Em's Story

I am a regular Twitter user and over the past few years have made contact and friends with a number of Tweeps (Twitter users).  One of them is Emma Mastronardi.  I can guarantee you that if you are watching a television show that has Twitter feeds, then you will more than likely see Em's twitter posted across the bottom of your screen. Think QandA, My Kitchen Rules etc.

I have found Em to be a wonderful person.  She is passionate, funny and has that inquisitive streak that you expect of a journalist.  I couldn't resist sending her some questions so that we can all learn more about her.

So without further a do, here's my interview with Emma Mastronardi - the Queen of the television show tweet!

Can you please tell me a bit about you?

I always find talking about myself one of the hardest things to do. I don't find myself generally that interesting of person and therefore spend most of my time hearing other people's stories.

But, a quick biography; I'm 23 years old but I feel as though I'm 30. 

I grew up in a town west of the Blue Mountains called Orange, where my Dad's family owned orchards and coincidently where my mothers family are from. I have an older sister who is now married and an older brother who is newly engaged. I completed most of my schooling in Dubbo, NSW and then went onto Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, where studied a degree of Communication Journalism majoring in politics. 

 I have travelled many places, seen and experienced a lot, and for those memories I am a better person.

Being of Italian background, what Mediterranean traits have you inherited?

I am probably the only Italian woman you will come across that cannot cook to save her life. I tend to burn water and fail to understand the concept of cooking eggs. I did seem to inherit the Roman nose and the love of food / red wine. I don't speak much Italian, just the basic greetings and polite P's and Q's. In true form I know all the feisty argumentative words though. Oh, and the knack of haggling.

What’s the best thing about living in the country, rather than a big city?

I have only really ever known the country lifestyle and I think it's something a lot of people take for granted. There's a certain ambiance in a country town, a general appreciation for one another, that I don't seem to feel in the city. The laid back nature, come as she goes, is something I've always felt accustom to. 

There's a lot a country community can teach and give you, both about and to yourself and the world. It's humbling for me to visit smaller communities, like Dunedoo, where everybody knows one another and has a family unity to it.

And of course the country men aren't anything to sneeze at.

You are a journalist. What made you take up that line of work?

From the day I could read and write I knew I had a voice that needed to be heard. I would spend countless hours in my room pretending to be a radio host, television presenter or a hard hitting journalist interviewing the Prime Minister.

My Dad is the most social and friendly person I know. He always stops and has a conversation with anyone he meets. He's the kind of guy that you send to the shops to get milk and he comes home two hours later, no milk but a great story to tell. I learnt a lot from Dad's ways and his appreciation of everyone. He taught me that everyone as a story, just got all get told.

It's from that I always believed I could be an activist for people. Someone to stand up and shout for those being left behind. In many ways I'm lucky to have the chance to do what I've dreamed and love.

To me there is nothing more satisfying then going home at night and knowing you made a difference. I am proud to be myself because of the work I have done.

You have had a number of hospital visits over the past year or so. What injuries have you incurred?

I would have to be the most accident prone person you will ever meet in your life. There's good reason my friends always joke that I should have been born in bubble wrap. I tend to rush through things because otherwise I feel like there's so much I will miss out on if I don't, which is probably not a good trait to have.

The first serious injury I ever sustained was breaking my foot while falling off the stairs getting out of an aeroplane. I never really sought the appropriate medical treatment and as a result have a really week bone structure, which has resulted in 16 foot fractures.

In the past twelve months though, I had a fracture knee socket after being hit by a car while crossing the road. After I got full mobility back from that, I was doing a nightly walk with a friend when I fell on some uneven payment (with no signage from the local council) and broke my ankle. About three months later, I broke my wrist falling out of the shower, as a result of using too much conditioner and some falling on the newly polished tiles.

I think that list is long enough, even though that's just the tip of the iceberg.

You have appeared on many Australian shows, via Twitter. Approximately how many times have your tweets appeared on television?

I never tweet for the idea of becoming twitter famous. I guess the reason I do it is because I always have something to say, and sometimes it just needs to be shared. I would have to say my tweets have appeared easily over a hundred times on different programs.

What shows have your tweets appeared on?

Most of my tweets appear on the ABC's QandA program. Although they have recently started popping up on The Voice, The Block, My Kitchen Rules, Celebrity Apprentice... the list just goes on.

Why is social media so important nowadays?

Social media has closed the gap between societies and what some know as the "a listers". It is an incredible utensil when used correctly. More than ever before people feel, and are, more connected with their representative politicians, celebrities, friends and families. I couldn't imagine the future without advancing social media.

The problems lie though in it's direct competition to our media. We live in a day and age where citizen journalists can be just about everyone. No more is their accountability or accuracy in the deliverance of news. In some ways, social media compromises the truth factor of our modern world.

