Rounding off our winners, here’s another from VIC: We recently hosted an Australia-wide search for writing talent and received an extraordinary response. Students submitted entries based around a theme, “inspire”, and this week we’re showcasing the final six winners (in no particular order).
Show your support for their efforts by leaving a comment below and sharing their amazing entries on your social media profiles for a few well-deserved likes.
Media Bootcamp national writing competition Australia – Danni Tzivakis, VIC
I wake up as light starts to pour through the window. My shoulders are sore from being hunched up from the cold and my back aches from lying on my thin, air-depleted mattress that rests on hard concrete. I have been showering in a river and using a squat toilet.
And I have never been happier in my life.
I sigh with absolute joy. I walk outside, and let my eyes feast on the spectacular view of the green mountains looming above. Surrounding me are bamboo huts and children running through the field kicking a deflated soccer ball, laughing merrily. In the distance, the construction site anticipates its completion so that more dedicated children can be educated.
I stare through the open window of a classroom – I have taught a class of forty grade three students in there. I smile at the memory of yesterday and how I had them all standing up exuberantly singing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’. When they sang it all by themselves my heart jumped with delight; I felt like a proud mother as I watched.
But my favourite part of the day is playing with the kids.
Yesterday Say and I were racing up an uneven dirt hill; I lost my footing and fell over. He had already scrambled up to the top, but turned, holding out his hand to help me up. Then he scuttled all the way up a tree, and came back down with a bunch of lovely yellow flowers that he proudly presented to me. We held hands and skipped through the village then I grabbed his hands and spun him around until we both got dizzy. He is the sweetest eleven year old I’ve ever met.
What I’ve learnt here is that happiness comes from the simple things; not a fancy car, a luxurious house or a well-paying job. Putting a grin on a child’s face or seeing them light up with laughter – that is what makes me truly happy. I wake up every day to picturesque mountains instead of a dull suburban street full of dull houses and greedy, complaining people. I would much rather be here and forego the unnecessary luxuries of beds, hot showers and televisions. Obviously people are happier without them anyway.
Here it is so easy to be happy; back home I usually only feel happy when I get an A+ on an exam, but here I walk outside, hi-five a kid and my heart flutters with happiness.
The people here do not live to make money, they are not consumed by greed; they purely live for joy and for community.
First world countries have a lot to learn from the third world.
I am making a difference and it feels good.
I feel inspired; I am inspired by these kids and their joy, by this village and its simplicity. Being here has sparked something in me that this is what I want to do, and here is where I want to be.
Danni, congratulations on being one of our six 2014 national winners. We were inspired by your entry – it certainly belongs right here on a space about travelling, living and learning. We hope you’ll endeavour with all three of those elements in your life.
This competition was brought to you by Sugoi Media, Media Bootcamp, Get it Magazine, Get it Media, TravelLiveLearn.com, Hot Tamale Media Australia Pty Ltd
Another talented young writer from Victoria: We recently hosted an Australia-wide search for writing talent and received an extraordinary response. Students submitted entries based around a theme, “inspire”, and this week we’re showcasing the final six winners (in no particular order).
Show your support for their efforts by leaving a comment below and sharing their amazing entries on your social media profiles for a few well-deserved likes.
Media Bootcamp national writing competition winner Australia – Julia Sansone, VIC
Inspire is more than a word. It’s more than a feeling one obtains when looking at a painting, or an outfit, or even another person – it is how our world, despite its inexhaustible variety, remains existing.
Inspiration lives in the veins of every human being, and with that inspiration, we feed off one another, linking hands and reaching into each other, bringing back something new every time. Inspiration is what starts the small things and ends up encapsulating an entire life. Inspiration comes from the note of a song, a ray of light or the glimpse of beauty when driving in the car. Inspiration comes to you, it comes like a day at the beach, slowly, slowly then all at once the tide is kissing the edges of your towel on the sand, giggling at your panic to grab your things before it swallows it whole. Inspiration is through the eye of a lens, the gesture of a stranger and the first bite of a hard earned meal. Inspiration is missing the bus home, getting caught in the rain and taking the wrong turn. Inspiration greets you like a friend and holds your hand on the way home, often fluttering away on the occasions you need it most.
Inspiration peers around the corner of your bleakly lit study, heavy eyes trying to pull something out of your head and turn it into scribbled handwriting. It greets you with a warm cup of coffee at 1am, or even visits in your sleep, soon to leave before the morning hits your eyes.
