in history. Now we are experiencing the invasion and destruction of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis which follows. At times I hear people echo the rhetoric that they care or want to help people but they don’t know what to do. I believe that even if people are unsure of how to help that support can still be shown in so many ways. When Ash Wednesday occurred, my workplace organised a large prayer to show our support with Ukraine. The feelings were shared of people who were grieving and wondering what action could be taken from abroad. What everything kept being brought back to was prayer. Even if people aren’t necessarily religious, prayer is something which has such a powerful effect on people and which drives many through such difficult times. I noticed that it is something which a number of people revert back to during tough and unpredictable periods. In instances of prayer often people will ask for guidance when being confronted with the unknowing. I do not necessarily have prayer to engage with in the same way as some other people. However, I have found that it is not always a religious symbol, place or practice which is required to find solace and guidance in. For Christmas one year my sister gave me a little box which has a glass ball in it and inside there is a paper crane. I remembered the story vaguely and was reminded of the beautiful story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was impacted by the atomic bombing in Japan during World War 2. When she fell ill she decided to make one thousand paper cranes, in hope that she would be granted one wish. Her wish was world peace, hope and recovery from her illness. The story of one thousand paper cranes today represent world peace and creating a more peaceful planet. I may not have the same religious faith to revert back to when bad things happen but I often refer back to this little crane on my desk. It really gives me hope of the power of symbols, people and how movements around the world can be generated through what are considered such small gestures at the time. When my father passed away I wasn’t sure what to say when giving a speech at his funeral. It was a very complicated time but in this instance I referred back to my crane; my symbol for hope. I found some peace and solace in this and decided to share the story of Sadako at his funeral. I ended with a quote from Sadako, in reference to her paper cranes she made; “I will write peace on your wings and you shall fly all over the world”. I continue to hear the outrage, fear and hopelessness of many people; not just within the charity sector but more broadly. People generally appear to be quite supportive of helping the people of Ukraine and finding ways to support them. I hope that this reaction towards Ukraine is a domino effect, like the paper cranes, with other humanitarian crisis and that people can support other people when there is need.

Read More »
armyoflove
Nitasha Akerman

Pride!

I love the film ‘Pride’. It explores the interconnectedness and importance of advocating for all rights, in the context of sexual identity equality. The film has a strong foundation of people advocating for Lesbian and Gay rights in the 1980’s in conjunction with advocating for miners and workers rights. The theory behind this being that when advocating for rights you don’t just care about one set of rights, all rights are important. Recently we celebrated Mardi Gras in Sydney. I didn’t attend any parade or celebration in person however, I did see a number of posts online. Something which I noticed and found a bit more unique to this year was the intersectionality explored and represented. What I mean by ‘intersectionality’ in relation to Mardi Grass was the advocating of LGBTQIA+ rights in union with certain minority groups. Some images which come to mind are of a group of people with Amnesty International who were a part of a Mardi Gras parade; with banners advocating for LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. I found this intersectionality replicated in a number of social media posts. I am seeing increasing recognition of intersectionality of rights across many campaigns, parades and protests. This recognition that inequality doesn’t impact everyone in the same way is crucial for change. I think many of us have heard people say similar things to “don’t we have equality now?”. When people say things like this I feel that maybe they are thinking of a very specific image of equality and who they feel may have been previously impacted. Perhaps they have an image of the fact that initially same-sex marriage was not legal and now it is … in some places. However, as many of us know, same-sex marriage is not legal everywhere and genuine equality for people reaches far beyond the right to marry. When I see the images of people associated with Amnesty International holding flags to shed light on refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, it draws attention to the complexity of equality, rights, and how many people are impacted in different ways and to varying extents. There are a number of issues which are considered “invisible” as there is not always as much media attention, interest or because of stigma. I am grateful that organisations like Amnesty International and others who are able to continue advocating for groups considered hidden, invisible and for people who may not have a voice or who have had their voices snatched. By shedding light in these areas we have a better chance at enacting change and reminding people that the fight for equality and LGBTQIA+ rights continues. It is so important to continue the fight for rights for all and to work to represent and empower the many LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, who do not always have the accessibility and capacity to advocate for themselves and/or others. Only by recognising the complexity of issues and the intersectionality of rights can we work to challenge social norms and create genuine equality.

