ISSUE #11 - YOUTH

ISSUE #11

magazine

YOUTH

Local Riot is a collaborative magazine created by two girls who wanted to provide an outlet for the creative souls of the world to share their work, thoughts and opinions. It is a magazine for young people by young people and is a place to come together, a place to be free of ridicule, a place to make friends, a place to educate yourself, a place to express yourself, a place to be heard.

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• • •

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MANY THANKS TO: All those who contributed work.

Everyone who contributed in ‘Your Say’.

David Rodríguez for the cover photo.

Contents

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CONTENTS CLASSICS letter from the editors editors' favourites mixtape your say the reading corner

// 5 // 9 // 10 // 59 // 65

FEATURES creative corner: seigar songs from an incomplete youth escaping neverland 80’s babies message to all young souls under pressure a letter to my younger self finding your confidence youth train of thought

// 15 // 27 // 30 // 37 // 42 // 49 // 53 // 61 // 67 // 80

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Hey Riots!

In the past year we have reached various milestones (graduating, turning 18, starting university etc.) that have come to make us feel like our youth is fleeting. In this issue, we have tried to capture a small part of it.

This issue is our firsts, our generation, our favourite songs growing up, our parents youth, the issues amongst our youth, the perception of our youth, and ultimately an attempt to freeze parts of ourselves in time. An attempt at being forever young.

This issue is for you.

So, our youth is officially yours.

We hope you enjoy it.

Love always, Ailish and Maisie

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Get to Know the Team REGULARS

Social Media localriot.weebly.com Twitter: @localriotmag Instagram: @localriotmag Contact localriotblog@gmail.com

Editors Ailish Delaney Maisie Evason Graphic Design Ailish Delaney Writers Ailish Delaney Maisie Evason Julie Kettle Millie Murfit Lesly Altamirano Ioana Florescu Ava Whybrow Amanda Odina

MAISIE EVASON: Twitter: @thebrkfstciub Instagram: @thelittlemermais AILISH DELANEY: Twitter: @probablyailish Instagram: @ailish.delaney IOANA FLORESCU: Twitter: @preachitjessie Instagram: @isthatioana AMANDA ODINA: Instagram: @mandyswardrobe Blog: mandyswardrobe.wordpress.com MILLIE MURFIT: Instagram: @murfitphotos YouTube: filmsbymillie AVA WHYBROW: Twitter: @avawhybrowx Instagram: @avawhybrowx

Photographers Danica Spear David Rodríguez Millie Murfit Artists Delaney Schwarzer Alanah De Bari Madeleine Harris

Want to see your work here?

If you’re a creative soul and want to see your work, whether it be art, modelling, writing, poetry, photography, etc, just email it to us at localriotblog@gmail.com local riot magazine // 7

RIOTS

Get to Know the Team

MIA JUNE: 17 year old aspiring fashion journalist and photographer.

Instagram: @mia.vb VSCO: @miajune MADELEINE HARRIS: Avocado aficionado and suburban art maker.

Instagram: @madeleineharris28 Art Instagram: @creepycoolart JOSÉ LUIS SEIJAS GARCÍA: English philologist, a high school teacher, and a curious photographer. He considers himself a traveler and an urban street photographer. His aim as an artist is to tell tales with his camera, to capture moments but trying to give them a new frame and perspective. Travelling is his inspiration. However, he tries to show more than mere postcards from his visits, creating a continuous conceptual line story from his trips.

Flickr: theblueheartbeat Instagram: @jseigar DAVID RODRÍGUEZ A lover of photography from Spain. He’s been shooting the camera for a few years and really likes surreal and fashion photography.

Facebook: DavidOfficialaClub Instagram: @davidofficialclub Flickr: daviguez LESLY ALTAMIRANO Twitter: @yungvirg0 JULIE KETTLE Twitter: @juliefk_ Instagram: @juliefk_ ALANAH DE BARI Twitter: @idklanz Instagram: @idklanz

Want to see your work here?

If you’re a creative soul and want to see your work, whether it be art, modelling, writing, poetry, photography, etc, just email it to us at localriotblog@gmail.com

BIG LITTLE LIES Not going to lie, I only started watching this show because it seemed like everyone was talking about it. It was definitely the right decision. Big Little Lies is such an aesthetically pleasing yet interesting and entertaining show. Who knew I’d become so involves in the lives of suburban mothers? I highly recommend that you watch it. The show is beautiful and engaging.

THE BLACKLIST

I started watching The Blacklist years ago, despite enjoying it, I stopped watching it.

Recently I began watching it again, and have been re-hooked.The ongoing storylines, along with the new blacklister that is introduced each episode, have kept me awake for hours. I have never seen a character more brilliantly constructed, and brilliantly played, than James Spader’s character Raymond Reddington. If you like crime shows, I cannot recommend the Blacklist enough.

MANCHESTER This just shows how long it takes us to finish Local Riot and continue with daily life but oh well, it’s still a favourite. I went to England and Ireland in July and had an amazing time. While over there, I fell in love with Manchester. My visit with the city was brief but I will definitely be going back there again. There’s just something about that place.

LUCY PEACH Hailing from Perth, Lucy Peach is an indie/folk singer with unbelievably beautiful vocals; making her EP Silver Tongue definitely worth a listen. Keep an eye out for not only her next album, but for her talk titled My Greatest Period Ever!

BILLIE EILISH I have no idea how someone so young could experience the heart ache and emotions she would have had to to write ‘Don’t smile at me’ but man, what an album. I think I listened to it for at least two weeks straight after first hearing it. I’d pick favourites, but it would include too many songs.

DRIVING When I first got my license everyone told me that within months I would be sick of driving, but there is something about driving that I can't help but love.

I’m pretty convinced that there is no situation that driving down a coastal road with the music blaring cannot fix.

