Bec
Issues I’m into:
Drought ;
Consumer rights;
Joined
11/11/2005
Views
20232
Blog Entries:
0
Last Blog Entry:
1/01/0001
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Hey, I'm Bec Johnson, I was born in 1983 and grew up in Perth, WA.
*A few words about myself...*
Weekdays: I just finished my history degree and now I'm staring down the barrel of three more semesters of straight law units to finish that degree off. History kept me sane and I miss it - law can be stonkingly dry at times. I also work in a video shop.
Weeknights: I swim - it's the only thing that makes my brain stop. I'm also right into 'projects' - I have just completed a basic kickboxing course and a massage course at Tafe, and just as I was looking for a new project this came up, spectacularly timed, and so this is what I'll be devoting my energies to for the next couple of months.
Weekends: Mountain biking. Seeing my mates. Getting out and and about in the sunshine.
*Where do I belong?*
Amongst friends.
*What really gets me going and makes you act:*
Seeing other people's apathy and knowing that it's not a path I'll ever walk. For example, I struggle with people who complain about the government but never take the time to write to their local MP (and beyond) and demand accountability and answers.
*When I care about an issue, this is what I need in order to do something about it:*
Inform yourself.
Establish what you hope to achieve.
Clearly work out how you will go about doing that.
Make it happen.
*What I would most like to change about where I live:*
I think more money, time and effort needs to be put into revegetating the coastline near where I live. The dunes are eroded further every winter and initiatives so far have been small-scale, well intentioned but ultimately under-funded and inadequate.
*My first reaction when you hear something you don’t agree with is:*
I get hot under the collar. But I try not to bawl out the person with whom I disagree anymore, which used to be my standard course of action. A screaming bingle doesn't win friends or influence people, and it definitely doesn't convince them that your view is the superior one! Now, I state my case passionately. I'm not averse to backing down and coming around to someone else's point if it's reasonable, either.
What’s the difference between caring about something and doing something about the things you care about?
It's easier to care about things because it means you don't have to get off your arse and do anything.
I respect people who act on what they care about - they actually shoulder a responsibility and put themselves on the line for a cause.
*My action role models:*
To be honest? I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2000, and there was a kid in the ward at the children's hospital I was in whose name I can't remember. He was a frecky, thin, brown haired little kid who had cystic fibrosis or something awful, that meant he had to spent six-week yearly spells in hospital and would have a significantly shortened, difficult life. And yet he would run up the corridors every morning, with his drips and tubes and stuff rattling dangerously behind him and a trainee nurse freaking out on his tail, just to pop his frecky face round every curtain and yell good morning to every kid in every ward. That kid's energy, his sheer determination to wake up every day and own it and embrace it loudly and joyously, square in the face no matter how hard it was, is something I think of so often. It used to make me cry, but it doesn't anymore. I makes me want to live life out loud.
*What makes me laugh?*
My fat little golden retriever because he's always stoked to see me.
*My life motto:*
Live out loud.
