*shane dawson has joined the chat* ... View more

yeah, when children go missing it’s way more scary. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that picture of him in the spider-man outfit :( it would be sad if they found his body, but at the end of the it would give the family some closure. it would be so difficult to return to normal life not knowing what really happened to someone that you love. ... View more

I love this thread so much!! I have to say that my interest in crime came from Shane Dawson – he used to post frequent conspiracy videos where he would discuss many things, but sometimes he talked about different murders and they almost always made me feel creeped out. Regarding the William Tyrell case, I actually find it particularly creepy. The fact that it has been 5 years and the police haven’t caught a trace of him means that whoever took him knew what they were doing, and weren’t just some joe-average kidnapper. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for people that know William – for the past 5 years they have no idea where he is, what has happened to him, or even if he’s alive. I feel there are many conspiracies which fall off this story.. ... View more

Ok, so I am 10 pages late ( ). But yeah @annabethxchase, I think it would be really interesting to have something crime themed on the forum -- we did a 'solve the murder' game in elective history last year which I enjoyed :D ... View more

Grounded (not in the parent sense haha, more that you’re grounded and feeling in control – I say this to myself a lot, dunno if other people do). ... View more

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Gotta go with the good ol’ Australia ... View more

Mhmmm, @nyke, it's so frustrating that our own private business becomes someone else's business. I've seen a few times in my life where someone believes that another person is LGBTQ+, so it suddenly becomes their business to find out. However, if someone gives off the 'vibes' that they're straight, the others don't care!! No one says "wow, you're so straight" or "are you straight?!" I don't understand the double standard that exists here.   Also, it's nice to see that other people feel the same with regard to labels and stereotypes. When I was younger, and freaking out about the thought of being attracted to guys, I thought that all gay people were like Tyler Oakley, and I was nothing like him, so I thought that I wasn't gay... reflecting on that I can now see how confused I was.   Another thing that I find irony in is that we live in a mostly free society, in Australia at least, yet it's almost an unspoken rule to have to categorise yourself into a specific box, characterised by specific requirements. I mean I do see how these labels give people direction and confidence, but I've often sat and thought "why am I a 'gay' human? Aren't I just a human who will eventually look for another human to share my life with?" I don't see how it differs because I prefer guys, the journey and aim is ultimately the same. I dunno, I feel like I'm complaining   I was going to say something to the rest of what you said but I've gotten really tired suddenly and nEEd sleep now.   This is a great thread tho, so glad it was brought back up. I know that I rarely get the chance to express my thoughts on this topic. ... View more

Religious schools are very strange @annabethxchase haha. I go to one as well, and I get what you mean. 90 per cent of the students saying negative things about the LGBTQ+ community can't justify why they are saying negative things, the main reason being "cuz bro that's f***ed", another one being "it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" , sometimes you've just gotta laugh at their reasoning. It's so unreasonable that a whole group of people are forced to experience a tougher reality with their sexuality than others because of made up stories. When Jesus founded Christianity, this was not what he had in mind haha.   And just to add the cherry on top, I placed first in Religion last semester. I found that quite amusing considering that, to many of my peers, I'm the antichrist of Catholicism :D :P ... View more

Thank you @annabethxchase   Yeah, I totally get whatchu mean. Being straight is the norm, and therefore the expectation. Parents typically assume that their child will be attracted to the other sex, which is evidently not the case for everyone. I think "coming out" is quite challenging because, for people who don't like to break the norm or stand out (ie. myself, who suffers quite a bit with social anxiety), you've just got to break the norm. I don't think of myself as anyone special, I'm just a guy who likes other guys, but to some others I'm like a different type of human or something *shrug*.   And yeah, I LOVED that scene. It was even weird to watch it myself. I especially loved the reaction of Abby's mother . To anyone who's just crusing this thread, this is what we're talking about.   Also, I really think that the whole notion of "coming out" and "being closeted" needs to be removed from our society. If "coming out" wasn't a thing, it wouldn't be a milestone in my life, it really shouldn't be . I don't hear this view a lot, but I hope y'all see where I'm coming from. If we don't make "coming out" such an achievement in someone's life, it will stop being such a big deal, and therefore will stop making kids feel apprehensive and worried about coming out, yaknow? ... View more

Oh my god, @litgym, you're a legend. I'm having a bit of an anxious moment right now and just took a breath when I saw this thread. I always get overwhelmed when I look for mental health apps, so THANK YOU!! I have only read the first two paragraphs, but I just had to say how much better this made me feel straight away ... View more

1. made dinner for the fam which they appreciated 2. full-on jammin' with these awesome new headphones 3. first day in a few weeks that I haven't felt an oncoming panic attack 4. took doggo for a walk and he made a friend, and so did I haha ... View more

Well, I didn't even know this thread existed! Thanks for the tag @mrmusic :)   I'm 16 and just starting the HSC years. I've just started the coming out process, a few close friends know that I'm gay, but not much beyond that. I definitely agree with you @SS_X when you say that you'd rather be humble about your sexuality, and honestly I find it annoying that the "coming out process" has to be a thing. In saying that though, we have to give ourselves credit when we work up the courage to come out to someone. I know for me, when I was about 13-14, I promised that I would hide it FOREVER and just ignore the feelings as if they weren't there, and now I'm just realising that that's no way to live.   I personally find it really ironic that having sex is a very personal and intimate thing, yet there is so much value placed on who you're "in to" in today's society. Then I start to zooooom out of the picture, at the end of the day we're just animals roaming on Earth -- I don't know why there's so much conflict around the idea of two animals, of the same-sex, being attracted each other. What's the big deal?   I recently watched a interview with Yuval Noah Harari (Israeli historian/lecturer who has released best-selling books (which are rly rly rly good)) talking about being homosexual. Some great quotes I got out of it really got me thinking..   "When I was young, I was told that all boys are attracted to girls, and I believed that. It took me a long time to realise that this is just a story, invented by humans. And the reality is that some boys like other boys, and I happen to be one of them."   "People often say that it is 'unnatural' to be gay, that nature wanted males to love females, and females to love males, and gay people BREAK the laws of nature ... There is no such thing as unnatural behaviour. Anything that exists is, by definition, also natural."   But yeah, that's my introduction and thoughts, happy to chat here about this :D ... View more