Best driving songs include Unwritten, Calling All Friends, and Can’t Stop the Feeling.

- Ailish

- Maisie

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Millie Murfit

There is a feeling of eternity in youth, which makes us amends for everything. To be young is to be as one of the Immortal Gods.

- William Hazlitt

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Music has a funny way of stopping time, rewinding the clock.

You know that feeling, when you’re listening to the radio and a song comes on that you haven’t heard in a long time. So you turn up the volume and suddenly you’re not in the car but you’re at your best friend’s 14th birthday party, or on a school trip.

We asked you not only for a song from your youth, but for a specific memory you associate with it, then we scattered those memories throughout this issue. Welcome to the Soundtrack Of Our Youth.

19:95

20:17

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

20:17

Bad - Michael Jackson (Pip, 17) When I was younger, my dad and I would stay up all night watching Michael Jackson music videos on VCR tapes. We could've easily just looked them up on Youtube, but there was something special about watching them together on VCR. Every Friday night, we'd pull out the Michael Jackson tapes and watch them, over and over again until we fell asleep. We'd set up camp in the movie room in our house, bring in our favourite snacks and watch, sing along and laugh together all night. Every time we got up to the music video for Michael's song "Bad" my dad would tell me that he had a friend who had a friend that was in the Music video - it was his claim to fame. Then he'd tell me about the time he and my mum saw Michael in concert. During Billie Jean, Michael threw his hat out to the audience and my dad was the lucky guy to catch the hat. Unfortunately, he was stampeded by 17 girls who all tackled him to the ground for it so he lost it, still the best night of his life though. These Friday nights we spent together watching Michael Jackson music videos on VCR are some of the best nights from my childhood and youth. Music is such a big part of my life now and means so much to me because of those nights spent bonding with my dad over music that he loved.

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This issue we chat to English photographer Seigar to ask him about his photo series titled Plastic People.

LOCAL RIOT: When and why did you first start taking photographs?

SEIGAR: I guess taking photographs was a consequence of travelling. It has always been my passion, go sightseeing and get to know new places. Every cloud has a silver lining. As soon as I started exploring, photography was there with me. Being a creative person since I was a kid, I had always found different ways to express myself, and the camera has become that main instrument to show people my inside world. It’s a sort of introspective exercise. I feel the reality I capture with my reflections and colours is connected to my personality and ideas.

LR: What is your preferred camera?

S: When I started shooting I remember I had a Fujifilm camera. It was a pretty basic one but it could get great colours. It was part of my training and I just loved it. It travelled a long time with me. Then, a student recommended me to get a Canon G11, and I was surprised by its production and all its creative possibilities. I remember it “died” in the middle of an inter-rail trip through Germany. Immediately, I got the next, the Canon G12, I was just used to its settings, so I wanted to keep on shooting with a similar body.

You don’t want to get new trainers while travelling, so it’s just the same with the camera. I didn’t want a change. My first reflex was a Nikon, and now I work with a full frame one, Nikon again. I also use a light body semi reflex cam, one of the Fujifilm XSeries; I always refer to it as “my toy”. I have been recommended by many experts to buy a mirrorless one, but so far, I’m satisfied with the full frame I’m using right now.

Although my relation with my cameras is passionate, and it’s true that I always get a special connection with them, I must say I don’t think having a good camera makes you a better photographer. There are more important aspects like your background, your experiences and your own soul.

LR: What inspired the series Plastic people?

S: It wasn’t planned to be identified by this set. It was part of my output as a street photographer. Being an urban explorer, the shop windows were there calling my local riot magazine // 15

attention. I’m a pop lover. I love colourful things, and the displays in the shops have always been attractive for me. I found them a scape from reality or even something more appealing than reality itself.

LR: Did you face any problems when putting together this series?

S: Time is an issue. I’m a traveler photographer; these photos are not planned before taken. Most of them are spontaneous images, so from a technical point of view, it makes it a hard task to get the right capture. People and shop assistants look at me curiously when I shoot. However, I have never found a problem doing this. Most people seem to understand what I’m doing when I talk to them explaining.

Putting this series together has been in general terms a very natural process. I think I can’t focus on the problems. It all seems to flow. Philosophy, ideas, concepts and words came to my mind without effort making the images to grow. Imagination helps me to find plots and stories behind the photographs. Grouping them has also been a sort of an easy exercise; I have divided them into two, the individual people and the grouped ones. I interpret the portrait and it makes me direct it into one or another direction.

LR: More pertaining to our theme than your work, do you think that mannequins give our youth unrealistic body expectations?

S: From my experience, I would say that the display of children is a more truthful image. I find children are normally represented with a more realistic body perspective.

They are frequently immersed in a sort of ideal childhood; full of fantasy, and sometimes unreal worlds, but with “real” bodies. When we move to teenagersadulthood is true that it changes, the body representations seem to fit into what we could call “stereotypes”.

However, I must also say that these differences between real bodies and the bodies displayed in shop windows can be bigger depending on countries, cities and places.

Every culture represents itself in a different way. That is why; my plastic people have these sociological issues involved. They permit us to understand human nature. We can also see some cultures are more conservative or liberal having a look at the shop window displays.

Anyway, I think most of my works do not reflect beauty in an idealistic or unreal way. I always look to portrait them as "real" people, because it’s also the philosophy behind the project. As a photographer, I make decisions of how I display beauty, and for me it is quite important, I consider myself a beauty seeker and lover. Showing beauty is the option I chose. I think because I’m a very empathic person. How would I like myself being portrayed on a photo? So I always try to capture people with that compromise, feeling empathy. However, my concept of beauty is not associated to a restricted or limited form, because I understand beauty is plural, diverse and subjective. local riot magazine // 16

However, I must also say that these differences between real bodies and the bodies displayed in shop windows can be bigger depending on countries, cities and places. Every culture represents itself in a different way. That is why; my plastic people have these sociological issues involved. They permit us to understand human nature. We can also see some cultures are more conservative or liberal having a look at the shop window displays.

