All posts tagged: Great Writing Challenge

Post #21: Austria

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Welcome to the twenty-first post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in ton Thanks to Rai for today’s topic. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. I really want a piece from you about “Austria” – whatever you associate with it, be it your trip here or something completely different like what you were thinking growing up or when it first appeared on your mental screen. — Rai I cannot say for certain when the country of Austria first popped up on my mental map, but no doubt it had everything to do with the Sound of Music. Like many children in the English-speaking world, the Sound of Music was such an integral part of my childhood. And most of what I knew about Austria was framed through the eyes of that film. …

Post #20: 30 Minute Challenge

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Welcome to the twentieth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. [For this challenge, it was written and posted within a 30 minute timeframe.] Sometimes, I wish people around here valued life and happiness. When did violence and death and murder become so commonplace? Why are we living in a society that tolerates this behavior? I want to write about sunshine and rainbows and unicorns, but my reality is far from it. Sometimes, I want the headline of the newspapers to report who won the meat tray at the local pub. I want to know that Mrs Smith won the local Garden of the Year award, or that the local rugby team is holding a fundraising BBQ to fund their upcoming tournament interstate. I …

Post #19: Acknowledging

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Welcome to the nineteenth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. I had to take a couple of days off last week, which has thrown me a little behind my intended schedule. But that’s life, and I’m sure you understand. Today I saw something that sparked my interest. It was a TED talk about vulnerability by researcher Dr Brene Brown. She believes the human response to vulnerability is to make the uncertain certain. I build walls of my thoughts and beliefs, and these walls become fact. Suddenly, I’m 30 and lost in a maze of my own making. One of the many walls I have constructed, is the one about children. For years, I have been rather vocal in my opposition of them existing …

Post #18: Barcelona

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Welcome to the eighteenth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. I fell in love with Barcelona the day I arrived. The city is so vibrant, and so interesting. I could imagine a life for myself there. We stayed in the old town, just off Las Ramblas, in a former brothel frequently patronised by Picasso. We wound our way through the small lanes, and rarely taking the same route twice. Having just arrived from frigid Switzerland by way of torrential rain in the Basque region, the warm Mediterranean city with a laid back vibe had me hooked instantly. I had anticipated the German-speaking legs of the trip to be more my style, so connecting with Barcelona was unexpected. We ate, we drank, we walked, …

Post #17: Stop Human Trafficking!

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Welcome to the seventeenth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone. Thanks to Maia for the suggestion. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. Did you know that the average age of kids forced into commercial sexual exploitation in this area is 12? Here, that’s Middle Schoolers. Middle Schoolers. Some of these kids (and it’s not exclusively girls) are nabbed off the street walking to and from school, from bus stops and shopping malls. Some are runaways or foster kids, some are lured by the promise of a fledgling romance with a cute boy, and some are invited somewhere by other young girls who are under the control and instruction of a pimp. They are taken from our streets and end up enslaved, working all around the country. I work in …

Post #16: From A Land Down Under

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Welcome to the sixteenth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012. Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone. If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com. I am an Australian living abroad. That informs so much about how I see the world. I get to talk about Australia a lot with the people I meet. I love being asked. Gravitating to fellow antipodeans in the area stems the homesickness with a good ol’ yarn and an exchange of imported groceries from someone’s trip home. There’s some things you just can’t get anywhere else but home.  I’ve yet to find a place to pick up a ‘Dog’s Eye’ with ‘Dead Horse’, or some hot chips with chicken salt. Today is Australia Day. It’s “unAustralian” not to celebrate Australia Day.  It’s a day when you attend barbies. You eat until you’re …