Humans of UniSA

Everyone has a story. Humans of UniSA is a deep dive into the lives of our fellow students to unravel the threads of their personal history, quiet ambitions, and their hopes, worries and joys. Take a fleeting glance into the vivid lives we pass by each day in the hallways and classrooms of UniSA.

I’m very passionate about issues surrounding gender and sexuality, which I guess is what I covered before kind of. Yeah, I’m a queer woman, so I’m very passionate about all things to do with sexuality. And especially, I identify as bisexual so that is something I am very passionate about, having representation for bisexuals.

No, I have no clue what I’m going to do post-uni. I guess I’ll just apply for every single thing that is in comms and media and journalism that I can find and keep my fingers crossed because I know it’s going to be really hard to find anything, especially now since newspapers are closing down and everything. Hopefully, they’ll re-open when this is all over, but we don’t really know.

I, on the one hand, I’m really excited that I don’t need to study anymore. But on the other hand, education is all I’ve ever known. It’s going to be weird to not be in any education anymore, if you know what I mean? Like being a ‘proper’ adult and working 9-5 and all that, I don’t know how I’m going to cope because I’m a super lazy person. It’s daunting and also exciting.

It’s been good but also challenging. I’m not someone who is a natural-born leader. It’s something I need to work very hard to do because I’m very introverted. It wasn’t something I was planning on doing, it’s just Anna, like your editor, because she’s the former On The Record editor, and said ‘Hey! Do you wanna be the editor next year?’ And I was like ‘Ahh… okay, sure.’ It wasn’t really something I planned on doing but they needed someone stepping into the role, so I did.

My favourite part is working with everyone. I feel like everyone on the team is so great, and we all work together so well. My favourite part has been getting to know everyone in the uni community. I didn’t really talk to that many people beforehand in our uni, but now I’m talking to people every day about their stories and all that.

One thing that always springs to my mind as something that we don’t talk about enough sex. I know that sounds weird, but like I think it’s such a natural part of life and yet it is such a taboo topic and when we don’t talk about it, it leads to things like gender inequality and sexual assault and all that. If we just had casual conversations about it all the time, and it wasn’t such a not safe work topic, maybe we wouldn’t see such big issues like this.

People always ask me if I want to move for my job, and even though journalism and stuff is so important to me, I think I would never want to move away from all the people I have in my life here in Adelaide. Which maybe holds me back, but it is something I value the most. I think that if you have good relationships, you should never throw them away. Like out of all my memories ever? Uhh … I’m trying to think. Something that comes to mind is that my aunty Cheryl, well she’s my dad’s aunty so my great aunty, but we just call her aunty. She was like a grandmother kind of role in my life when I was younger. And she has this big lot of land in One Tree Hill, and she used to babysit us all the time. We would always spend weekends there, and we would go down to the paddock and play with her alpacas and feed them and, like, feed the ducks and everything and go yabbying in her dam. We would collect cow shit from her paddocks to fertilise her garden, and be chased by colonies of bees because we were climbing trees we shouldn’t have been and things. Those are my favourite memories, I think, spending those weekends there.

Ummm… who would I have lunch with? I would have lunch with Lizzo in… I don’t know where in particular, maybe just her place, because she really inspires me. I just think she’s so sick! Like, she has so much confidence and I just wish I had that much confidence. I’d just love to—hopefully just being in her presence would rub off some of her aura on to me, you know what I mean? Maybe she’d give me some of her wisdom.

I’d love to see if she had that much energy all day long. I think she would because I feel like she’d just never stop. I think she’d just be sassy 24/7. I love ‘Good as Hell’, which is probably a generic answer, but I just think it’s such a bop. And when—this is maybe really cheesy—but when I’m upset, my boyfriend will sing it to me to try and make me feel better. And it works every time!

I think I’m a big believer, like this is again really corny, but that everything happens for a reason. So I think if you’re in a rut at one point in your life, it’s going to lead you to something eventually. Like, you’re supposed to learn something in that moment. So, I think if you’re feeling lost, just hold on and see what you’re gaining out of that experience, there has to be something that you can take away, something that will push you forward eventually.

Ooh … that’s a really good question. I’m trying to think of a plant that relates to me, but I don’t know. Probably something that you will need to give your attention to or it will die easily. Like I’m one of those really annoying houseplants that you need to give attention to everyday. I’m very high maintenance and need attention all the time.

I can’t grow house plants, I kill them every time I try, so I just get fake ones now.

