Williamstown Literary Festival

You may or may not have noticed my lack of posts over the last few weeks. I've been busily organising publicity for the Williamstown Literary Festival, which is on this weekend (Fri 1-Sun 3 May). I'm pretty lucky to have been given this opportunity, through Veronica of Market PR. She has been kind enough to mentor me through my first real account, and so far I think I have done pretty well!

So, the WilliLitFest is on this weekend. Aside from doing the publicity I am also going to lots of the events. But let me just give you a quick breakdown of who's there:

- Andy Griffiths
- Andrew Rule
- Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope (ABC's The Librarians)
- Denise Scott
- Alice Pung
- Amra Pajalic
- Leigh Hobbs
- Catherine Deveny
- Jackie Kerin
- Gideon Haigh
- John Harms
- Maureen McCarthy

The person who most captured my attention is Jackie Kerin. She is author of children's book Phar Lap the Wonder Horse, but she is also writing about stories from Australia's history that have otherwise been untold. See, I believe it's the little things that really make up our history.

So, this is just a quick plug to say that if you enjoy reading (and if you're here, I assume you do) or writing and need some inspiration, then I suggest you head to the WilliLitFest this weekend.

"Do what you love, the money will follow"

There's one thing I have never understood, and that is why students fresh out of school would want to hurry up and throw themselves into uni or a career without going out and experiencing life first. How can you really know what you want to do when you haven't even seen what's out there? Granted, I still don't really know what I want to do...or at least how to get it, and I'm nearly 27. But my two years overseas certainly opened my eyes at what's possible in the world, and what I do and don't like. If school and uni and work are the only things you've ever been exposed to in life, how do you know what you want to do is actually what you'll be happy doing?

Many of my friends went straight from school to uni. One of them is questioning why she is working where she is now, and another one is happy in a job totally unrelated to her degree, a job which didn't need any qualifications to begin with. Doesn't this tell us something?

Now that I have finished my Arts degree in PR and Journalism I am looking towards the next thing I would like to study- photography. I figure, why not become qualified in everything I'm interested in, which should arm me with enough knowledge and work to keep me reasonably happy for the rest of my life.

If you always keep in mind what you like doing and are truly interested in and passionate about then you should have no trouble finding the perfect career for you. Remember, do what you love, the money will follow. I can't remember who said that, but it's some pretty great advice.

Day jobs and night jobs

It seems that we can no longer do what we love as a day job, as our time is tied up doing jobs that ‘get us somewhere’. Friends of mine, a couple, both have their day job and night job. One works as a trainer in one of the major insurance companies by day, and dances in one of Melbourne’s best hip-hop crews by night, as well as the occasional podium dancing. Her fiancé works in one of the Big Banks by day, and is DJ in some of the hottest clubs in Melbourne by night. Which makes me wonder, when did doing what we love take a back seat to doing what we have to?

Part of the reason I think is because people don’t have faith in their own abilities anymore. When I recently went to get a reading done at a psychic, the very first thing she said to me was that I am a great writer, but don’t have confidence in my ability to write, and don’t realise I am as good as I actually am. In high school I always told my trainer-cum-dancer friend that she was an awesome dancer and that she should do it professionally one day, but she would just laugh and shrug it off, not really believing me (or anyone else).

Another reason is because in my group of friends many of the things that we love doing are part of the Arts industry, a fickle and highly volatile industry that can make you an instant success overnight, and leave you in the gutter just as quickly. There’s no room for mediocre in this industry, so unless people are absolutely sure of their talents, they prefer not to risk it, sticking with the safe and secure instead of venturing out on a limb to chase their dreams. Hence, the reason why I am publishing myself on blogs and not in newspapers and magazines (not yet, anyway).
It’s quite sad really. We are living a life that we have settled for, rather than the one we want. Maybe this is just me, my husband, and my group of friends, but I’m sure it’s not. There are more people that would rather be working in a different industry, a different job, than there are people who love what they’re doing and wouldn’t change it for the world.

All I can say is if you stay true to what you believe, and remember what it is you love doing, then one day I can only hope that we will all be doing what we love, and not what we have to.

Volunteer to save the world

There is an easier way to helping save the world than pulling an Angelina and trying to adopt a child from every country. It's called volunteering, and you can guarantee to find yourself at least one voluntary position in the area you live in. You don't have to be rich enough to not have to work, you don't have to be retired, and you don't have to spend every spare moment you have doing it. All you have to know is where to look, what you would like to do and how much time you can spare. It's not rocket science.

Even the laziest of lazy people can help! Australian Red Cross has a volunteer program called Telecross Callers. This position requires the volunteer to work from the comfort of their own home, for 1 hour on their rostered days. The basis of the position is to “offer reassurance, personal contact and monitoring to people who are isolated and at risk.” Many people fear the idea of something happening to them and not being found for days, and this program is designed to reassure these people that they are cared for by someone.

Red Cross also offers a Teen Mentor program for those who are more inclined to help teens that might be “socially isolated or disengaged”. This program matches up the volunteer with a compatible teen, where the volunteer provides non-judgmental support and advice. And how much of your precious time will this take up? Anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour a week. That’s right. A week. Whether that means you sacrifice one lunchtime, or start one hour earlier so you can finish earlier. When you consider the possibility that that one hour a week might help a teen through the toughest time of their life, that time seems insignificant.

But Red Cross isn’t the only organization you can volunteer with. If event management is your thing, try volunteering with Oaktree Foundation, who helped organize the Make Poverty History concerts. Or perhaps you can work for RSPCA, helping organize fundraising events, sell tickets or even work in their shops. If this isn’t for you, there is also Saint Vincent De Paul’s, Cancer Council, even your local church, youth group or radio station! It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in, there is a volunteer position to suit everyone.

If it weren’t for the amazing people that volunteer their time so that others may have a real chance at life, all these not-for-profit organisations would quite possibly not exist. If you are interested in keeping the karmic balance of the world, or just want to give back to a society and country that has given you so much, volunteering is the way to go.

Volunteer resources:
- Go Volunteer
- Red Cross
- Seek Volunteer
- Oaktree Foundation
- Australian Volunteer Search
- Conservation Volunteers Australia

Stay tuned next week for "The simple life: those were the days"