TGIF :D Positives: 1. discovered King Princess (some awesome songs) 2. had a lazy day and just chilled out 3. organised my shelves, they look nice and tidy now. ... View more

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I'm currently reading "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" by Yuval Noah Harari @sylviaisaplant, it's really interesting and provides a great insight into modern day issues. I would recommend all of Harari's books if you're into history/future/knowledge-packed books :) ... View more

right: nyke left: nytjke nose: nyke head: hjnby67iok3w knee: hmjlhbmjb ;gihtuhokp[hdl',[ked45d I almost fell off my chain doing the last one ... View more

Yes haha @nyke, love her new song. It puts me in a really strange, but good, mood . Her album is supposedly coming out soon, I can't wait. Hopefully one day you'll become apart of her standom (is that even ?? dunno at this point, it's a word now). ... View more

This is actually very timely for me, as I think I've just started building a support network tonight!   Think about who is in your support network, who are they and what support do they give you.  I don't really have a support "network", more like 1 or 2 people who I can talk to. I find it very hard to open up to people because I generally uphold a very happy and positive attitude all the time, so people find it hard to believe that I'm struggling with something. My main support, if this even is possible, is myself. I find that I have a lot of conversations with myself to solve problems, and find a way to see that all will be okay. It does it difficult sometimes, so I would say this forum is generally a great place to find some extra support. However, I know that my school counsellor is always there for support, and so are my parents, but it's really hard to talk to them because they always have more questions than answers.   In saying that though, tonight I decided to come out to a friend from school. Yes, the same religious school I was talking about when I first joined this forum (@nyke you were right -- this person's religious, but said he wouldn't be friends with anyone who was homophobic, sure took me by surprise). I knew that he was a very neutral person, and he was completely fine about it, thankfully -- he's the first person I've come out to that I actually see on a regular basis (which was kinda daunting to think about). He went further and even reminded me that if I was ever feeling low about something, to come and talk to him. I've never had someone say that to me irl, so it was very comforting. :)   What are some ways you can be a support network to someone else. I try my hardest to make sure people know they can come and talk to me about most things. I strive to do it because I know how terrible it can feeling being low and without support, it's like struggling in quicksand without yelling for help, or even worse, yelling for help but everyone pretends they aren't looking. I feel that my support isn't necessarily what is defined as "support", it's more about building strong connections with others. Maybe I don't check in enough with people? I don't know. This question has really got me haha. Majority of people in my life sustain a very positive and bright face and don't open up much, so it's difficult to discern who really needs the support. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but that's my two cents.   ... View more

Yayy @Bee!! I'm so glad the interview went well for you, I've been wondering today how that went. I guess it just goes to show that it's so important to push through the difficult times, because look how it turned out -- you're confident with how it went!! Just imagine if present-you would have told that to past-you the other day haha . So happy for you   On a different note, I've had a boring af day (holidays hey, what can you do?), some positives though: 1. had a hash brown (haven't had one in like 2 years lol) 2. drank plenty of water 3. Billie Eilish came out with a new song (any other stans around?) ... View more

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Hey @Jess1-RO, thanks for the tag :O   I would definitely love to participate in the program, but I don't think the time's right now. I'm about to head off overseas for a holiday, and I've got a bit of a wonky start of the year to work through before I'm in a better frame of mind to complete the training and provide good peer-support. I'll definitely come back and consider this mid Feb / March. :D ... View more

Awesome @Isaac2554!! I’m glad your mum was understanding, and congratulations on coming out to your dad :) Youth groups are a great idea, you’ll be able to connect with other people much easier. Might be worth checking out https://www.twenty10.org.au/get-support/social-support/. ... View more

How are you going @Bee? Just wanting to check in ... View more

"The skin isn't actually too hard once you stop thinking of it as "a face" -- it's really just a bunch of grey shapes (planes) that looks like a face because of how they relate to each other (i.e. by their position / softness / shade)."     I don't know why that sentence got me shook, but it did @nyke. Love it though :D   I might start drawing a bit again -- I love the idea of it, but just never get around to doing it. ... View more

@nyke don’t want to be that guy, but https://forums.au.reachout.com/t5/Something-s-not-right/Anyone-else-in-this-situation/m-p/338409/highlight/true#M52341 :P ... View more

Yeah, that's the best thing to do, in my opinion as well. Hopefully it will alleviate some of the struggle with having to separate your sexuality from yourself. I'm glad you're going to have a chat to her now, I hope you feel a bit better after :) ... View more

That is such a great drawing :O @nyke, some talent you've got there!! Have you been drawing throughout your life? I've always tried it but could never do it successfully. ... View more

Hoard ... View more

That's great, I'm sure that if you know they're accepting then all will be fine. Has your aunt and/or counsins given you any advice as to how to approach your concerns? Also, if it possible to get her alone, I think it's a good time to talk about your concerns with your mum while on holiday, unless it will upset the holiday majorly. Everyone is way more relaxed on holiday and your mum won't be distracted by work or other commitments, so the conversation will flow better -- that's my experience anyway (with a different situation). I've got to go to dinner soon, so I might not reply to your next message for a while (a good 45 minutes). ... View more