Nikita Skuse Bachelor of Journalism and Professional Writing

Will Ballard Bachelor of Design (Communication Design)

Alright, go ahead. Oh God. Well, I’ll play music in the background... can you hear that? No? I just realised I’ve got air pods in. Alright. Um... oh no! I’m okay; I’m okay actually. I’m actually doing way better than I was before COVID. I’m way more committed to uni, I’ve actually developed a routine that works now for COVID, and it actually works for study as well. It’s get up at seven, but as soon as my alarm bell hits I just get up, so instead of just dawdling around on my phone for twenty minutes I just get up, have a shower, get fully dressed as if I was going to uni or work, and then basically just go back onto my bed... fully clothed but it’s still the action of getting up. It works. Even if I’ve got nothing to do all day, even if I’ve got something on at 7 pm, I still get fully clothed, fully dressed and yeah... gee what else do I do? Oh yeah, I write down everything I need to do for that day the night before. For example, today is Wednesday: Zoom Emma, Zoom Grad Show, read for one hour, prepare for a mental health project meeting, do an invoice and research... and it’s got all these dot points and I just tick them off as I go. Yeah, and then dinner, sleep... so anyway the Sydney Swans are really good...

How I ended up in Communication Design? Well, my first choice was architecture, so I did two years of architecture straight out of high school. In year 12, I did really well in design, but I chose architecture for some reason, and that was the completely wrong choice, like I don’t even know why I chose architecture. So, after two years of hating architecture, I swapped into design and basically yeah...I don’t know. Architecture was definitely helpful, a lot of the course work is pretty similar in the way that it’s structured, so you’ve got your studios, you’ve got your theory subjects, you’ve got your technical subjects... so it was very easy to get into design. Yeah, I was already accustomed to uni, and I remember going into design and thinking “I’m not going to make any friends, I’m just going to do uni” and I did that for the first year… I was like “I can’t be bothered making friends, I’ve got friends and I don’t need anymore”, but then I met you guys, and I realised that you guys help me do better at uni. One thing I love about design subjects is the studio culture and working together, and doing all three years with a core group. I’m definitely on the right path now. I think I’ve found my calling. Yeah, I really am enjoying it.

Have I retained anything from architecture? I think architecture was more like a passion. I like walking through buildings and looking at them, but I don’t think I want to be an architectural designer as such. I definitely walk through the Kaurna Building and think “wow, this is amazing”, even the details of it all, I still look at... but yeah, yes, the answer is yes. I do mention the AS 1100 a lot when talking about the structure of a building, even though I don’t know anything about it. Yeah, the AS 1100, it’s like the architectural handbook, you know it’s got like all the rules of how a slab should be built and stuff like that. I mean I use it as a joke. The last moment I remember from architecture was when I was submitting an assignment, and presenting it to the tutor and he absolutely tore me apart, because I went for this really minimal look for a pavilion, and he looked at it and he said it was so underdeveloped, and that I hadn’t tried at all, and I was like “ah fuck, fuck you.” Well, I didn’t actually say that but...

My football career? Short. A couple of years ago I played for Sturt in the SANFL. It was a pretty large commitment, it was semi-professional with four days a week of training. I think I played two reserves games, oh actually one point five because in one of the games I was knocked out. Yeah, unconscious, well for a bit... so at the end of the season the head coach was like “yeah we don’t really see a future with you”, and after that I realised that I didn’t really like football as much, so now I just play socially for Adelaide Uni. Yeah, UniSA don’t have a team. No, you don’t have to go to Adelaide Uni to play for them, it’s just like a social club. I’ve heard it can lead to job opportunities so I thought I’d give them a crack... turns out all of them are accountants and lawyers or study business, but I’m still enjoying it there.

Other interests? Probably photography is the biggest one. I love taking photos. I don’t know if you’ve seen my Instagram but I’m still posting photos from my Europe trip... yeah the feed kind of looks like I’m still there, but I’m not there at all. Eventually photography, I really want to nail that. Get really good at that. A lot of that depends on what you’re doing, and you actually have to go out and do it and find people to shoot with, but I’m focussing on one thing at a time at the moment. Yeah I do like film photography, but also the money it costs to produce film and how long it takes... it’s definitely special when you do take photos with a film camera, because it’s like living in the moment and it takes you back to a time and it’s very analogue.