You have very pragmatic political views. Do you wish to be a politician one day, and why?

I always say, at one stage every politician was once a child who dared to dream they would make a difference. I don't understand why more people aren't throwing up their hands and running for politics. We have arm chair commentators who would rather sit and criticise the policies and practices of our major parties, but won't stand up and take action.

I have a party that I firmly follow and have even become a member of. However, in the same sense I am very much my own informed and knowledgeable individual.

I would love to be a politician, and the main reason being that politics can only work when you have equal representation of society. I honestly believe we can learn so much if we just took the time to listen.

If you were Prime Minister for 24 hours, what policies would you implement?

It's easy for me to say now that I would implement this and that, but those perceptions are based on an ideal world so it's almost impossible to answer. I will tell you I would fight for education and health services. I would work to abolishing party politics and work in unison with the various ministers (no matter who they are endorsed by) for a better Australia. We need to not only work for the here and now, but leave a legacy that our future generations will be proud of.

What does feminism mean to you?

I always find it incredibly hard to define feminism and I think my views on it might come across a bit controversial. I would like to stress that these are entirely my views.

The ideal of feminism, to me, should be about fighting for the equality and status of women within it nation. We should embrace our talents, our differences and our passions. We should work hard for families and careers. And most importantly we should accept one another. The idea of the sisterhood has been lost and with it I'm afraid the notion of progression has too.

In saying that though, I think a lot of people misuse the word feminism, or in common terms "play the feminism card" to manipulate situations. We will never have equality as long as we always believe we live in someone else's shadow.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I'm a very spontaneous person and I always love to take on challenges so I have never set a life plan or goal sheet for myself. In ten years, I will be where life takes me. As long as I'm happy and healthy, I will have lived a good life.

Finally, some quick questions:

What is your favourite food? 

I would have to say my parents authentic Italian cooking. My mum makes the best lasagna (even though she's not of the Mediterranean descent) and my Dad cooks the best pasta. Other than that I am a sucker for a mean serve pub grub crumbed lamb cutlets.

Beer or wine? 

This question is just cruel. You should never have to choose.

Which person inspires you the most? 

Inspiration for me doesn't come from just one person, it comes from the way people overcome obstacles and defies the odds. If anything inspires me the most, it's the world we live in.

What hobbies do you have? 

My main hobby is writing. It's the one passion I have always had and think I will always have. I write a lot of poetry surprisingly.

Watching the footy or clothes shopping? 

It honestly depends on my mood for the day. There's been many times I've gone clothes shopping in the day, come home and cracked open a beer to the footy!

Interview - Sabiha Mahmoud

To start off my new blog I wanted to interview someone who does not follow the norm, has interesting ideals and is most likely a bit crazy!  Hence there was only one choice for the initial interview.  It had to be Sabiha Mahmoud!  Sabiha is a wife, mother, business owner, activist and runs a charity.  She doesn't believe in resting on her laurels that's for sure.  Having got to know Sabiha quite well over the last few months I can assure she is an amazing person.  So please read on and enjoy the interview:

Tell me about your background?

I am British born and bred, Pakistani origin from my mother but neither of which I particularly associated with whilst growing up as cultural background was more of a hindrance. Nationalities have become so divisive that it governs us to the extent of harbouring resentment, hate, arrogance and too much pride amongst each other. This is what I experienced whilst growing up, the background card was always played. 'Think of your own Sabiha', 'do not marry outside of this background', 'continuing the background line is vital we depend on you' and guess what I did exactly the opposite. This rebellion meant I could be free from poverty of thought and see all human's as one being. 

You are a wife, mother, business woman and run a charity amongst many other things.  How do you manage this?

The two most important factors to me achieving this is organisation and family support. I schedule, make lists, have an entire wall of ideas that is littered with sticky notes and make sure I try my utmost hardest to achieve every single goal on there. My moleskin diary is a God send, I carry it with me from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep -downloading any brain waves I have onto paper which is how many of my ideas for events, fundraisers, designs have formed. My charity work involves bringing children wounded from war's waged in our name across the globe to the UK (this seems to be my way of helping relieve suffering that our governments have caused). The children after having brought here on a medical visa are given the best treatment we can possibly fund, from plastic surgery reconstructing the face to limb replacement all funded by monies collected via generous public and regular donators. I try my utmost best to involve my son, of 2 years old, in all walks of my life so that he can see the realities of life and also I get to spend more time with him. Though it is not easy at times and this is where my family have been a pillar of support for me, I cannot thank them enough for the countless hours my mother has looked after my son. Oh and I do not own a TV, neither would I ever buy one it removes all temptation of wallowing on the couch and removes one from their responsibilities, not very effective if you want to manage a lifestyle like mine whilst keeping things in perspective. Having said that I only just manage about 4 hours of sleep per day due to the heavy workload. My mind is always repeating 'there is so much to do but such little time in which to do so'.