Read More »
#Animal Rights
Nitasha Akerman

Meet meat

Today there is a different level of consciousness when it comes to food consumption and our food chain. Even though we are more removed from seeing how meat and animal products are produced, there is a greater movement towards veganism and more plant-based diets. Throughout history, and in some areas today, how people produce animals and animal products for consumption has and is treated with much more care and ethics. I believe that the more we tried to produce animals and animal products for consumption to cater to such a mass audience and at a low cost, is when many people started to see the negative circumstances and detrimental results of doing this. By this I mean the inhumane conditions which animals are confined to, the outcome of having such a high number of animals alive for consumption impacting the environment and the health impacts of consuming as much meat and animal products as many of us do today. I understand that many people argue that we have consumed animals for centuries, protest about their need for specific nutrients and protein or say “it is just the food chain and the way things are done”; which I generally think is a lazy argument. As I mentioned, there have been recent changes in the production of meat and animal products increasing the amount of antibiotics and harmful additives pumped into meat and animal products and changes to the way animals are held and treated at mass producing farms. So, it is not the way things have always been done. I think as humans many of us have a fractured relationship with animals, which is why some of these contradicting behaviours and opinions occur. In certain instances some people will go to the ends of the earth to defend meat eating and in other instances when there are animals in our care the same people will show extreme affection and love towards them; sometimes even going the extra mile and show better care to the animals than they would to humans. I watched an episode of a TV show on SBS called ‘Insight’ which explored the topic of meat and animal product consumption. There was a chef on the episode who was part of the discussion. He mainly discussed that from his perspective, in the Western world, there is so much waste when it comes to food. He continued to argue that if anything we should focus on being more conscious of this waste and be educated and encouraged to make use of the whole animal. What I generally take away from the meat vs no meat debate is to be more conscious and change the way we consume and grow animals and animal products, and work towards consuming more of the animal and savouring it. How I generally consume meat and animal products is by choosing providers which source from organic and genuine free-range farmers. I believe that by reverting to previous forms of meat and animal product production, there will be reduced environmental degradation, enhanced ethics in the way we treat animals and improved health. I believe in veganism and I also believe in significantly reducing the amount of meat and animal product consumption.

Read More »
armyoflove
Nitasha Akerman

Love…actually

I don’t feel hopeless about intimate, romantic love when Valentine’s Day rolls around. It’s fun to do something silly like my sister and I do to celebrate. We usually order Thai food and watch cringey shark movies. I definitely think that love should always be celebrated and expressed, not just on this day. I often think about different types of love and relationships, similar to the way the movie ‘Love Actually’ explores them. The film explores romance in so many settings; so many settings where we wouldn’t expect it and often that love is our saviour. It may not always be a fairy tale with someone declaring their romantic feelings towards us in public. Often that love which some of us are lucky enough to experience is unconditional, hard to find and provides fulfilment and support which many take for granted. There are many different types of love worth celebrating. I think sometimes people get caught up in the fantasy of a romantic, intimate partner; which can be lovely but I think that other types of love and relationships are really worth cherishing and commemorating. Friendship is a type of relationship which I feel is neglected and its importance diminished. We live in a time where too many people see others as disposable and claim that “I’m just so bad at keeping in touch with people”. I agree that some people are wired to be more independent than others or perhaps gravitate more towards the group; so if someone organises a social event then they tag along to that. However, I hear so many other people saying “we just lost touch” or “they moved overseas” or some other excuse as to why the friendship wasn’t maintained. I remember having a conversation with someone who was admiring her father and his friend who managed to keep in touch for decades, before a lot of the technology which we have today. I agreed and said it is very admirable, whilst being quite frustrated as to how she couldn’t seem to manage to keep in touch with many of her friends. My father was the same, he kept in touch with many of his friends from childhood and his military days. I naively think that today it should be easier to keep in touch with people given how fast electronic communication is. I don’t know why it’s so much harder for people. Are we all just too busy? Are people considered too disposable? Are we deluded and think no effort should be put into relationships? I often think about that scene in Love Actually where it’s a video montage of all these different people greeting each other at Heathrow airport. I think all of that affection is such a beautiful reminder of the diversity of love and the importance of it. For many people a lot of our love which we receive and give over the course of our lives is between relatives and amongst friends. I think that is something to be nurtured and celebrated. Love…actually is around.