Excited to get back into life? Yes, yes I am, just to see my friends, like my friend Emma. But I hope that the routine I’ve got going on continues... but I’m definitely keen to get back to work, and get back to coffee dates with my friends. I think it’s a good time in winter to be inside. If it was summer then I’d hate it. I’m keen to get back to bar work... yes, yeah I am actually! Working at a bar is like being with your friends, if you’ve got a good core work group, then working with them is like going out and socialising, and obviously having drinks after work is really good too. I’ve really enjoyed the last six months working at West Oak and Lion Arts. Flex. Name drop.

My parting advice for people in these times? Just do it. Just get up. Just get up and do it. Just put down your phone and turn off Netflix, and just do it. Maybe cut down on coffee too. ☐

When you’re from the country, you either leave the place or you don’t leave the place. There’s no in between. Funny that. Look, Loxton is fine. It’s a good little town, but for what I wanted to do, and what my personal goals are, it didn’t really align. That’s probably the nicest way to say it. Obviously, I love all the friends I made there and all the people I met and my family and everything, but for what I wanted to do I just… it wasn’t, like, the place to be. Unless some miraculous thing happened, and Loxton urbanised and became some metropolis.

Ever since I was quite young, I wanted to be a journalist. Don’t ask me why, it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. Maybe blame it on Tintin? I don’t know. I was a little obsessed. He was like this cool journalist who wrote articles, but also solved crimes. It was either going to go one of two ways: become a detective or become a journalist. And I was like, ‘I don’t want to get shot at.’ But I mean, if I become what I want to become I might get shot at anyway. Wahoo. I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I’m kidding.

It’s just always been there. I’ve always been like, ‘I’m going to become a journalist.’ For as long as I can remember… I never went through a teacher phase or wanted to be an astronaut or anything. Which is weird for an eight-year-old to be like, ‘I’m going to become a frontline war journalist.’ Ask my parents.

Nowadays, I just want to see where it takes me. Hopefully, somewhere cool… Yeah, not Buzzfeed. Wait, don’t say that though! Just in case just they give me a job opportunity or something!

The more I’ve gotten into my degree the more I’ve gotten into film, which I’m taking as my sub-major. It’s an aspect of my degree I didn’t expect to enjoy so much. I decided to study film because, you know, I like watching movies and learning about how they’re made. But the more I’ve gotten into film, the more I’m seriously considering it as something that’s more than just a hobby or an interest. I guess a way to combine what I’ve always wanted to do with what I’m starting to get into with film would be through documentary making. That would be really cool.

Ah, my exchange. I had a “great” exchange experience. I was going to be studying at Cardiff university, which I still am just at home, online. Then COVID-19 happened. Just my luck really… During my last exchange, in high school, Ebola broke out.

I had two months in Cardiff. I had literally just made two months before I left. It was quite surreal. You go from going to Birmingham or Nottingham or Manchester on the weekend to just sitting in an empty flat by yourself… It happened so quickly. In two weeks, the majority of the university population had left, and it was eerie walking around a country that has millions and millions of people and not seeing anybody around. I almost got stuck there too… My flight got cancelled and the borders were closing very quickly. But I’d made lots of friends during that time, so I did have places to stay if I needed. I could imagine it being quite daunting for people who were there and didn’t have anywhere to go.

It’s sort of annoying to come home and be told you’re not allowed to go home. But at the same time, you have to do it. And quarantine wasn’t that tough really… Out of all the hotels in Adelaide, I had a pretty nice one… Two weeks of sitting around and catching up on tv shows and movies and being like, “I should probably do assignments,” and then just not doing them... Now I’m at home doing pretty much the same thing.

Isolation? It’s a lot of time to think about things, which is good and also bad… Life. What does it mean? What are we doing here? All that sort of stuff… When it gets really late, I’m like, ‘Ah well, time doesn’t really exist in isolation, who cares anyway.’ It’s like I’m in an airport. Time doesn’t really exist in airports; everyone’s on their own schedule.

I’ve been trying to do some, ugh this is so lame, I’ve been trying to do some creative stuff. Writing, mostly. It’s weird. I don’t really consider myself a creative person. Even though, I mean, I’m doing a double degree with English Lit. To me, there’s a difference between a person who is creative and a person who does creative things… And it’s never going to go away. Probably. Unless something happens and I hit my head too hard and I wake up and I think I’m like Picasso or something.

It’s silly. People are like, ‘just use the c-word,’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to use the c-word!’ Maybe on my death bed… I just, I don’t think I’m there yet. Still a work in progress… I guess that’s the whole point. I’m never ever going to feel complete. But I hope that one day I reach a point where I’m, maybe not complete, but content with who I’ve become. That’s the dream really. ☐

Interview and photography Nina Phillips