Given your busy lifestyle, what do you do to relax?

I have to be brutally honest, a relaxing day is an oxymoron. I do not have any such time to do so, my life as I have described is full of activity. But I am glad I signed up for it. Holiday's even are often devoid of functionality so I often tend to find some political conference to attend or be in the presence of like-minded people to speak to rather than waste my time frivolously. Can you imagine that with such a hustle, bustle life of mine I would be such a poor relaxer and would probably be overcome with guilt too. If and on some occasions I find that I have some free time, I cannot help but embrace the opportunity to plan ahead.

Describe a typical day in the life of Sabiha?

There is nothing typical about my day, every day is different and I relish this variety. One day I will working from home, designing graphics or a website for a customer in the day and in the evening filming political documentaries for my YouTube channel. Another day may comprise of protest, actions, events against a certain boycott movement - the activist within is always looking for what some call 'rebellion' but to which I refer to it is as 'civil disobedience'. I remain peaceful unless I am shoved, pushed, prodded, handcuffed, held against my will for something I haven't done or violated as a woman - then authority really pushes my patience; which is then followed by photographing a wedding in the late hours of the evening. I think my life is as crazy as can be.

Your faith is extremely important to you.  How does it help you in your everyday life?

My beautiful faith shrouds me like a hijab covers the beauty of a woman. It is through my faith I have learnt how to deal with difficulties and trials throughout my life (there have been so many). It's centralises me, brings me optimism, shows me the path to action and brings me into a moment of sanity when all else is overshadowed with bleakness. Nothing of my faith was explained to me and I also knew growing up trying to grasp knowledge of my importance in the scheme of things was that I had to understand also what each part of my faith meant to me before practicing it. Everything I do must make logical sense to me before I embrace it and it has been a completely self-taught experience. I see this faith as a gift, every morning I thank the Power above for giving me another day, another opportunity to Thank him for giving me the blessings he has bestowed on me and the abilities He has given me which I utilise daily.  I have to have faith that what I do today will be for the betterment of tomorrow.

What is your view of multiculturalism generally? 

Multiculturalism is beautiful, vivid, colourful (excuse the pun) and the very best ailment for society. How often do we get to hear or see about people's lives across the other side of this crazy planet? When multiculturalism exists at your front doorstep, like it does in my city, I love to learn about other cultures and feel it enriches my life rather than devalues is it as some racist minorities might have you know.

How do you use Social networking sites?

I use social networking sites to be politically involved, keep up to date with other projects happening across the UK and elsewhere. My aim is to reach the right audience effectively and I have an insatiable need to be connected to the happenings across the globe from real news, which is what twitter has become from me. Who needs the mainstream media when you have an eye witness account of someone you know in that particular place tweeting about what is happening. For me personally social networks is beyond just making connections and relationships with other's across the globe, it is far more than that ; it is the way the two individuals planning their ideas together, can campaign and organise to make something a reality. Many have succumbed to utilising tracebook...I mean Facebook and twitter for personal drivel which only feeds into the Big Brother like mentality. Someone said 'Humans are sociable creatures', well I for one refuse to be someone who is conned into thinking that these networking sites make it seemingly social to utilise most of my living hours over. I would rather be enjoying the company of others in real life.

 In your opinion, what is the main benefit of Social Networking?

Twitter especially has provided me with a space to really huff, puff and have steam-out-the-ears moments. It is the only way I can rid of the insurmountable frustration I feel with our governments decisions or lack of. Twitter has become a tool for me that I have become completely besotted with, it gives me the opportunity to express my frustration and anger.

Where do you see Social Networking going?

Recently what has concerned me is the heavy political censorship that Facebook in particular carries out. It has become a white noise, places where you can sink your precious time into and it is not at all about 'connecting' people as Zuckerberg would have you believe, it is after all a business and it will be run like one. The best thing to do is to be completely untruthful about our likes and interests that should bugger up the advertisers completely. But I really hope one day Facebook produces in me in those final, dreary visits.

If we hit the fast forward key and its now 10 years ahead, what would your life look like?

I cannot answer that question because what I imagine my life to look like is different to what God may have planned it out for it to be, therefore I live only looking at the next few minutes and reflecting on my actions constantly wondering how I have spent my life and thankful that I have been given another glorious gloomy Birmingham morning to wake up to.

If you could invite 4 people to a dinner party who would they be? 

I wouldn't have a dinner party, barely any time to (instead I attend other people's dinner party, gosh that sounds awful) and I would instead have a street party where I would invite all the greedy politicians and leaders to have their very own mad hatters tea party in a safe space where the nearest human would be lengths away from them.

Who are the people that you most admire?

I admire any person of a moral conscience who works for us all seeking basic human rights and to live in a better world, just simply that.