Read More »
#heal
Nitasha Akerman

Invasion Day

I know a lot of people have strong opinions on Australia Day, what it means, if we should continue to have a national holiday, and some aren’t too concerned as long as a public holiday remains. I definitely hold the view that Aboriginal culture and history should be respected, in particular when thinking about our national holiday. My mind goes in circles when thinking and writing about Australia Day and its history. I know that some people don’t delve too much into the thinking about Australia Day’s date and the significance of it. For some people it’s just nice to have the day off and relax. I know I did some classic Aussie things on Australia Day this year 2022. I went to Bunnings and had a sausage sizzle BBQ. It wasn’t so much to celebrate but it was more the fact that I had a day off and my sister and I wanted to do some gardening. Then two seconds later we smelt the BBQ and it just happened to be Australia Day whilst we were doing all of that. I saw a documentary where an interviewer was asking people on Australia Day why they celebrate it and informed some that the day is actually when the country was invaded; the beginning of the loss of Aboriginal land, rights, freedoms, culture, language and history. Sometimes people were quite surprised by this information and just hadn’t been informed, or thought much about Australia Day and Aboriginal people in conjunction. Other responses were disturbing where they would ignore and dismiss what the interviewer just said as if he were lying. I understand that sometimes it can be difficult to deconstruct thinking, beliefs and values which people have had for a long time or since birth, but the alternative of turning a blind eye to injustice and genocide is devasting. I did a little research to understand what exactly people are celebrating. Many celebrate Australia broadly with no reference to its colonisation history. Others celebrate the welcoming of new citizens, whilst some celebrate having a day off to day drink and stick Australian flag merchandise all over the place. I don’t think that many people are saying not to celebrate Australia or Australian culture. A lot of the controversy appears to be around the specific date of Australia Day. Many countries have national holidays which aren’t in union with colonisation periods. I believe we can still be patriots and proud of Australia whilst making a significant effort to achieving reconciliation. Perhaps a place to continue reconciliation efforts would be with changing the date? I read a beautiful poem in an article on ‘Creative Spirits’ website, under ‘Australia Day – Invasion Day’, by Sandra Gaal Hayman: I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right I am now here Not been before My ancestors Are here no more I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right Their spirit lives in every way Always will unto this day They are so proud and love their land Traditional custodians will stand I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right We have so much to offer all Generations past still call This great land of ours abounds Where harmony and peace are found I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right Proud and true is who we are Some from here and some from far Help each other the best we can That makes us ALL Australian. Source: Jens Korff, 2021. Australia Day – Invasion Day. [online] Creative Spirits. Available at: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australia-day-invasion-day [Accessed 30 January 2022].

Read More »
empowerment
Nitasha Akerman

The Grind

Personally, when I think of the word ‘lazy’ I think of mess, disorganisation, tiredness and boredom. I recently read this article in Smith Journal about laziness and how laziness is something which should be valued. I agree with this. I am agreeing with the argument made that the constant need or feeling the need to be productive actually isn’t as important as it’s made out to be. We live in a period where there’s this glamourisation of ‘the daily grind’ and ‘the hustle’, where overworking is often viewed as the way to success and happiness. I would like to acknowledge that there is a slow shift to appreciating our mental health, slowing down, mindfulness and investing in relationships more. I do however still see the ever-present overworking riddled in so many spaces, and I don’t just mean at the office. Even as I’m writing this I am trying to hurry so I can get on with completing some standard life admin tasks. I’m not talking about when we have important deadlines where there are serious consequences to not completing something and when things need to be completed in order to meet needs and get fed. What I am more referring to is the culture as a whole of valuing “productivity” over self-care. It really can be a challenge when people as individuals try to balance everything. It is good to want to pursue a career and do well in that career, and because the workforce is so competitive the expectation of how people have to work is by hustling and working themselves into the ground. What often gets sacrificed is personal wellness and the maintenance of our general sanity. Too often I hear about people needing to complete a Bachelor’s degree, whilst working part-time or casually in some café or store, volunteering and completing and internship at some point. This is pretty normal and sometimes considered the average amount of work. I remember struggling to stay afloat during my uni days and I was very privileged in terms of living at home and not needing to work full-time, on top of uni in order to stay alive. How much harder many people have to work if they do live out of home, are carers for other people or have children, or any other consuming responsibilities, is pretty unimaginable. What is the value of this? Is it really a greater output? There is this guilt which lives inside a lot of people if they choose to do “nothing” on the weekend, perhaps watch some tv or alike. Many times I’ve heard people feeling pressure to give an exciting answer when asked what they have planned for their weekend, when lots want to enjoy their weekends genuinely relaxing. However the perception of doing “nothing” is concerning, not just from outsiders but also the self-perception of not doing enough. In reality many people have to work 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday each week at a minimum so is it really so bad if on our weekends we actually slow down? Most of the time plenty of us have to get organised like meal planning, cleaning our homes, washing our clothes, cooking and/or exercising. Only after this, if we even manage to get these tasks done, do we have a chance to do nothing; often the pressure can kick in for us to do something. So it’s back to the good old grind.