Anyway, I think most of my works do not reflect beauty in an idealistic or unreal way. I always look to portrait them as "real" people, because it’s also the philosophy behind the project. As a photographer, I make decisions of how I display beauty, and for me it is quite important, I consider myself a beauty seeker and lover. Showing beauty is the option I chose. I think because I’m a very empathic person. How would I like myself being portrayed on a photo? So I always try to capture people with that compromise, feeling empathy. However, my concept of beauty is not associated to a restricted or limited form, because I understand beauty is plural, diverse and subjective.

THE NEXT FEW PAGES CONTAIN JUST A HANDFUL OF IMAGES FROM THE SERIES ALONG WITH THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT.

CHECK OUT THE FULL SERIES HERE: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theblueheartbeat/albums/ 72157681849572723

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Good Will Hunting (Milo, 18) A movie I watched a lot/changed me/my perspective when I was young; the first is monsters inc because I remember watching it back to back when i was three during the 25 hour plane ride from Sydney to Paris to visit my family. But the one that changed me was good will hunting because it's what made me realise i wanted to do something along the lines of therapy and counselling and helping people emotionally and to this day it's still my favourite movie and i still cry every time i watch it.

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Delaney Schwarzer

Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

- Franz Kafka

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Songs From an Incomplete Youth Ava Whybrow

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Fifteen - Taylor Swift When all you wanted was to be wanted / Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now.

I believe Taylor Swift is a genius. Truly. I have never related to music the way my teenage self related to her. Whilst now her character is shrouded in petty arguments and worrying accusations of secretly supporting Trump, I have the luxury of focussing on her first two albums. There are some songs that I listen to and even now, I can’t stop myself from crying. As a girl, I think I was truly validated by her music and made to feel that these horrible angsty feelings were ok and normal. Her music told me that it I wasn’t the only one feeling invisible or that was desperately believing they were in love someone when they were only fifteen.

This song was my anthem for a good three years. I love how explicitly it talks about the vulnerabilities of being a teenage girl. It’s so beautiful and inspiring and makes me want to do something with my life. Taylor Swift, having gone from a small town heartbroken girl to internationally recognised musician is the kind of motivation I needed being a fifteen year old stressed about boys not liking me about and my every present concern I wasn’t ever going to fit in.

SEE ALSO: Never Grow Up, Invisible, Tied Together With A Smile.

In My Life - The Beatles Though I know I'll never lose affection / For people and things that went before / I know I'll often stop and think about them.

I have been a Beatles fan since I was born. Some of my earliest memories are sitting at the top of my stairs whilst my dad plays guitar and I desperately try to sing along to Back in the USSR. I firmly believe they are the best band of all time and will happily ever fight anyone who disagrees.

In My Life is a beautiful song. I could listen to the opening riff for hours on end and not get bored. I am perhaps still too young to fully appreciate this song, yet I feel so nostalgic and emotional when listening. To me, I love the idea that I will get to an age where I will have this huge wonderful life to look back on and I’ll be sitting next to someone I love and I’ll just be happy. This is what that song is about to me.

SEE ALSO: All of Rubber Soul (optional: also of the white album, Beatles For Sale and Abbey Road.) (Honestly, just The Beatles are great and I wish everyone truly appreciated them.)

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Forever Young - Bob Dylan May you grow up to be righteous / May you grow up to be true / May you always know the truth / And see the lights surrounding you.

My dad loves Bob Dylan. He always makes jokes that when he was a teenager, whilst his friends were out at the weekend, he’d be sitting in his room listening to Dylan. For me, it has only been within say the last year or so that I have joined my dad in appreciation. Dylan’s lyrics speak of tales from towns I’ve never heard of and love I can’t understand, so it is no surprise I am lost every time I hear his music. However, instead of being lost in disillusionment, I am lost in the beauty and sheer volume of emotion he manages to pack into one song. This song particularly was written about his son and parenthood. I love playing Dylan when I’m cooking in the kitchen with my dad and when this song comes on he’ll hug me or squeeze my shoulder and it’s one of my favourite feelings in the world. It’s so beautiful and I actually was listening to it on the way to school a couple of months ago and was so involved I somehow ended up crying on the bus.

SEE ALSO: Jokerman, Hurricane, Blowin’ in the Wind, Girl From the North Country, Tangled Up in Blue, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Lay Lady Lay, I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, Mr Tambourine Man (Ok, once again, please listen to all of Bob Dylan and appreciate him please.)

Teenagers - My Chemical Romance So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose.

My emo phase hit me aged fifteen. I dyed my hair black and got my nose pierced. I wore big black boots and ripped skinny jeans. I could not have been more of a cliche. My Chemical Romance was my go-to band. I listened to this song on repeat, feeling misunderstood and angry. I loved the idea that I belonged to a group of people who too felt disconnected from society. Whilst looking back, this phase is funny and very unnecessarily dramatic (getting my hair back to my natural colour has been a very long and expensive process) this song to me is still extremely iconic.

I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles She was just seventeen / you know what I mean.

Ah!, are you surprised? More Beatles! I recently turned 17 and I had been waiting a long time for it purely so I would be able to sing a particular line. This song is so upbeat and happy and is everything I love about The Beatles. To me, it represents the Swinging Sixties and the wonderful magical time where in London everyone was either a model, photographer or a musician. I like pretending the 1960s were perfect and at one point I was definitely one of those irritating kids who put “born in the wrong era” in my twitter bio. To me, the song itself is about just having a good time and being young and free.

Escaping Neverland.

Amanda Odina

I feel like I have always been more mature and wiser than I needed to be. I wanted to grow up, but not for the same reasons others did. I never wanted to escape my youth so I could drink or go out partying, I was always excited to start that part of my life where I work until I die. Less depressing than it sounds, I promise!

