Semper Floreat is the University of Queensland Union's free & independent student newspaper.
Good and honest disability representation can be hard to come by. I often wake up in cold sweats remembering Sia’s 2021 Autistic masterpiece Music (note the sarcasm). Misrepresentation of disabled people in media is often caused by a lack of understanding or demonisation of disability. As a disabled bibliophile, I had almost given up finding […]
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Mental illness has often been greatly misunderstood throughout history. Ignorance has fuelled stigma surrounding mental health conditions that sees its sufferers demonised, ignored, and shamed. Despite improvements in education and modern medicine, these damaging misconceptions continue to pervade modern culture and cause irreparable damage to those living with mental illness. However, art has long been […]
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The Brisbane Metro has many things: a whimsical theme tune. A hefty price tag. A cooler cousin. What it does not have, I’ve personally discovered, is a reliably pleasant, accessible experience. In my younger and more innocent days upon the first rollout of the Metro last year, when I (an ambulatory wheelchair user) still had […]
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Dad pulled up at the front of the drop-off bay. He turned to look at me, expectant. I’m sure he said something like, ‘Good luck! Have fun!’, but it was little use to me. All I could think about was how I might puke at any second. Even something as trivial as moving my hand […]
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i lie awake at night with my heart racing and with my brain catastrophising. i don’t know if it really counts as catastrophising though. how can it be if the waking nightmares i conjure aren’t far-fetched fantastical situations? everything i imagine is what i have been told by doctors could realistically be my future and […]
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In a moment, your mind stops working. By the second, it tries to process things. Within minutes, you start denying— That’s when sadness and confusion begin to kick in. In hours, it feels like everything is falling from the sky. As days turn to nights, and weeks go by, You still suffer, but get used […]
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1 2 3 4 5 six 7 Door closed, window closed, fan on. Check wardrobes to make sure nobody is inside. Close wardrobe doors. Check wardrobe doors are closed. Check again. Double check. Are you even trying? Check again. 1 2 3 4 5 six 7 Turn desk chair so it isn’t facing you. Check […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Cass Hayward Views: 2
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Brittle leaves crack with the promise of lifein the paw of a Beast I’ve tracked for some time.We have long since mastered the dance of the hunt,I was sure of the kill like I was sure of the cut. I had met this Beast just once beforewhen I thought I’d lost the path of its […]
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From the beginning you have been there. From the time at which I wake to the time I sleep you are there and Unlike the experiences with which I fill my days that come and go as they please, you have stayed with me through it all as a constant Companion. You bring me weakness […]
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