Chiasma

Let’s face it. Our lives are infested with memes. One would say it’s a new cultural phenomenon that has revolutionised the way we communicate. Facebook feeds festering with relatable captions accompanied by an obscure picture where the comments section merely functions as means to tag your mates and say “omg us” are all the craze these days. But memes are not new. They’re not revolutionary. They’re evolutionary. I recently attended a fascinating psychology lecture discussing the evolution of culture and how memes, as they accumulate changes over a period of time, adapt features to fit into their respective niches and compete to be the most propagated, can be explained easily with the analogy of being a rapidly evolving cultural parasite.

Sometimes life presents you with hidden opportunities. How was I to know while idly perusing the magazine rack at Christchurch airport that I would find something that has astounded most of my friends, has had me and my flatmates screaming in incredulity?

The Chiasma Connect Mentorship Programme Launch occurred on the evening of May the 4th, unfortunately only a coincidence that it aligned with Star Wars Day. It is a 20 week programme which pairs students with industry professionals from their field of interest. As the first opportunity for the students to meet with their mentors, it was important to give a good first impression. We could say it was much like a first date, but perhaps without any of the awkwardness since everyone seemed to get along with each other nicely; plenty of laughs here and there.

For the rest of the yet-to-graduate-and-dress-up-like-Harry-Potter students out there, you can achieve everything that the bright hooded death eaters have, that and more. And I don’t mean this in a cheesy ‘grandma believes in you’ kind of way.

What we achieve in our life is not only the result of our hard work and effort, but is also strongly supported by the motivation, guidance and support of our friends and family. But what would happen if we also got encouraged, moulded and supported by someone from our industry, someone that is working in the field that we want to approach and has the experience and connections that we need to get started? The results may surprise you.

There is a certain sadness residing in all of us that never disappears; the sorrow of unfulfillment.  Our hearts constantly remind us of the dreams we stopped chasing – the hopes we once had – yet we do not pursue them because we know suffering and difficulty awaits. But why are most of us content with mediocrity? We live in a society of excessive comfort where very few have the drive to deliver real changes. Through many agonising ventures, I have  spent the last year exploring common problems in New Zealand and other First World Countries and will share some of my thoughts.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the tale of Harambe yet, on the afternoon of May 28th  this year at the Cincinnati Zoo in the state of Ohio, a 17 year old male gorilla named Harambe was shot to death after an unsupervised boy fell into his enclosure.

When you are reading this, just take a moment and look around you. What percentage of people are busy socialising? How many of them are reading a book/studying? How many of them are laughing with friends? How many of them are playing Pokémon Go, Candy Crush or scrolling through their newsfeed on Facebook.