I’ve always been passionate about what I wanted to do careerwise, and as I’ve aged dreaming about my goals has excited me. Not many people legitimately know exactly what they want to do when they’re a child. Most kids go through the stages of dream ‘jobs’, usually starting with royalty, then moving onto characters in movies or a vet because they love their pets, or something completely outlandish like an astronaut because children aren’t usually distracted by pessimism or the idea of impossible. My heart has always belonged in a specific area and I never drifted from my early passion, except coming to the realisation of necessity for genuine talent and working with my dream accordingly.

I have dreamt for as long as I can remember about walking — nay, strutting — down my polished work area in modest yet authoritative designer heels towards my ‘Pinterest goals’ office; my job would require to be responsible for a large portion of work and make me important in my area; people would value my opinion and paparazzi would want my picture; I’d be doing exactly what I wanted. Of course not everything would be perfect (I am nothing if not a realist) but I’d be living by mantra that has followed me for as long as I can remember: ‘do what you love’.

To me, youth is immaturity and no responsibilities, being free and captive all at the same time. Youth is wandering and exploring, within boundaries set by usually over-protective or concerned guardians. Youth for me is emulated in my brother: he was cheeky and didn’t care for the serious side of life, he was meant to be youthful by the very definition of the word, he was Peter Pan. Eventually, you are supposed to grow up. Not everyone loses their youth, but you can’t always take it with you if you’re not ready to part with it.

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I never felt like I was good at being young and especially since graduating high school and leaving the strict daily schedule, I just want to jump to age 25 and live the rest of my life. That being said, I’m not immune to acting my age, which is more of a cycle and an inevitable of growing up rather than a choice.

You have to make mistakes so you can learn from them, because most lessons are better taught with experience.

Maybe I grew up too fast, or maybe I didn’t grow up at all; like a Benjamin Button type, except mentally rather than physically. My mum often compliments me on being wise beyond my years. I’ve always liked having some responsibility and being involved at least a little. While others might have been focusing solely on their school studies or saving for a car, it was more important to me to work hard within my school and take on leadership or volunteer roles.

Honestly, it was definitely one of the proudest moments of my life to achieve an award at my high school recognising me as a hard working student in so many facets of the school environment. It may have seemed mundane or unimportant to some, however it really did mean the world to me. That just shows how different my priorities might have compared to other students.

Youth is funny for me now. I’m only 18, which is a debate of youth in itself as I am legally allowed to vote and I am legally considered an adult, however I am only eight-TEEN. More to the point, my age says teen, but for a month now I have been living by myself, taking care of myself, paying for myself and whatnot by jumping straight into the deep end of life and moving half way across the world by my lonesome.

I suppose it could be attributed with youthful behaviour, but I prefer to see it as an incredible step towards legitimate maturity — the kind that makes everyone else see you as wise beyond your years (not just mum). I have been yearning to be independent for as long as I can remember, I don’t think I ever quite understood exactly what that would mean. I’m thinking now I just liked the idea of not having to constantly be under the same roof as my annoying little sister, but I knew I would enjoy taking care of myself.

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There are so many things I do and have done every day that are pulling me away from my youth, one day at a time.

Sometimes it’s small things, like going out to buy milk or calling to cancel my phone plan. Other times it’s packing up my entire life, planning my own travel plan and moving myself to a country where the native tongue is not my own. There’s a good range there of actions we sometimes don’t realise or properly acknowledge that draw a little piece of the youth from us. We never have to lose it completely, we never do.

There are some aspects of youth that can become part of our character and other aspects that we only release for special occasions.

For you, youth, I have a few questions. Is my youth dictated by my age? Is my youth dictated by my appearance? Is my youth dictated by my experience? Perhaps a more pressing question: is my youth over now?

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After a long day of facing the world, there is one place you should look forward to returning to. One place where you feel safe and like you can be your “true” self. Your bedroom.

Your identity is expressed through the different elements of your bedroom. Your safe space. Your thoughts and personality as physical items assembled in a way of your liking. Your bedroom is a snippet into your life, your mind and ideas. It may not be exactly how you like it, but it’s part of who you are and allows us to see inside your mind and your identity.

Identity is more than your appearance, personality and interests. It is your habit of throwing your jacket over your chair once you take it off, the pair of socks you wear because you think that they bring you good luck, the collection of key rings you have that seems to be ever growing, even though you haven’t been to half of the places they’re from, the perfume scent you wear daily, the way you can't start your day right unless you know you’ve made your bed. Every part of your life and yourself contributes to your ever-evolving identity.

We turned to you to be vulnerable and let us into your safe spaces to show us a deeper level of your identity.

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80’S BABIES Mia June

My generation knows the 80’s as the era of vibrant music, big hair and even bigger and more vibrant clothing. My mum knows it as her youth. From ages 16 to 26 my mum lived and breathed the 80’s and her style was heavily influenced by the trends of her time. From oversized denim on denim, to bold patterned and coloured ensembles, and hair with either an entire bottle of hair-spray or a perm, my mom was subject to it all.

It’s common for one to immediately think of 80’s hairstyles when the era is mentioned. Probably because it was so big it leaves little room to show anything else. Perms, mullets, rat tails, man pony-tails and more, almost every hair-trend that has been black-listed since then seems to have had its start in this era. When I asked to see my mum’s Year 12 photo she laughed sheepishly, as just before said photo was taken, she had got a hair perm for a modelling gig and I am not exaggerating when I say it took up most of the photo. My mum is not alone in her embarrassment, but despite the current regrets of many who followed this trend, back then it was huge. Pun intended. Many tribute the popularity of it to celebrities like Cher, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton.

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Some of the pieces of clothing you could find in the wardrobe of any trend following 80’s teen were denim and track suits. Denim, always seeming to make itself at home in every decade, is undoubtedly a staple of this era.

