#IllRideWithYou

Yesterday saw one of the darkest days in Australian history in recent years. It saw the siege of the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place Sydney. A place central to the large city of Sydney and close to Government Authorities and broadcasters. It was also very close to famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/siege-at-sydneys-lindt-cafe-martin-place-long-identified-as-a-terrorist-target/story-fncynjr2-1227156454320

It was something that captured the attention of all Australians. This siege, done in the name of ISIS, finally came to an end just after 2 this morning, more than 16 hours after the siege began. This end came at the cost of three lives. One was the gunman himself who was holding the hostages. The other two were poor innocent people who had just gone out for a quick bite at the cafe. They were the 38 year-old barrister and mother of three Katrina Dawson and the 34 year-old manager of the cafe, Tori Johnson. Our thoughts go out to their friends and families at this troubled time.

[from top] Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson 

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/martin-place-siege-victims-were-katrina-dawson-38-and-tori-johnson-34/story-fncynjr2-1227157794423

However, if there was one thing good to come out of this it was the sense of community that came out of it all. Despite the fact that the act was done in the name of ISIS many Australians stood up for the Muslims they knew had no support for the group who were destroying their reputation. In the face of adversity and immense suffering our country pulled together despite the ISIS plan to separate the Muslims from the rest of Australia. This was embodied through the hashtag "I'll ride with you".

Source: http://descrier.co.uk/news/world/illridewithyou-australians-show-solidarity-sydneys-muslims-siege/

It continues to trend on Twitter with thousands of people showing their support for their fellow Muslim Australians. It is a promise to show solidarity when you are with a Muslim, or anyone, and they could fear racial backlash from connotations regarding their faith. The following picture shows the Facebook post that started it all by Rachael Jacobs.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/martin-place-siege-illridewithyou-hashtag-goes-viral-20141216-127rm1.html

Since this many posts have come to show their supports and most Australians would have found at least one mention of the hashtag on Facebook or Twitter. This response to the attack by a person on Facebook which has since been shared by many people and pages sums up Australia's response to this incident perfectly.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/DanAndMaz

Nothing more needs to be said. See you soon.

50 Posts

If you didn't know this is the 50th Post on this blog and so today I just wanted to look back on some of my old posts as well as share some statistics along the way. This blog started on the 24th March 2013 (Sunday) and the first post was an introduction. I never expected my Blog to get this many views already and as I went to get the link for the first post I became the 1500th view. This is pretty cool because I expected I would get pretty low views around the teens if I was lucky and that it would take me 6 months before I could even think about making 1500 views. It only actually took until the 3rd of May when I hit 1000 views. This was just over a month since I started and I couldn't believe it. So today's post is for all my readers and thank you so much for coming back.

When I first started this blog I was lucky to get 10 views a day but now I get an average of 45 (talk about a rise). The highest amount of views I ever got in one day was 74 and that was also the day that I got over the 1000 views mark. The good thing about my views is that I never get below 40 a day anymore which is quite an achievement and which also means that I must get some people who read my blog regularly (not necessarily daily) and to those people I say thank you. If it wasn't for this I don't know how long I could have stayed motivated to write daily posts. I did miss a few days at the start of April because I was away but now I have mastered the scheduling tool which means that if I am busy or unable to write a post on a certain day I can write one in advance and schedule it for release on that day. I have done this numerous times recently and it really does help me keep this Daily Blog Daily.

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to keep writing my daily posts sometimes when my workload gets very high (which it does). Some of my friends have even asked me this question. The truth is I don't actually know how I manage it. I made a commitment when I made this blog that I would write regularly in it and I've tried to stick to this commitment as much as I can. By now it has become just a part of my daily routine. Get home from school, do homework, have dinner, finish homework, write blog post, relax, get ready for bed, go to sleep. It just seems normal to me now that I don't really think about it as a chore, I just sort of thing about as something I have to do every night and find time for it. I don't even know how I come up with some of these topics I discuss. It generally comes from something that happened during the day. For instance, yesterday I discussed books because in the morning we had an author (Michael Pryor) come in to talk to us at Assembly. Sometimes I don't even think about what I'm going to write until I start and then it takes a few goes to find a topic I can actually make a post about. Sometimes I write a few introductions before I find the topic I am going to discuss. So I don't know how I keep up this blog, but I do and that is partly due to the motivation my viewers provide (in the form of views).

