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Future Leaders is a national Initiative about leadership and the future of Australia. It seeks to involve, inform and inspire young people.
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Essays by young writers.
Showing essays sorted by TITLE
“It was 1987 when I first stepped into that garden. The sun skittered off the concrete that had once been painted white, but was now …”
“The demons lurked just beyond the shadows; rapt by an impenetrable ocean. You couldn’t see them in the dark, but they were there. You couldn’t hear their silent screams of torment past …”
“The expanse of glass above your head encloses your thoughts. A cage. A cage of your own creation. Beyond the transparent …”
“We stand on the edge breathless,
Poised at a nexus in the ages, …”
“The human experience is vast and varied; so often it feels as though we are each navigating dark, uncharted waters, that we are “far out to sea and alone” …”
“He wished he had never answered the phone that day. He knew it was a ridiculous wish, because no matter how many times …”
“A tree sees many lives come and go beneath its great branches. Some lives leave their mark carved deep into the bark …”
“Many Cape York Indigenous communities are dysfunctional and entrenched in a vicious cycle of domestic violence and sexual abuse …”
“The Federal budget for 2008–2009 allotted about $22 billion to defence. If one person were to have this much money …”
“The seniors sat tired and wan, filling the first dozen rows of the Empire Theatre like an army of ghosts …”
“Darkness descended upon the land. The trees on the outskirts were now dark silhouettes, with only the moonlight making out their …”
“The first thing Alistair Eldridge noticed when he awoke was that he had somehow lost his head. To be precise, it was the second thing he noticed. The first was that his bedroom had somehow reached an intolerably frigid temperature during the night …”
“Whether it is in the workplace, the home or in everyday life, women suffer from entrenched discrimination. Since the early days …”
“‘We’re going out tonight – get changed,’ said Cathy.
‘I didn’t bring anything to wear.’ …”
“Two and a half years ago, as Coalition forces progressively wiped every effigy of Saddam Hussein off the face of the earth …”
“The three of them sat together as the dusk settled softly around them. Sam shifted on his cardboard as he listened to Bob and Mindy …”
“1. Pernicious (adj.); extremely destructive or harmful.
His middle name. That should have been a warning, not an
invitation, but I always misread the signals, and when he took
my hand under the party lights I didn’t pull away …”
“I cannot adequately express the feeling of exultation that floods one’s heart when I hear of any individual attempting to educate humanity …”
“I dreamt of you, not long after we met. The specifics are lost, but the voices and faces wrapped solidly around my heart …”
“She spends her days as the widow of a woman she has never
met.
She wears black …”
“Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead as I made my way down the bustling street with eyes downcast …”
“The moment Vincent stepped across the threshold of 49 Windsor Court, it was no longer. The sturdy foundations cracked and shattered under the weight of his presence. The glass of each window fractured, spewing shards across the carpet. The roof caved in and sent fragments of terracotta flying like missiles …”
“Long before the sirens wailed, the hum of Messerchmitts broke
the silence of the night.
The city of London slept restlessly; it tossed and turned,
unable to take respite from its fear …”
“It was still early, not even the guards had come to deliver the morning rounds as I unsteadily climbed out of bed and over to my small …”
“It ended with a kick. A single kick, and the entire world collapsed in on itself. From her crouched position up against the crumbling brick wall …”
“It takes more Australians every year than our roads, but you don’t see multi-million dollar advertising campaigns or outraged …”
“In the Estados Unidos de América, Mamá says, the women wear red rouge on their cheeks. The streets gleam, spotless under the light of the luna. Buildings grow towards the sky, she proclaims, energetically raising her arms up toward the cerulean sheet which is dotted with tiny, iridescent diamonds …”
“The roar of the highway outside our Fitzroy apartment sounds like an ocean I once knew. In the mornings as I walk down the narrow staircase to go to school, I like to pretend that I am about to step onto that same Smithton Beach. I can feel the warm, coarseness of the sand, and hear the frothy crash of the waves …”
“The first night in Ha Tien is unbearable. I’m sleeping on my back and trying not to move on the tiled ledge …”
“Lucille waited next to an old man wearing a toupée. It blew faintly in the thick summer wind, and she watched as a tear of sweat …”
“‘Life is a journey, not a destination’ is a quote pulled from the lyrics ‘Amazing’ by Steven Tyler, ‘the demon of screaming …”
“After decades of abusing human rights, China’s tyranny continues uninhibited. Does no-one dare offend the economic …”
“She asked me one day, perched on my knee. Little cellophane child — translucent and transient …”
“The pine tree that dominated the front courtyard of our home still splays its branches out in my memory. My Papa had clasped …”
“Mr Fraser was not known for his kindness. His Sunday mornings were usually occupied by reading the paper …”
“Earlier, he had stood outside the iron gates that stretched to the sky. It was cold and he wrapped his arms around himself …”
“She lies silently, her eyes cast down. The pale pink rosebuds on the faded floral wallpaper stare down at her like a thousand …”
“She is spending the day in an underground room, pinning musty insects onto grey foam pillows. The room is dim, she has a headache from the naphthalene and a heartache that’s making her feel like retching …”
Showing page 2 of 5