Denim on denim is an easy way to piece together a trendy and chic outfit without hassle. Putting jeans and jean jackets together first gained popularity and became commonly worn within the era of the 80’s. With the popularity of the brand FILA also growing, the track suits they sold became an obsession. It was the super slick way to remain comfy, but still in style. Unlike the denim trend, FILA faded out of style, but has recently made its comeback into mainstream trends and can be found in stores like Urban Outfitters.

To get more insight on what the average teen would be interested in, I asked my mum a few questions about her icons, favourite trend and the trend she hopes never resurfaces. When it came to style, my mum never minded following the trends of her time and she was no different with her icons.

Similar to others in her time, she idolised Cher, Farrah Fawcett and Diana Ross; all classic queens of the 80s whose impact has influenced my generation. It was also Farrah Fawcett who inspired her hair for most of her high school and college years. When it came to trends, my mum muses over the many bold choices she made in the past which lead everyone to calling her “Fashion Cashion.” She concludes that the mini skirts were her favourite trend and prays that the bold tone of orange that was popular in the everyday outfits of 80’s youth never resurfaces.

Along with the artists who influenced the 80’s iconic style and the multitude of musical hits this era produced; its bold and effortlessly styled looks will never be forgotten and will continue to influence the current fashion culture.

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Mum sporting denim on denim.

25th august 2017 message to all young souls

life is anything but a constant life is an endless fluctuation, it has ups and downs,

life is weird, isn’t it?

we travel through its stages at the speed of light when was the last time we stopped to take it all in?

when did becoming an adult start having more importance than living in the moment, existing in the now?

this is the time to love ourselves this is time that we will never get back

don’t grow up, don’t swim against the tide let it carry you away, live.

(I.F)

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If youth but knew; if old age could.

- Henri Estienne

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Coraline (Pip, 17) When I was 9 I read the book and then as soon as as the film came out I dragged my grandparents to see it with me at the cinemas. Though they probably thought Coraline was on crack, along with a lot of other people, both the novel and the film meant a lot to me, and they still do. Though the whole world that Coraline escapes to, it took me someplace else as a kid. I can’t describe why I love it so much and why I’ve been hooked on it for 8 years but it’s still hands down my most favourite film.

Though I was young when I first saw it, over time I came to realise that Coraline did change my perspective on things in terms of my relationship with my Parents. This might sound fake deep or whatever but when I was 12/13 I had the worst relationship with my parents, it was absolutely horrible. We didn’t speak, when we did we always fought and it was just a big mess. Coraline made me realise, as cheesy as it sounds, that you really never know when the people you love are going to leave you. Yeah Coraline got her parents back in the end but to be honest that really scared me, and I was scared that one day I would never see my parents again. So in a way the film kind of straightened me out a little bit. Now I have an amazing relationship with my parents and can honestly say that some of it is because of this little novel I read and stop motion film I watched when i was 9 years old.

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Ailish Delaney When enough pressure is applied to carbon, a diamond is formed. This is not the case when it comes to people.

With the emergence of social media and most people posting the highlights of their life online, comes new expectations of each other and of ourselves. There is a new pressure that we add to the weight on our shoulders, a new pressure to look perfect.

What people often forget is that what we present on social media is not every aspect of our lives. Someone who makes a living through collaborations with brands on Instagram is not going to broadcast the pitfalls and negative moments of their life. Why would they post about the mental breakdown they had last night, or how they currently are unhappy with their skin, when they can post a photo of them posing at the beach from the weekend. You only view a glimpse of people’s lives online.

Their social media image does not reflect them entirely as a person. People who make a living as social media personalities know how to make their images and online profile appealing, it’s how they get brand deals and gain followers after all.

Instagram “models” know their angles and what lighting and poses work best for them. They can make their lifestyle look great, while you might think yours is quite the opposite.

Social media has grown to become an essential part of our culture. We wake up and often the first thing we do is go on our phones. We check Snapchat stories and reply to messages, scroll through Twitter and flick through our Facebook feeds.

Photos of people are plastered everywhere, especially people presenting themselves well. It can be challenging, but it’s necessary to recognise that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others, especially based on their online profile. Each individual faces challenges. Each person deals with insecurities and believes they have flaws. But sometimes we forget this. The impact social media has on our lives, this reliance we have on it, has created a culture where we demean ourselves and our appearances because we don’t live up to the standards society has created. We constantly compare ourselves to others and pick at our insecurities until we feel low.

There is a pressure placed on us by ourselves and by society as a whole to live up to these beauty standards that are represented across social media. They are constantly in our face and it can be hard to ignore.

Body image is an issue that is important to our generation.

There is a body positivity movement, which promotes selfacceptance and loving yourself. The pressure that is placed on appearance by society and the way we view ourselves does not have to negatively affect you. We live in a culture that places pressure on you to look and act a certain way, but it is also a time where people try to focus on lifting each other up and accept differences. Different is good. You do not have to look the same way as the Instagram model you like. You can enjoy someone’s posts without criticising yourself. You can appreciate the content someone puts online without selfdeprecation and telling yourself you need to change to become like them. You are perfectly fine how you are. Everyone is struggling with the same problem of learning to accept and love themselves. You should focus on yourself and on lifting others up, rather than tearing yourself down from comparisons.

After all, comparison will kill you.

Regardless of your size, shape, race, gender, you are already a diamond. The pressure that society tries to put on you, and the pressure that you place upon yourself, to do with your appearance is not important. Try to discard it and be okay will scrolling through social media sites and admiring the lives and appearances of others. It’s okay to admire and to be jealous, but don’t put yourself down in the process. You don’t need to be under this pressure - you are fine the way you are.

Check out: ’The All Women Project’ - An inclusive and diverse organisation focusing on lifting women up through promoting self-love and un-touched images and videos.