That's all for today and I really want to thank you all for viewing my blog and reading my posts. It really does mean a lot to me, especially when someone comments. I really enjoy that interaction with the readers.

For the 50th time: May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Addictions

Addictions can vary from person to person. Throughout our lives we will all encounter some form of it, whether it be through ourselves or those around us. Addictions are often associated with drugs and alcohol but can also include gaming, school, work or socialising. All have their own issues which can be devastating to the person themselves and those around them. Addictions are serious and come in many shapes and forms.

The most common thing people think of when it comes to addiction is drugs and alcohol. These are the addictions that we learn about in school, they can affect our health and those around us. Some of these addictions can also get us mixed up with dangerous people and can get us into dangerous situations. Sometimes with addictions such as these it is essential that they receive help and some people actively seek this out while others don't. It is sometimes the responsibility of those around the person that should help them seek help. However, some people don't accept the help and won't even acknowledge they have a problem. People just need to be a bit more patient with these people but if they begin to affect the people who are helping then they need to get away before their lives become as much a mess as the person's who they are helping. So drugs and alcohol are commonly associated with addiction and can affect both the affected and those around them.

Addictions do not have to be related to drugs and alcohol. People can be addicted to movies (except for The Hunger Games, that's understandable. Right? Right?!), television shows (I'm looking at you Joshua [even though you don't read this and probably never will]), games (looking at you Mum) and sports (Matthew, need I say more?). These can have just as big an impact as drugs and alcohol as it can take over their lives and override their inhibitions. They may soon lose interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and could soon waste away. Their relationships would suffer as the addiction would come first every time and those around them would feel powerless to do something. These people need help just as much as the alcoholics and the drug addicts. They won't accept they have a problem and it is up to those around them to persuade them (or even trick them) into seeking professional help for their problems. Some addictions are not as severe as others and some won't affect a person's life. There is, however, a fine line between a healthy addiction (if there are any) and an unhealthy addiction and sometimes it is the people around us that can tell which sort of addiction it is as they sometimes feel the effects more than those who are addicted do.

Addictions come in many shapes and forms and the severity depends on the person themselves. Addictions should not be taken lightly and are very serious.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Friends and Family

So we all know how important friends and family are but I don't think we actually realise how important they are in many factors of our lives. They help us in many ways, and we need both friends and family because there are some things you would only confide in friends rather than family and vice versa. They create a stable support network that we need to be our best.

Our friends are important to us as they give us a respite from the monotonous life of home. They provide us with a connection to the outside world and an understanding of how others act and react. They are our life line to a world outside our own where people live different lives. They are also fun to muck around with and just enjoy life with. There are things you do with friends which you would not even think of doing with family. I mean, who talks about daily life with family? Who talks to their family about the latest gossip around school or even school work itself? There are also things you talk to friends about, like troubles you are having, that may not seem appropriate to discuss with family, such as feelings and crushes and other usual stuff going through a post-pubescent teenager. Even older people have friends to turn to with stories of relationships and friendships that are inappropriate to divulge to parents who may not see the funny side. Therefore friends are very important in the wellbeing of individuals.

Our friends are important to our wellbeing but so is family. Family is there for you when you need them and will support you in your endeavours and have been there for you since birth. They mould you into the adult you will become and, as I have said in a previous post, irresponsible parents lead to irresponsible children and the opposite can also be said. Responsible parents heighten the chance of them producing a responsible child as they have been brought up learning from example. They have also been taught about consequences and the results of their actions. They are also important to us as they are the ones who put up with all of our annoying habits and at the end of the day still love us. Plus they listen to our problems and help us resolve them. They are always there when we need them and though we don't like admitting it, we love them. Plus, our older siblings make mistakes before us so we know not to make them. SCORE for the younger siblings!

So in the end it is clear that Family and Friends is very important to us. Also, I want to apologise because I know it is technically the 12th of April (even though blogger will say it is still the 11th) but I started writing this on the 11th so there will be another post tonight for the 12th April.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!