Gossip pages

The teenage years are the hardest to go through, yet teenagers create so much angst for themselves and their friends by gossiping about each other. When I was at school, the worst thing the gossip-mongers could do was write something nasty on the bathroom wall for other students to see. Now they get to write it on Facebook's wall for the entire world to see.

I spent the morning in my Uni class talking about youth suicide. Self-esteem and self-worth are hard to come by and with hormones raging, keeping teens' heads straight is a battle that is hard-fought, and hopefully won.

So much emphasis is put on appearance in adolescence, and if you don't fit whatever fashion tells us is beautiful right now, it can be damaging to young girls self-esteem. And when I say beauty in fashion, I'm not talking about what's in the magazines. Every era has a different idea about what is considered beautiful. Hair, makeup, clothes, all change constantly. If you don't fit the latest look, just wait. Eventually your look will be envied by all.

But, we need to put the focus back on brains, personality, confidence. We need to teach our sons to look beyond the outer package. We need to tell our daughters that looks fade, but confidence in who you are (whoever that is) will get you where you need to go.

To all women, young and old - I'm not saying you don't have to take an interest in how you look. I'm saying just be the best 'you' you can be, and don't sweat the small stuff. Play up the best of you, and play down what you're not totally happy with. Focussing on the positive will boost your confidence. This has an amazing benefit of making you more attractive. I know, I know, you're saying it can't be that easy. Yes. It. Can. Confidence is beautiful, and it's something that never goes out of fashion.

Reverse racism

So, apparently there is reverse racism in Australia. Did anyone with half a brain think otherwise? And can anyone blame them? There's going to be a story on TV next week about it. It will show Australians getting different (more expensive) prices than people of the same ethnic group as the shop owner. Is this a shock? Can anyone out there honestly tell me that, if you lived anywhere else in the world, if someone from your own ethnic group came into your workplace, you wouldn't give them a better deal? Or maybe they're better at haggling? Australians aren't used to haggling - they've done stories on that as well!

As a former shop owner, I know that some people get better prices than others. In my case, it depended on the customer's attitude and whether or not I liked them. If they were rude, no discount; if they were polite and friendly, I would knock a few bucks off the total. It didn't matter to me what nationality they were. Nice is nice.

Migrants and refugees get a raw deal here. I'm not going to blame them for helping people from their own group. I think most of the time they must feel alone and ostracised. If this helps them, so be it. Maybe if we were all nicer and more helpful to non-Australians, they would find it easier to assimilate, and be more willing to give us the best price too.

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you're in a foreign country - not by choice, but by circumstances beyond your control. You don't speak the language very well, if at all. You don't understand the culture. The food is strange. And no-one is willing to help you. So, you help yourself by opening a store. Other people see your store and see a little slice of home. It's an oasis of acceptance and familiarity.

Of course they're going to give them a better price. And I dare any one of you to tell me you wouldn't do the same thing.