COLUMN | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by The Hot Lesbian she/they | @hot_lesbian_initiative I’ve always had a complicated relationship with religion. When I was younger, I saw no issue with my somewhat religious upbringing. But as I grew older, the shadows became harder to ignore. As a lesbian, I carried an internal battle with internalised homophobia, something that is hard to unlearn in spaces that quietly (or loudly) tell you that you are wrong. I think t

FEATURE | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written By Maira she/her | Contributing Writer I am so lucky The universe has my back Everything always works out for me If you’ve ever ventured into the world of ‘manifesting’, then you’ll probably recognise these phrases as daily affirmations at the heart of Lucky Girl Syndrome. Being a ‘lucky girl’ is more than just wishing something will happen — it’s about intentionally maintaining a positive mindset in your everyday life.

BREAD & CIRCUSES | COLUMN | SPORTS | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Luke Fisher (he/him) | @lukefish7__  | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST “I believe sport is actually a chance for us to have other human beings push us to excel.” Though I can’t say I’ve ever recited a line from a poem as part of a football drill, this quote resonated with me. It felt like a suitable one to start this piece with, not least because I look like every student from the Dead Poet’s Society put togeth

POETRY | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Elise Sadlier she/her | @elise_sadlier | Contributing Writer the lord is my shepherd  I shall not want  he leads the lamb to the table  you taught me how to pray  the very act of wanting  how to fold my limbs in like a paper crane backhanded me when I used the Lord’s name in vain still  I would build a shrine to you if I could  I think you’d rather I be split  sticky figs  broken bread  you say that good and evil hav

FEATURE | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Niwa van Leeuwen (he/him) | Contributing Writer We, the dreamers, 'neath the tide Breathing where no breath abides Nothing holds         currents fold and blend Motion neither starts nor ends Shadows winding between each braid Drowning the past, in motion made The river bends, the shadows dance  Drowning in silence, waking in trance  What continues cannot return The rivers remember not what burned In an instant, memory relieved

FEATURE | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Stu Paul (any pronouns) | Contributing Writer I considered myself a Buddhist long before I ever realised that I was transgender. I grew up within the confines of mainstream Christianity in a family that was not particularly religious, but with a worldview that I would describe as culturally Catholic. This was a world where men were men, women were women, and queerness was an abnormality to be quietly tolerated but never celebrat

FEATURE | ISSUE ONE | TUAKIRI / IDENTITY Written by Vinti Shiron she/her |  @ vintishrnprod   | Contributing Writer What makes  your identity? The way you dress, the food you eat, the hobbies and interests that accumulate as you age. When we are young, we start collecting each element of our identity.  From ma, I inherit my need to create and my strong intuition. From pops, my wit and logical thinking. Everyone I have ever met, and everything that I have consumed, has left a

FEATURE | HANGA / CRAFT Written by Rose Scott (she/her) | @aut_ventures   | AUT Ventures For students, identity is rarely set in stone. School is a space of development – where who you’ve been begins to loosen, and who you’re becoming starts to take shape through not only learning, but community. For some, that journey unfolds naturally. For others, it becomes something lived and learned. Poi+ was born from this in-between. Founded by Joe Patuki (Tainui, Ngāpuhi), Poi+ is a m

FEATURE | WRITING | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Anonymous | Contributing Writer ‘What if you hate me?’ she asks playfully, pacing while on the phone with a stranger. ‘And what if you hate me?’ he asks in return, matching her energy. So in the spur of the moment, she says yes, thinking, what’s the worst that could happen? He picks her up from the train station, getting out and opening the car door for her. The ride is tentative - small talk filling the spaces where silence

FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Corey Fuimaono (he/him) | Contributing Writer Illustrated by Vik Sazhina (she/her) | Contributing Illustrator It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in creating our own press. It’s time for more independent media, run by people like you and me. Events over the last few weeks have convinced me that platforms are falling victim to constant pressures so easily: be it internal finances, government crackdowns, or by forces that hol

FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Sara McKoy (she/her) | @saramckoy | Contributing Writer Illustrated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Feature Editor From 30 September to 2 October, climate experts from across the globe congregated in Austria for the first ever Overshoot Conference . With the world heading almost certainly towards exceeding 1.5°C of warming, the event aims to create space for discussions on how we can go about navigating the consequences of

COMIC | FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Comic by Maebh LEIGH McCurdy (she/her) | @leighapparently | Social Media Coordinator

ART | FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written & illustrated by Scarlett Robinson-Kean | @scarlett_k_illustrates | Contributor

FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Elise Sadlier (she/her) | @elise_sadlier | Contributing Writer Rejection. I’ve never been good at it. I spent the summer on the couch, popsicle dripping down my wrist, refreshing Seek and offering up prayers. I had high hopes for the year. I saw each month stretched out before me, clean and full of potential. I fantasized about a working holiday in Bali, a cute gallery job, money flowing into my account. I was finally free from unive

FEATURE | HANGA / CRAFT Written by Joshua Black | Contributing Writer Illustration by Scarlett Kean | Contributing Illustrator As a...