Read More »
Covid-19
Nitasha Akerman

Welcome to Stepford!

The film ‘The Stepford Wives’ examines a number of important issues in terms of gender equality and women’s liberation. I remember hearing the term ‘Stepford wife’ prior to seeing the film, prompting me to watch it. I was interested in how women’s rights were explored by designing women as robots subservient to their husbands. Whilst the film explores the idea and practise of forced submission to a power figure within marriages and as a community, it’s a model which I’ve noticed filtered throughout society in other ways. The film also explores the concept of diversity, how the idea of someone being different, relative to the group norm, is condemned. In the film condemnation is expressed through a pseudo welcoming, to then encourage force moulding of the outsider wife into a robot. This concept of diversity, along with The Stepford Wives, remains extremely relevant today in many settings. Rarely is there a genuine appreciation and respect for people’s differences. There is so much emphasis in the social conversation of diversity about ethnic, religious, class, gender, sexuality, age and disability diversity and having this physically represented within spaces. This is not to say that this diversity is not important, it absolutely is and I even find that diversity amongst these groups is not effectively executed. What I am more referring to is genuine diversity amongst people where inclusion of certain groups or people is uncomfortable, or requires creative change to include them. For example, when modifications need to be made to effectively include people so that they can apply themselves and reach their full potential; whilst successfully contributing to a group’s goals. I recently read a post on LinkedIn about an experience of a young lady who was trying to gain employment but continued to face barriers of employers who were unwilling to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, unwillingness to make positive changes for people is riddled in many spaces. The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on issues where inclusion of certain people is more uncommon. For example, people suffering with mental illness and managing mental health, and people who have more unique and introverted personality types. What became clear was that society and workplaces are often structured and catered to accommodate more extroverted personalities. Much of the mental health care which was provided from employers during the pandemic was to ensure that people were managing ok with lockdowns and the lack of social mobility. Whilst it is a positive thing to see improved access to mental health care services, mental illness is rampant outside of a global pandemic. I often hear how mental illness and mental health care is more accepted today however, in instances where modifications need to be made to someone’s schedule, environment or way of living, it can sometimes be more unaccepted or perceived as an inconvenience. Similarly, the pandemic saw plenty of people working from home which was quite energising for many introverts out there. This sort of flexibility is something which should be respected a lot more. The genuine appreciation for diversity is also the creation of environments and spaces which allow people to reach their full potential. In turn ultimately benefiting the organisation or group which someone is part of. Modifications for people can be so simple and overall contribute to wellbeing. For many people having the ability to work from home can allow them to properly focus on objectives and work to their maximum potential, as they are separate from social politics and distractions. This sort of setting should be better understood as productive and not as disinterest in the organisation, group or people. An enhanced understanding about personality types and what they need is essential for sustainable relationships. If working from home meant that a person was able to maintain their personal wellness and uphold the best work performance for themselves, then this should be valued and permitted. The wellbeing and sustainability of people is critical in achieving goals, maintaining healthy relationships and generating positive output. Overall, the Stepford model of forced moulding for everyone to be the same is outdated and unproductive. Modifications is a key element of success and should be highly regarded as a tool for organisational and personal success.