People who inspire don’t intend to inspire. Footprints that want to be left in the sands of our history are never positive ones, and the best kind of marks left on the world are by people who don’t take the tracks, but struggle through the shrubbery to find their lost possessions and discover even more on the way.
But most of all, like most things in the world, to be inspired comes from within. Seeking for another word to write, or action to take… but the catch is – what you are looking for will always reside with you and hover over you, just waiting for you to look outside and say hello. Inspiration is very good at hide and seek and is teaching you that as a part of life, you must keep looking. Keep on searching and question everything that comes into your eyes. Look at what you see, and then look beyond what you’re really looking at. Remember the feeling of being inspired, and in turn, embrace that feeling with both hands, grasp it firmly and let it grow like a wildfire in the summer and like vines in an unkept garden – what some consider a beast others see as a blessing.
Maybe you can’t inspire the world all at once, but if you are making at least one person’s life a little happier – you are inspiration.
Julia, congratulations on being one of our six 2014 national winners. We loved your piece because not only is it well written, but you’ve managed to reflect upon a wide variety of every day inspiration that anyone can take a lesson from.
This competition was brought to you by Sugoi Media, Media Bootcamp, Get it Magazine, Get it Media, TravelLiveLearn.com, Hot Tamale Media Australia Pty Ltd
And we have a talented winner from Queensland!… We recently hosted an Australia-wide search for writing talent and received an extraordinary response. Students submitted entries based around a theme, “inspire”, and this week we’re showcasing the final six winners (in no particular order).
Show your support for their efforts by leaving a comment below and sharing their amazing entries on your social media profiles for a few well-deserved likes.
Media Bootcamp national writing competition winner Australia – Ashleigh Creeks, QLD
Sweet Memory
We sat in the centre of a crowded room. The lights were low, radiating a dulled yellow glow. In the corner of my eye I saw silhouettes of lamp stands and shadows of teddy bears but my vision was focused on you. You had a cheeky grin that reached your eyes and wore a shirt with grass stains on the left side that we knew your mother would not be happy about. You started humming a tune, melodic and slow, you stood up from your place and you bowed down low and with an outstretched hand you asked me for one last dance. We paced backward and forward counting in beats of four, you spun me on my toes and then we fell to the floor, oh how I wish that moment had never ended. You held me close and looked me directly in the eyes. You told me that this was our final goodbye and with a violent bang you were gone.
It was the bang of the front door that tore me from my childish daydreams. My mother was crying and my father screamed. All of their insults to each other ricocheted into me, leaving me utterly broken. As each day went by I would hollow my heart, for I did not want to feel hurt like that again. Ever since that door slammed misery was the only thing I let in.
Fast-forward ten years; I became as dark as I was cold. For ten years I rejected happiness, for ten years I rejected love. It was a bleak September evening when we were united once again. I scavenged though our attic in the search for some trivial thing. In the glow of that single light bulb I saw shadows and silhouettes but in the centre of that crowded room I saw you once again. My eyes began to tear up and my pulse began to race; it had been far too long since I had seen your mischievous face. I shared with you my sorrows, of how I barricaded my heart. You held my hand and told me riddles until it was time for us to part.
As I exited the attic I could feel the darkness flee. You reminded me of my once simple happy days. It was that memory of us dancing oh so long ago that inspired me to light a fire in my soul. No longer would I be loveless no longer would I be cold. I would break down all defences I had placed around my heart. You inspired me to open up, to embrace love’s warm light. So thank you sweet memory I owe you my life.
Ashleigh, congratulations on being one of our six 2014 national winners. We just loved your use of language in this emotive piece. Well done.
This competition was brought to you by Sugoi Media, Media Bootcamp, Get it Magazine, Get it Media, TravelLiveLearn.com, Hot Tamale Media Australia Pty Ltd
Today’s winning entry from VIC: We recently hosted an Australia-wide search for writing talent and received an extraordinary response. Students submitted entries based around a theme, “inspire”, and this week we’re showcasing the final six winners (in no particular order).
Show your support for their efforts by leaving a comment below and sharing their amazing entries on your social media profiles for a few well-deserved likes.
