AMAA: With Saltwaterdreamtime
This month formerly Ask A Pro Live is getting a makeover - welcome to Ask Me Almost Anything. Same event but different name which highlights the value of having these discussions with peers as well as professionals.
This month we are doing something super special. We are really excited to kick off the event name change by talking to a leader in our community here on the forum. This is someone who has been part of the ReachOut family for a very long time and someone we are really proud of.
Our very own @Saltwaterdreamtime is our guest for this months Ask Me Almost Anything! Shoot through your questions as we will be chatting about their journey with mental health and experience as a proud Arrernte man. Read saltwaterdreamtime's bio below:
"I go by saltwaterdreamtime and I am a 25 year old Arrernte man living in Wadawurrung country. These two places are so different but mean so much to mean in different ways, and I can’t wait to be able to tell you more about why they are special to me. I’ve been using Reach Out for about 6 or 7 years now, it has been a really big part of my journey through difficulties with my mental health. I’ve lived with a number of mental health issues for a long time, and although I still have some bad days sometimes I know how to look after myself and what I need to do to manage my wellbeing, and keep on top of it.
I feel my time with ReachOut has been a huge part of that. I’m really really looking forward to being a part of this chat, NAIDOC week is a great opportunity for me to show off one of the things that is most important to me which is my culture."
I'm looking forward to this one and I bet you all are too. We will be chatting this Thursday the 12th of November, so get your questions in fast and set a reminder to join in.
Join us LIVE November 12th 7pm - 9pm AEDT
It was kind of hard growing up learning about Indigenous culture in school, and thinking, this is kind of relevant to me but I want to know more, but not having the ability to find it or ask for it. Looking back the information was pretty basic and never dived much deeper than colonisation, and that Aboriginal people like kangaroos... seriously 🤦🏽♂️
@Saltwaterdreamtime I've been thinking about that SO much recently. Australia has such a rich history yet I hardly remember practically anything from Australian history classes that wasn't about European colonization 
I also feel like it's a common experience to not be able to identify your heritage until later on. I've known a few people with similar stories.
Welcome to all the peeps who have joined us so far tonight with comments and likes @WheresMySquishy @Lost_Space_Explorer5 @Ladybug @Hozzles 
great to have you all here!
Thanks @Saltwaterdreamtime lovely to get to know you a bit better! I love that you go on adventures with your fam I also looked through a lot of surfing gifs in preparation for our chat, this is my favourite
Before we get started, I just want to remind everyone that if this chat brings up anything distressing for you that there is support that you can get right now -
You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found here.
HAHAHAH @Saltwaterdreamtime THAT IS TOO GOOD lil gingerbread man 
Here is our next question and my fav gif about growing up
2. Can you tell us a bit about your culture and how you learnt about this growing up?
Hi @Saltwaterdreamtime! Thanks for doing this AMAA tonight! 🙂 It should be great!
Hahahah @Saltwaterdreamtime the first one I didn't see but just clicked on the link then. If that is your life is two gifs than I would need energy drinks hahah
Thanks everyone for joining us tonight! An Enormous thank you to @Saltwaterdreamtime for answering all our Qs and allowing us to learn about you and your culture. It’s so lovely to hear that you’ve taken lessons from ReachOut, we’ve certainly taken lessons from you. It will be bloody bittersweet when you age out of this place, you will certainly be very missed.
Thanks to @WheresMySquishy @Hozzles @Lost_Space_Explorer5 @Ladybug @Tiny_leaf @MB95
for joining the conversation with likes, comments and glorious gifs!
I've got a LOT of takeaways from tonight, specifically for this week I'll be thinking about what @Saltwaterdreamtime said about NAIDOC week and what I can do:
it’s a time for reflection, what can we as a country do better to recognise AND RESPECT the nations first people.
And this absolute GOLD:
To put it simply, individuality is awesome, be proud, stand tall, because you are a legend just the way you are.
Thanks everybody and take care
Just a reminder that if this chat has brought up anything distressing for you that there is support that you can get right now -
You can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found here.
Thanks so much again @Saltwaterdreamtime! Discussions like this one are so important. I hope we can have more of them in the future.
Have a goodnight everyone! 🙂
So excited to for this one, can't for you to share with us about your culture @Saltwaterdreamtime