Read More »
#heal
Nitasha Akerman

Patience Zero

I’d like to acknowledge that I am by no means a therapist nor have I had any training in psychology. I believe that personal experience is extremely valid which is why I share my opinions and experiences on certain matters. I am hardly patient zero for any mental health struggles or the first person to find therapy a long and at times tedious process. I would have liked for my experience to be the exception but after hearing other people’s experiences repeated with similar themes to mine, I now recognise that it’s quite common for people to get fed up and find therapy ineffective. A recurring theme is the lack of willingness to find creative solutions to mental health care. There appears to be a model in which a number of therapists use to try and work with someone, to help them along the way in their mental health care journey and recovery. I recognise that this model can be of value in terms of a starting point to evaluate where someone is at in their journey but it is not always useful when people aren’t making progress or aren’t responding positively to therapies. The concept of patients just needing to be patient during a therapy process can become a bit insulting especially when many have been through so much emotionally, tried many types of therapy/therapists and are often at a breaking point. The idea of just remaining patient isn’t necessarily practical and often there is more urgency in some of these circumstances to make changes. “You just need to be patient” is a statement I never want to hear in therapy again; as if it’s the first time I’ve ever been told that or as if I’ve never even thought of that. When a patient is crying out and voicing their concerns as to how the model, skills and plan isn’t working, to then be dismissed and have it insinuated that those people just aren’t trying hard enough is appalling. I have been repeatedly ignored and dismissed when discussing my concerns with some therapists previously. There was an instance where I had to ask about eight times in a therapy session what a plan was to manage my struggles, and the psychiatrist ignored me every time. If a therapist is unsure as to how to manage a patient then that is one issue but there are things which can be done to mitigate the not knowing. In this instance a patient could have been handed over to a colleague who may have had expertise in a certain area or may be able to connect better with that patient based on certain personality traits. There are many types of therapy, skills and tactics which can be used to manage mental health and the fact that so few have been put forward by some therapists is worrying. The goal really should be on the patient and their recovery. However, too often I experience and hear other experiences as that of being people held and lured in a cycle of therapy. I’ve had a couple of instances with therapists where they would accuse me of blowing up the therapeutic relationship when I started to address my concerns of a lack of a plan, skills being developed, skills not being effective, lack of progress and lack of results long-term. In these situations the therapist wasn’t working with me adequately and they just didn’t understand me. The only therapist who has worked well for me and who has been able to help me was someone who really understood me and took the time to genuinely get to know me. They didn’t just make assumptions like the others did and took the information and interactions between us for what they were. When this specific psychologist wasn’t sure of what to do next they communicated with colleagues, did research on new therapies for complex post-traumatic stress disorder and tried to revisit therapies tried previously. There wasn’t a single time where they gave up on me and continued thinking of alternative treatments even when they wouldn’t be administered by themself. It wasn’t about business but about basic human decency and morality, where the patient and their wellbeing came first.

Read More »
empowerment
Nitasha Akerman

A Humanist Approach to Change

I’ve always thought that a platform for storytelling could be a powerful tool. Many cultures have a strong appreciation and tradition of storytelling. When I was fourteen, I knew then that I wanted to be involved in writing and using different forms of expression to share and develop ideas. Initially I thought I would have to write fiction in order to effectively evoke ideas and emotions. I believed that fiction was the way to go as I did not see myself as having a unique perspective or experience. This idea that a person’s experience or perspective has to be somewhat unheard of in order to have value is not something I agree with. I found myself questioning ‘what does it mean to be unique?’. I kept trying to find out if I was unique but that was the wrong question. I realised that examining the world and going through certain challenges which I didn’t know how to manage was reason enough to write and share. I found that people genuinely appreciated this sharing and would respond with “I’ve never thought about it like that”. Fast-forward to now and I couldn’t think further from my fourteen-year-old self. I started to slowly write down anything that interested me, from cringeworthy attempts at screenplays to titles of band names. All of this contributed to ongoing critical assessments of the world and people, to then formulate into written reflections. I believe that many of us who feel isolated, small or that our experiences are sometimes insignificant can gain a lot from sharing and storytelling. I wanted to be a part of this sharing and collaboration, which is when I teamed up with Inspireflix. I will continue to post content here about Inspireflix’s campaigns, documentaries and on social issues. As a humanist myself I definitely appreciate the value of people, their capabilities and contributions. At times what I write can be interpreted as pessimistic of people and the world, however I am an idealist and I know that humans are capable of incredible things and positive change. I want these blog posts to encourage thinking, unlearning, and ultimately contribute to shifting the way people interact with each other. I believe within the world that a sense of community is important and by maintaining this structure we can incite more storytellers to come out and share their experiences. Talking about each other’s hardships and triumphs is something which can give each of us hope. I believe that from this people can better understand how to manage challenging times without falling into a downward spiral. Sharing also has such an impact to de-stigmatise many topics and concerns which some of us may not have heard of, or have no idea how to deal with. I recognise that not everyone has the appropriate or desired support structures around them and by creating a positive space for sharing and change, I hope that Inspireflix and the content it produces can provide some solace, support and inspire change for the better.

Read More »

Welcome to our blog!

First title then some content This is a subtitle And, here is the content… Another Sub And more content There is a quote from somewhere and more bla bla with a link and an image. Finished up with more bla bla…

Read More »