‘Style Like U’ - A YouTube channel that posts a diverse range of stripped down and personal videos about style and it’s relation to self-acceptance.

‘The Body Positive’ - An organisation that launches workshops all about reimagining and reclaiming what it means to be beautiful and how each person can realise and accept their own beauty.

Honestly, just scroll through the BodyPositive tag on Twitter.

It’s uplifting and warming to see the support people give each other on different journeys to self-acceptance and love. local riot magazine // 50

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Shooting Stars - Bag Raiders (Aly, 18) My song and memory is Shootings by Bag Raiders. It’s connected to my trip to the Northern Territory in Year 9 where we played that song every day.

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Danica Spear

A LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF Maisie Evason

To my younger self, I cannot help you now, this I know. I have come to terms with it after many sleepless nights and coffee-filled mornings. But sometimes I like to think that I could go back. Rewind the clock and tell you all the things I know you needed to hear. I want to go back and tell you what I know now, what I have learned. But this is impossible. I will say it anyway because maybe someone, somewhere needs to hear it too.

1. This world is cruel. You will not understand this cruelness until you experience it yourself. No number of books or movies can prepare you for the moments that take your breath away, and make you wish it never came back. It will hurt. It will hurt a lot. It will be heaving sobs that can be romanticised in the poems you scribble in your old diary but cannot unheard. It will be sleepless nights that leave your head pounding and your eyes stinging. It will be days when you cannot bring yourself to get out of bed, somedays opening your eyes will be the greatest thing you achieve. And after all of that, you will be okay. It will end.

Remember that this world is cruel but you do not need to be.

2. One day your dad will tell you to "keep moving to the beat of your drum, show kindness and respect always and you'll be fine."

He is right. Listen to him occasionally.

3. The sun will rise and the sun will set. You can be sure of this. You can not be sure about anything else. Don't waste time trying to map out your life, it will not work; and when it doesn't you will be disappointed in yourself. You do not need to be. Life is unpredictable and someday you will learn that that is what makes it beautiful. local riot magazine // 53

4. At the end of the day, all you have is you. Do not damage yourself. Do not rely on other people to have your back, have your own back. Do not believe that you are not good enough. You are good enough, you have always been good enough, you will always be good enough.

5. Never smooth out your rough edges to try and fit into someone else's jigsaw puzzle. You still will not fit. If you have to change yourself, their jigsaw was not made for you.

6. Do not expect anything from this world, because it doesn't owe you anything. It never will.

7. Friends. You need them. Good friends. Not the ones you have to worry about impressing, or the ones who are "cool." You need the kind of friends who laugh a lot, and friends who don't make you feel like you need to be anything you're not. You need the kind of friends who will believe in you more than you believe in yourself.

You will find them. And when you do, for the love of God, hold onto them and never let them go.

8. Look for the good in this world. You will find it. You'll find it in the people who make you feel like you have a whole universe inside you, in the way other people's words sit so comfortably in your mouth, in the first sip of coffee in the morning and in the restaurants that your dad finds in a dodgy looking alley somewhere in Thailand. Look hard, look far, look always.

9. You are a human before you are a girl. Don't be afraid to say the word vagina, there is nothing scary about it. You are not worth anything less because you have one. You are not strong for a girl, you are strong and you are a girl. And when you are older, people will scoff at "women like you" for being strong-minded but they are just afraid that you've finally figured out how to play their game. They are afraid you'll play it better, and you will.

Don't ever forget this.

10. Be passionate. Find something you love and love it with every goddamn fibre of your being. Whether it is literature or bird watching. Love it with all that you have. From the outside, it will look like madness. Other people will tell you it's not worth it. But if you love it, it's worth everything. Love something so much that you'll let it destroy you. Love something that makes you breathe faster and speak louder and work harder. Pour your heart and soul into whatever makes you feel alive.

Love always, Maisie Xx local riot magazine // 54

ARTIST: MADELEINE HARRIS

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Scar - Missy Higgins (Milo, 18) It reminds me of going down south of Sydney to this tiny town called Currarong (probably had a good bakery) in which the only exciting thing to do was play bingo at the local bingo hall.

We would rent a place and stay for a weekend and go to the beach and play bingo and i remember playing my tamagotchi while the parents of my family friends played scar and danced around their room with towels on their heads because they just came out of the shower.

I also think I remember them plugging it into those old iPhone 4 docs and playing it while we played uno and gin rummy.

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ARTIST: MADELEINE HARRIS

YOUR SAY ARTIST: ALANAH DE BARI

“You are not the problem. Selfish, immature boys are!” - Julie, 18 “Don’t trust boys.” - Brittany, 18

“Not feeling understood is such a blessing and a curse but you will find who you are and people that love you.” - Tia, 19 “It’s okay to love who you love. You don’t need to force yourself into relationships with boys to comply with social expectations of women.” Teeana, 18 “Don’t worry, you’ll grow into your forehead.” - Orla, 17 “Don’t kid yourself, you’re gay.” Cian, 18 “It’ll all work out in the end.

Everything. I promise.” - Lauren, 22

“You shouldn’t remain friends with people who don’t appreciate and deserve you. Their opinions and judgements don’t mean anything, so don’t let them impact you. Also, stop wearing skirts and shorts over leggings.”

- Dani, 19 “I would tell my younger self to just be myself and not try to mould myles in what I think others will approve of.” Laura, 23 “There’s always a new question you don’t know the answer to because sometimes there isn’t one. Do what you know is right. Or ask Mum.” - Ella, 18 “Your melanin is the sun’s gift and it’s beautiful on you.” - Roseanne, 16

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“Keep family close. Men ain’t shit. Study in school to avoid entry courses.” - Erika, 18 “Worrying and overthinking about things is always worse than the situation itself.”

