Authentically Canberran
It is without a doubt that more and more people are looking for authenticity. For those of us who grew up in the age of the internet and the birth of social media along with all the aesthetically pleasing filters to hide away the blemishes and imperfections, all of this became the norm. Somewhere along the way, I dare say just before pre-covid and was magnified by covid, is that people are looking for authenticity. Authentic friendships, authentic in the way they feel, authentic in the way they want to work, even businesses have noticed this and have begun to tone down the heavily produced content to something more relatable in the hopes that it will seem authentic. In Canberra, I think I do see this sentiment also playing out.
For me personally, I've expressed through imagery and also poking fun at ourselves as people who live here simply because though they are funny, are often true. Yes, almost everyone is in, related to or has friends in the APS and that's just a fact. Yes, the majority of us love to admit that we're willing to sacrifice our subscriptions and cut back on spending in tough times except for our daily $9 flat white, because that's a necessity. Yes, I do worry if I get a major injury in my city that I'll be put on an extremely long waitlist.
Despite all these things, when I look at the overall, there's so much opportunity here. If you take a look at some of our local hospitality spots such as cafés and food pop-ups, you can see a shift in mindset and very much a connection to the community style. There's nothing better than to rock up to a café, where they know your name and order because you're a regular and they actually have a chat with you. It's kind of like the old days where you'd catch up on life events with your local barber/hairdresser and chat about how things are going and I think that's great. Post-covid – you can see that sort of community connection with the revival of local suburb stores and eatery spots (For example, one that was close to us was Scullin which is very much a hot spot for food and coffee.)
In Canberra, I think it's safe to say that authenticity and being genuine but also providing a good quality product does help. That goes for a lot of different things here. If I dare say, it's somewhat part of that "country town" cultural connection we still maintain especially when we're somewhat known for being called a city with the country town feel (for now). Small enough where you run into the same people you went to school with every now and then at the shops, but big enough that driving to Gungahlin feels like you're half way to Sydney.
I love that. And with the content I share, I hope to showcase my own authenticity with the 30+ years of experiencing living in this wonderful place. I wonder if you feel like being genuine and authentic is important to you? Have you felt that if someone is like this it's way easier to support them? Can you spot a fake versus the authentic?
To add to that, sometimes it takes courage and overcoming a certain fear to be genuinely you, because often we're pretending to be someone we're not. But today I want to encourage you to be you. Life's too short to live out someone else's life. Be quirky, be nerdy, be geeky, be funny, be kind, be YOU!
That's what I was told by some mentors in my life, and that's what's brought me here today to write a blog and share with some of you! Anyway, that's enough rambling. Hope you have a good day!