“Kristi” is a surfer, barista, and university student studying for arts and science degrees in philosophy and mathematical modeling. Living on the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula on the southeast coast of Australia, she’s deeply passionate about salt water and amazing coffee — even though she’s not allowed to drink it. Above all else, she loves traveling the world! Diagnosed with stage IV lupus nephritis at 20, she’s determined to not be defined by her autoimmune condition. Using writing as a medium for self-expression, she hopes to share her life and journey to both raise awareness and support others in similar situations. A big believer in the concept of dialectics, she loves sharing and hearing unorthodox, sometimes controversial, views. She’s quirky by choice, inquisitive by nature, and smiling always!
A meme floating around Facebook says something like: “I’m not a night owl or an early bird, I’m more like a permanently exhausted pigeon.” Each time I read it, I laugh out loud. Not necessarily because I find it funny, but more so that I relate to it…
I follow an artist called Hallie Bateman on Instagram. Apart from being an incredible illustrator and writer, she’s also an avid supporter of social justice issues and an advocate for people who have the impulse control disorder trichotillomania. Last week, I came across one of her Instagram…
I’ve tried writing this column about 10 times now. I’m struggling to keep my thoughts straight, my concentration on the task at hand, and my mind from wandering off in a daydream. There was a list of eight things I needed to do today, and I’ll be lucky…
When you’re chronically ill, an entire list of unwritten rules apply. Don’t be too vocal about your health struggles. Feel free to make waves, but just make sure they’re little ones, ’cause you wouldn’t want to make healthy people uncomfortable! Always accept advice from someone with a smile…
In 2004, in the dead of a Victorian winter, my dad taught me how to surf. Calling it cold would be a gross understatement — it was absolutely freezing and bitter. Though I had no way of knowing it at the time, in retrospect, that year was life-changing…
I’ve felt my fatigue ebb and flow since the day of my diagnosis. I go through patches of good, bad, and terrible. A little over a month ago, I hit a trough so deep it had me questioning whether I was making any headway toward remission at…
Having grown up in a very close-knit family with two sisters, having kids was something I never really thought about. I always knew I wanted them. For years, my mind held a vision of the future that included three small people: faces with exactly half my features, wearing…
The months following my lupus diagnosis were the hardest in my 22 years of life to date. It wasn’t just a matter of coming to terms with my illness, it also was having to completely revamp my perspective on life and accept that my reality had been…
Thursday of last week was a big day for me. Actually, scratch that. It was a huge day. A milestone. That Thursday, every moment of pain and struggle over the last two years finally amounted to something wonderful. In revealing the results of a recent kidney biopsy, my…
My boyfriend, Jordan, is my best friend and my rock. We’ve built our relationship’s foundation on a deep-seated love for food and the understanding that, in so very many ways, our realities with young adulthood are both uncommon and generally misunderstood. You see, Jordan doesn’t just sympathize with…
“Kristi” is a surfer, barista, and university student studying for arts and science degrees in philosophy and mathematical modeling. Living on the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula on the southeast coast of Australia, she’s deeply passionate about salt water and amazing coffee — even though she’s not allowed to drink it. Above all else, she loves traveling the world! Diagnosed with stage IV lupus nephritis at 20, she’s determined to not be defined by her autoimmune condition. Using writing as a medium for self-expression, she hopes to share her life and journey to both raise awareness and support others in similar situations. A big believer in the concept of dialectics, she loves sharing and hearing unorthodox, sometimes controversial, views. She’s quirky by choice, inquisitive by nature, and smiling always!