- Melissa, 18 “It turns out a little worse than you think it will be, and that is okay.” - Jacob, 18 “Don’t let them shame you into dressing the way they want you to. Your individual style is better than anything they want you to look like.” - Gillian, 22

“You're sensitive, you're emotional, you're soft, and that's okay. It is not you're job to change yourself in order to become society's idea of a worthwhile human being. Because you and every single beautiful soul walking this Earth, do not need the ignorant validation of others. You are wise, you are strong, you are intelligent, you are passionate, and you are important. You're alive, therefore you matter.” - Amanda, 18

“You’re going to survive.” - Anonymous “Boys ain’t shit.” - Cassie, 19 “You’re allowed to be not good at things and you’re allowed to be a boring geek nerd if that’s what fulfils you.” Montaigne “Don’t listen to what people say, you need to eat. They can be cruel but you can be strong.” - T, 21 “That it sucks right now but these experiences are gonna make you into someone awesome so stay strong. But also don’t kiss those boys because they’ll give you glandular fever.” - Aly, 19 local riot magazine // 60

ion it d E th u Yo : ce n e d fi n o C r u Yo g Findin Lesly Altamirano

Youth. Doesn't seem complex, right? But ultimately our youth is the most important phase of our lives. Our youth plays a big part in finding ourselves, finding who we are; what we like, what interests us, figuring out why we do the things we do.

Everything in our youth is a factor to who we become. Finding yourself or getting to the person you want to be isn't always easy, so here are some tips, a guide to help you get there. How to remain confident in your skin. How to be confident.

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ART

RRIS A H E N I DELE IST: MA

To Do: Read Gatsby for Lit Buy Mum’s bday gift Chapter 1, ex 4+5 (maths) Work: Monday (4-7) and Sunday (11-5)

 Never get mad at life for happening.

First and foremost, never blame yourself for life's bitter tendency to be a bitch. You can only control so much, getting upset at yourself will only make things worse. Your skin won't always be clear, your friends will get mad you, your parents will fight and you won't always be happy; but you must understand, and be okay with that. The storm will pass.

Find yourself.

It's easier said than done. Go out there and find who you really are: road to spend time alone, experiment with hobbies, try new things. The Ask finding yourself is a long one, but it’s worth it. Get to know yourself.

s? yourself a million questions: Who do I want be? What are my goal you are Where do I want go in life? How can I do that? etc... Be okay with do and be comfortable with the idea of change. As time changes, so you. Be the best you, you can be.

Love yourself.

in the It's hard to speak of love, a concept that's become almost foreign t bitch that's society. Constantly living in doubt and fear. Life is abou I know it's growing, so why not enjoy yourself at every part of your journey. ugh all hard to think about the future without wanting to fast forward thro now and the bullshit but it doesn't work like that, not if we don't engulf the the now, learn from it. The now will help you in the future! Be thankful for er

for the bullshit, and for the bad times they will help you have a bett "good".

Who cares what people say?

It's hard to ignore all the cruel thi ngs people say about us, whether or not we're good enough for peop le. Whether we fit in or not. Fuck what people think! You are beautiful wi th or without your acne, wear yo ur pimples likes it's your favourite ac cessory. Show off your midriff, dy e your hair a million different colours if it makes you feel beautiful. Wear as much make up as you want. Rega rdless of what you do people will ALWAYS have something to say.

Your only task in life is to please yourself and fulfil YOUR desires. Do you lik e only YOU can! This is about YO U!

You are unique, you are beautiful, you are magical. Every curve, every stretch mark, every zit, they all make you, you! Put yourself in front of the mirror and admire yourself take in every inch of your body that makes you so uniquely you. Love you.

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Ribs - Lorde (Brianna, 18) Just out of school, the same group of about 50+ of us use to party almost every weekend, this song reminds me of the end of those nights, laying on the grass or a bed with 8 plus people, some you don't know, but yet we all lay there sharing that similar but temporary feeling of... Youth. And though my friendship group has lessoned to about 6 girls now and most of those people I don't talk to anymore, I still cherish that feeling.

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I spent most of my youth with my head either in the clouds or in a book. I think for the most part, it was the best thing I could have done for myself.

Reading was a comfort to me over the years, and I learnt a lot from books. I thought, following the issue’s theme, I would compose a list of 20 books you should read before you turn 20. Some I chose for the message they get across and others for the literary value, some I chose because they just have that one line that sends shivers down your spine. Consider it a reading bucket list: 1.

Tuesdays With Morrie / Mitch Albom 2.

Looking For Alibrandi / Melina Marchetta 3.

To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee 4.

The Bell Jar / Sylvia Plath 5.

Never Let Me Go / Kazuo Ishiguro 6.

On The Road / Jack Kerouac 7.

The Great Gatsby / Scott F. Fitzgerald 8.

Just Kids / Patti Smith 9.

The Handmaid’s Tale / Margaret Atwood 10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest / Ken Kesey 11.

Eat, Pray, Love / Elizabeth Gilbert 12.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close / Jonathan Saffron Foer 13.

The Picture of Dorian Grey / Oscar Wilde 14.

The Diary Of a Young Girl / Anne Frank 15. The God of Small Things / Arundhati Roy 16.

The Alchemist / Paulo Coelho 17.

The Catcher in the Rye / J.D. Salinger 18.

The Reader / Bernard Schlink 19.

The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini 20. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings / Maya Angelou

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Youth

Millie Murfit

“I took these shots of my friends while shooting for a video entitled ‘YOUTH.’ In the video, and in these photos, I wanted to encapsulate being young in a small town; the clothes, the places and the people. I wanted to bring the overall ‘vibe’ of my formative years to the screen.”

