‘A lot more resilient than people think’: Perth’s youth push back

Alisha: “My generation is a lot more resilient than we’re given credit for”

I’m naturally a very optimistic person, so there are times when I have to block out the news, which can be overwhelmingly negative. Even when the media is telling a positive story, there is often a dark undercurrent. It doesn’t mean that I live in a bubble. I just need to filter things so the negativity and darkness doesn’t creep in and make me feel bad. It’s why I’m not on social media.

I make an effort to find news sources that are balanced, not just in giving the facts even-handedly but presenting the material in a tone not designed to alarm people. Lots of news sources seem intent on freaking out the viewer or the reader. I think it is possible to be fair without feeding people’s fears and biases.

Even though many of my generation are very pessimistic — we worry about all the terrible things going on in the world — we’re a lot more resilient than we are given credit for. We’re good at overcoming things.

I know many criticise people of my age — I’m 22 — for being soft or snowflakes. But it is impossible for members of one generation to know what another generation is going through. They’ve experienced the world at very different times. And sometimes people who call themselves hard or tough are just disguising an inner softness or weakness. They’re over-compensating.

Finishing high school and going into the world is scary for students. Everyone expects you to have your career all mapped out, which is why I left my choice of university course to the very last moment.

Even now, after finishing my degree, I don’t feel ready to make a decision about my future. I have finally come to peace with the fact that I am not ready. I’m treading water.

Even though I haven’t made up my mind on my career I know it will have to be in a creative field. I did graphic design at Curtin University. It’s going to be a challenge doing that because you have to survive first. It’s tough making it in the creative industries.

Three years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. At first I thought I was bipolar or I had depression. But when I went to a campus counsellor who said I had the classic symptoms of ADHD. It was like being born again. I had repressed the reality of my condition so deeply so I could fit into society that I lost any sense of myself, of who I was. The diagnosis has allowed me to embrace my personality.

I’m not working in a creative area at the moment and it is very hard. It would kill me to spend my life in a dull office job. I’m not unrealistic about my prospects of working in a creative role. I’ve recently moved into a house with friends so I have to keep working to pay the rent. But my dream is to get into an area of work that suits my personality and satisfies my artistic instincts.

The future is scary, but I want to throw myself into the world and experience all aspects of life. I have the fuel, but I don’t know in which direction I want to travel. I know a great opportunity will pop up – I just have to be ready to grab it.

Jake is the chief officer on a super yacht. Credit: Mark Naglazas

Jake: “The world for me is a place of adventure and fun”

Many people of my generation — I’m 30 — see the world as a scary place. And I can understand that. There are problems everywhere. I see it when I travel. A lot of people are doing it tough. But it hasn’t stopped me. The world for me is a place of adventure and fun.

Ever since I was young, I wanted to travel. The first flight to Europe from New Zealand, where I grew up, was a bit nerve-racking. I was 19, and I had never been on a plane before. But from that moment I have never looked back. I’ve spent all of my twenties travelling and working overseas. It is a lifestyle that I love.

I studied outdoor leadership and management with the goal of being a whitewater kayak guide in Asia. But I ended up in the yachting industry. I am now the chief officer on a super yacht, so I look after all the navigation and passenger planning.

I’ve spent time in numerous countries around the world, but I am reluctant to get involved in politics. There is so much that we don’t know about countries that we visit that I am suspicious of outsiders judging these places.

I’m particularly suspicious of the media, which in my role I deal with daily. Our clients are A-class celebrities – some of the richest and most famous people in the world. If I mentioned their names it would be the end of my career. So you can imagine how much attention we receive from the paparazzi. They publish photos that are totally misleading. It is not what is actually going on aboard the yacht.

I work two months on, two months off. It’s not a sustainable lifestyle as I move into my 30s and want to marry and have children. My fiance worked in the same industry, so she knows what is involved, which makes it easier.

We are talking about starting a family, so there will be a change in industry for me. I will move to marine biology or water police or towage. Whatever it is it will be around the water. It has always been a big part of my life and will continue to be.

Lara’s studying history because of a desire to know where we came from, to help her understand the present. Credit: Mark Naglazas

Lara: “We felt we were doing something important. But what has changed?”

As a young person it’s difficult to know how to respond to the news because it feels so far from your reality. I’m only 19 and studying at university, so what can I possibly do about the horrors of Ukraine or Palestine or the rise of the far right? Sometimes reading or watching or listening to the news makes me feel helpless.

I love reading the news and I consume it every day. But every now and then things are so bleak I have to turn the news off. I can’t take any more. I just need a break from the world because it makes me feel so powerless. You want to do something positive but it is impossible.

When I was 13 or 14 I got involved in climate change protests. I joined the other students who skipped school and went to protest marches. It seemed like a really big deal at the time. It was really exciting, and we felt we were doing something important. But what has changed?

I’m studying history at university because I think it is important to know where we came from. When you listen to or watch the news it is more interesting if you know the context of what is happening. I am particularly interested in understanding how people in the past processed what was happening to them. I want the perspective of those experiencing the events, and not just those looking back.

As long as universities have existed they have been places where people passionately discuss the great issues of the day. And students should feel safe talking about their viewpoints. It is a shame that people feel the need to shut down oppositional voices because it is always important to listen to other points of view.

Both my father and grandfather loved history, especially Russian history. On Sunday lunches we used to sit around and discuss events such as the Russian Revolution and Russia’s involvement in World War II. I guess that is why I was named Lara [after Lara Antipova in Joseph Pasternak’s novel Dr Zhivago]. I haven’t seen the film, but I’ve read the book, which probably says something about me – being a bit of a nerd.

My family was a big part of my intellectual growth. It’s why I want to hear other people’s perspectives. I think it is dangerous to shut down an idea you don’t agree with. I don’t think we have to tolerate ideas that cause harm, but we at least need to hear them and understand them before we take a position on them. How can you do a university degree without seeking out views that challenge your own?

It is a generalisation to say that my generation doesn’t want to be confronted with information and ideas that challenge them and make them feel unsafe. You can’t put any generation under one umbrella.

I’m going to be doing economics as part of my degree. It’s not because it will help my job prospects; I was just really good at maths at school. I don’t really know where it will take me. Like a lot of people of my generation, I find it hard to see myself in the corporate world.

At this stage in my life I’m reluctant to make any decision about my career and my life because I know I’ll change my mind many times before I graduate.

I’m lucky to have a very supportive family. They think it is fine for me to spend this time learning and trying different things without committing to a career. My parents have changed their minds many times, so it’s not surprising they are happy for me to do the same. They will be happy so long as I do something I’m interested in.

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