Despite being a Melbourne girl at heart, I was born just outside of Sydney, to an Aussie mother and a Kiwi father. I am in my final year of studying a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in Journalism with Deakin University. It is probably obvious from my degree choice; but I dream of becoming a journalist. I would love to write for a newspaper like the New York Times or Washington Post, I suppose that my main goal is to work somewhere where I can apply myself to subjects for as long as it takes, and stretch my ideas to their full potential.
I pride myself on being highly ambitious, driven, down to earth, and caring— truly a Taurus to the core, which is what has led me to take on many hobbies in the past, like drawing, story-writing, and finally, language learning. I have been self-teaching myself German (on and off to some degree) since I was sixteen years old, which led to me being able to study in Hamburg for an entire semester in 2018. I credit that semester overseas to helping me become an evolved version of myself. This experience taught me how to be independent and resourceful, it was an amazing time and as well as fostered many beautiful friendships with people all around the world. My experience of living in Germany was unique, and really deepened my love for exploring and different cultures. Since the moment I landed back home in Australia, I have been thinking about where I could go next.
Almost everything I do is linked by a strong desire to learn. To me, learning could allow one to be anything he / she wants to be, as well as having the means to connect with anyone about anything. Therefore, I take on subjects with keen intrigue and curiosity. My favourite topics to write about revolve around culture, society and technology, as those areas interest me the most, especially when I take on the topic from an angle that’s been unexplored by most.
Call me biased, but my favourite museum would have to be the Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum for Arts and Crafts). I’m still sure that I haven’t seen all of it, there’s hallway after hallway of artefacts from ancient worlds, as well as pieces of modern commentary. I went in there out of curiosity, but came out feeling inspired.
While women have a massive voice in the modern world, there’s still so many contradictions, issues and expectations they face that have been set up within society and culture that try to place them into the box. There are still so many roadblocks that need to be met, and ‘firsts’ the need to happen. However, we see more and more examples of women stepping out of those boxes every day, and they are paving the way for others to do the same. In the realm of girlhood and the place of feminism in the world, there are still so many ideas that need to be explored, as well as ideas that need to be challenged. In order to overcome those things, I believe that women should stand together, but not be afraid to stand out.
-Emily Rawle
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.