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Youth

By Millie Murfit

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THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Channel Orange - Frank Ocean (Cian, 18) My family have never been very into music, so I don’t have any early memories or specific songs or artists. The earliest memory of music that really stands out to me is Frank Ocean’s 2012 album Channel Orange. During the summer of 2012/13 I listened to the album all the time, and I also happened to fall in love for the first time, any time I hear songs from the album it reminds me of the summer and being in love. I’ve told friends who don’t like the album that you have to be in love to appreciate the music, and I recently found out that the name Channel Orange came from the fact that Ocean has synesthesia and orange was the colour he felt when he fell in love for the first time, so that tied in nicely with my own experience.

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Almost everything that is great has been done by youth.

- Benjamin Disraeli

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David RodrĂ­guez

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David RodrĂ­guez

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No wise man ever wished to be younger.

- Jonathan Swift

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THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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God Put A Smile On Your Face – Coldplay (Lexi, 18) \

My dad and mum separated when I was quite young and he moved an hour away so whenever he would pick me up to take me to visit for the weekend we would have to drive for hours. We would play this song and turn it up as loud as we could and scream the lyrics. Reminds me of being young, not caring about anything but this song, the weekend ahead and my love for my dad as a little girl.

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Millie Murfit

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Jeans Not Happening - The Pale Fountains (Maisie, 19) Thanks to my dad, I grew up surrounded by good music; many of the songs I listened to growing up are still on my phone or get stuck in my head. The song Jeans Not Happening by The Pale Fountains not only followed me through my youth, but is actually the first song I ever remember hearing. I must’ve been about 4 or 5, my dad was painting the garage and I walked in to say hi. It was the song he was listening to at the time, and he picked me up and we danced to it together. It is my earliest and fondest memory of both music and my dad. Even now when it comes on, I sometimes feel as though I’m 4 again and dancing with him.

After all these years of singing it we recently realised the lyrics are actually “She’s like the pouring rain.” But to my dad and I, Jean will always be lying in the pouring rain.

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Danica Spear

TRAIN OF THOUGHT JULIE KETTLE It is astounding how life flashes before your eyes and you don’t even realise it. A few weeks ago, I was sitting on a train from London on my way to Paris. It was the first time I had ever left the country on a holiday by myself. In that moment, I thought about my life up to that point. I was eighteen, almost nineteen, which meant that in a year’s time I would be – surely not – twenty years old.

Twenty years old. Two. Whole. Decades. As if my tenth birthday would be the midpoint in my life by then. A trail of thought that began with a holiday to Europe with my boyfriend very quickly turned into an existential crisis over the fact so much time had passed, and I had done so little with my life. But the more I thought about it, the clearer it became that eighteen, nineteen, twenty years was no time at all. I’d have so much more ahead of me, and I had no idea what was to come.

For so long, I had thought of my youth as the worst period of my life. For years, I dreamed of turning eighteen, graduating, moving out of home and figuring out my life. For so goddamn long I sat in my bedroom in tears, telling myself that my teenage years would soon be over and I would finally be happy. I yearned for the day I wouldn’t have to care about what other people thought, what other people saw, when they looked at me.

We spend so much time worrying about the world around us – how many likes we get on an Instagram picture, how many people turn

their heads to eye us up and down when we think we are wearing out best outfit yet, how quickly people text us back... It is so easy to forget that our teenage years are a time for flourishing, to learn important lessons, to have our hearts broken and to cry our lungs out and scream into our pillows in hopes that no one will hear. It is a time to look back on our mistakes, become better people through them and mould ourselves into the grown-ups our world needs the most.

As teenagers, we are conditioned to know the things we can’t do: we are too young to drink, we are too young to vote, we are too young to fall in love, we are too young to live. The more you listen to it, the more you feed into it. The more you believe your youth is nothing more than a preparation for your life that is to come. The more you believe you are nothing more than a conglomerate of people, sitting in the awkward stage between being children to be cared for and adults to care for others.

All in all, I realised I had spent most of my youth worrying. Worrying about my appearance, about my popularity, about my relationships. I spent so much time worrying and listening to the impositions and constrictions society put upon me that I simply let go of life itself. I pretended to be someone I was not to please others, I pretended not to love people with all my heart because adults told me I couldn’t. I spent so much time fitting the box society had made for me, I let most of my youth pass me by.

You have decades ahead of you to worry. You have decades ahead of you to think, to solve, to plan. You only have one youth to live. And if there is one time to live your life to the fullest and not look back, now’s the time. Don’t think of the things you can’t do, remind yourself of the things that you can. Be spontaneous, make mistakes, be yourself. Be youthful. Be alive. local riot magazine // 81

Millie Murfit

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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Never Be - 5 Seconds of Summer (Amanda, 18) Every other song on 5 Seconds of Summer’s self-titled album is another jam about being young and seizing life in your youth. I chose this song specifically because it links me to some of the greatest friends I made in my youth. I’m taken back to a moment when I was able to disconnect from the world and live completely in the moment with my three best friends at the time. We sang the lyrics at the top of our lungs and happily lost ourselves in a meaning we created. I remember, we stood in a circle and held hands and commanded that this song was now ours. Today, 13,797km away from my old home and I’m instantly transported.

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THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR YOUTH 19:95

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The Long Way Around - Dixie Chicks (Ella, 18)

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This is a really special song for me from their album, purely because it was the first track on the album. I listened to “Long Way Around” a disgusting amount of times on numerous road trips throughout my life. The road trip between Seymour and Albury in New South Wales, in particular, being etched into my memory. I loved to pretend I was in music videos or tragic movie scenes by looking out the window very melancholically. It was only some 10 years later that I discovered it wasn’t so uncommon. I distinctly remember looking over to my Aunty in the front passenger seat and the endless bush out her window. I also remember listening to that album one, then two and possibly three times over that trip. By the end, I was able to sing every lyric to every song. Going to see the trio, who reminded me to say “Fuck you” to the world every now and then, live this year was able to rekindle my love and lyric memory.

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