Media Bootcamp national writing competition winner Australia – Jaime Mutimer, VIC
Inspiration is not merely the arrangement of elegant fruits in a bowl
surrounded by fifteen artists
hungry for an idea to stun the contemporary world of art
Nor is it the mere image of a topless model,
in an audacious pose
for 15 dollars an hour
to the sculptor’s satisfaction of perfectly erect nipples moulded onto clay
Inspiration is not reserved solely for the artist
nay is it reserved solely to create art
rather, inspiration stems from the roots of hope
blossoming into vivid roses of love
Here’s to the poor souls
in the darkest, gloomiest of times
who find liberation in trusting that
while there is hope
there will be beauty
To the girl with her head halfway down the toilet
purging half a sandwich and a nibble of a carrot
To the boy with ‘fag’ sticked across his back
as if he had been stamped
branded by farmers breeding misfits
bleeding out cries of misery
To the woman who has turned black and blue
from the sham love of her husband
closing her eyes
blinded by denial
One day, the moon will rise at dawn
and the sun will lift at dusk
by a heart that adores you
and is willing to share your sun
and your moon
shamelessly, with the rest of the world
everyday
You will look up at the sky
notice the brilliant sun
be in awe of the luminous moon
that your lover made just for you
to inspire you
to make a difference
take a chance
force a change
Jaime, congratulations on being one of our six 2014 national winners. Surely it’s pretty obvious why we loved this entry – wow! Don’t you all agree?
This competition was brought to you by Sugoi Media, Media Bootcamp, Get it Magazine, Get it Media, TravelLiveLearn.com, Hot Tamale Media Australia Pty Ltd
Today’s winning entry from Victoria… We recently hosted an Australia-wide search for writing talent and received an extraordinary response. Students submitted entries based around a theme, “inspire”, and this week we’re showcasing the final six winners (in no particular order).
Show your support for their efforts by leaving a comment below and sharing their amazing entries on your social media profiles for a few well-deserved likes.
Media Bootcamp national writing competition winner Australia – Georgina Schroen, VIC
Inspired
Today, there are approximately 7.25 billion people in the world, around 3 billion of which live on $2.50 per day, which for the average person, would only buy them a loaf of bread. A loaf of bread that would be so valuable to a family living in a third-world country.
Australia today is surrounded by poverty, and yet many people don’t seem to care. Too many of us are motivated by greed, always wanting more and more, whilst others are suffering and we don’t even take the time to notice them. As a result, Australia sometimes seems far too short of inspiration for those who want to help others.
One Australian who does want to help though, is Heather Watson, a Home Economics teacher at Rochester Secondary College, who was inspired to help others who are far worse off than herself.
Heather and three Rochester Secondary College students (Amanda Conway, year 12, Carli Windridge, year 12; and Terri Windridge, former year 12) took the opportunity to fly to Cambodia to participate in the program World of Difference, through the Rotary Club of South Melbourne.
The program is designed to do a lot of practical charity work involving schools, orphanages and amongst the community in remote villages, as described by Heather.
“Amongst the whole local group that went over to Cambodia, we raised around $8000 to take over there.” She explained. ‘We bought things over there like books, pencils and paper for schools, clothes for the orphanages and we would build things like a well and a pig pen to help out the community. We also taught them about dental hygiene, ensuring they had and learnt practical stuff that could be used forever.”
Amongst other things, Heather Watson saw the struggles that poverty affected countries face and was able to help in a manner that was not only beneficial for the Cambodians, but a valuable and inspirational memory for herself and the others who took part.
Not only did Heather and the group help the Cambodians around the remote villages, but they were lucky enough to travel around Cambodia, visiting historical and must-see sites such as the Angkor Wat temple.
This trip to Cambodia inspired Heather Watson to travel more around the world and to help the less fortunate in any way possible. She was able to see with her own eyes what most people don’t see in the world. She got to witness life in its purest form where the people aren’t influenced by greed, but are incredibly grateful for the smallest gestures and gifts.
I was immensely inspired by this program to want to travel around the world and indulge in its wonders, but also want to help people who are not as well off as we are here in Australia.
It showed me that there are people in this world who do care and are out to make a difference, just as it has inspired me to do so in the future.
Georgina, congratulations on being one of our six 2014 national winners! The judging panel loved your entry because as it stands, it is a feature piece worthy of being published in a lifestyle publication. You’re well on your way to achieving your goals of working in the media industry.
This competition was brought to you by Sugoi Media, Media Bootcamp, Get it Magazine, Get it Media, TravelLiveLearn.com, Hot Tamale Media Australia Pty Ltd
Hi, we’re Sarah & Cooper. Welcome to Travel Live Learn! We’re Aussie expats currently living in the UK (for the third time!) with our adorable Westie, London. Our mission? To inspire you to embrace a life of adventure—whether it’s travelling longer, relocating to the UK or Europe, or exploring the freedom of remote work and digital nomadism. Enjoy your time on our site! We'd love to stay in touch: subscribe for our weekly stories, updates and remote work job opportunities direct to your inbox.
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