Friends Cafe - social space for members under 25

[Kazzl]

Hey! Welcome to Friends Cafe.

This is a chill and chat space for young BB members to talk about anything and everything and make new friends.

When school's getting to you, uni or work has got you down, parents, partners, friends don't understand, and especially if you're feeling alone or lonely - come and relax awhile and talk to others who know just how you feel.

Our minds can cause us trouble, but they can also be amazing things that imagine beauty, love and fun. This cafe has everything you can imagine. To start with it's, well, a cafe. So there's chairs and tables, comfy couches for flopping, a big screen tele, unlimited download on computers for games, Spotify (or an old-school jukebox if you prefer), every movie you can think of on instant demand ... whatever you want, it's here. Post and tell us what'd you'd like.

Plus, there's an infinite menu of whatever food or drinks takes your fancy. And it's all free!

To kick it off, today we have a special range of Monster Milkshakes - those thick gooey shakes topped with cronuts, chocolate bars, cake, cookies ... whatever you want. And if you can get through one of them, you're a legend (and probably feeling a little bit sick LOL!)

Welcome friends.

[dark_unicorn]

Good arvo everyone!

Dottie - Haha I'll roll with that 😛 Yes, Halsey is brilliant! Her most well-known are probably New Americana, and Castle (it was featured in a movie). For my birthday I'm having a small outdoor movie theatre party, just with about 10 friends in my backyard 🙂 And at least you're organised! My party is in 2 1/2 weeks now (we moved it back a bit), and I only started organising it a couple of days ago (oops) 😛

Hi Demi! I'm 14 (15 in just under 2 wks), in Year 9 and I'm living in Melbourne! I haven't got a job yet but I probably will go looking in the summer holidays. I have a dog too actually, he's a black spoodle (poodle x cocker spaniel), his name's Charlie and he's 7 🙂 he's just like a little brother sometimes.

Hi James, I hope you're enjoying your current job (I don't think I would mind KFC if it meant I could steal bits of food :P)

Tara xx

[james1]

Hey Tara,

I prefer "taste testing" to "steal" 🙂 Sometimes I have to test quite a few of the chips of each batch just to make sure.

And those chicken nuggets - we don't want people getting sick eating raw chicken, so I'll take one for the team and "taste" them too.

James

[Zeal]

Hey everyone!

It's been almost a week since I posted here in the Friends Café, and so much activity has gone on! 🙂

Welcome Demi - it's great that you've joined us here 😄 I must say, you seem very mature for your age. At 18, I was still very shy and lacked confidence. I am so glad for you that you have insight, drive and positivity.

Tara, you're 15 so soon! You are the youngest here - perhaps like a little sister to us 😛

James, I hope work is going well, and that you have been getting enough sleep!

Dottie, good luck with your assignment! I'm not a natural when it comes to subjects such as neurochemistry 😛 I'm sure you'll do well though!

ahw, thank you for your thoughtful words! It's nice to see kind words like those after an absence on this thread 🙂 I do love communicating with you guys here- it genuinely makes me feel happy!

Grace - I hope school is going smoothly, and that you're being self-compassionate and getting enough sleep. Your parents visiting will hopefully be enjoyable. It will be good to see family before you start Year 12. I hope your friends are doing well too, by the way. I know your friends are important to you 🙂

I hope I haven't missed anyone!

Best wishes to all,

Zeal

[Zeal]

Hey again guys,

I thought I would be more social and talk about what's been going on in my life lately 😛

Last Saturday I went on a kid's activity day as a volunteer. The staff member I was with was new, so it was good to be able to help her. The kids went rock climbing, which they really enjoyed. A 15 year old boy with profound Autism wasn't able to participate, so I sat with him and talked. He is non-vocal, so it wasn't a conversation, but I talked anyway. He probably has more understanding than people realise.

I have lots of uni work this week. I have two more practical proposals Dottie - I bet you can hear my groan from where you are! I developed a head cold yesterday morning, so I've been a bit slow cognitively, but that's okay.

This Saturday night is my boyfriend's 25th birthday party. It's a small gathering at his place. On Sunday (his actual birthday) I'll spend time with him and perhaps take him to lunch. That night his parents, sister and I will go to dinner with him to celebrate his birthday.

I'll try to remember to wish you happy birthday in just under two weeks' time Tara!

Best wishes,

Zeal

[james1]

Hey Zeal,

It's wonderful that you're doing that volunteering and sat with the boy. What's the organisation you volunteer for?

A friend of mine volunteers for Vinnies and takes kids out on excursions to the zoo and things. It sounds great. I'd like to join him but I'm not very good with younger kids unfortunately.

Sounds like you'll have a good weekend to celebrate after a difficult week at uni!

James

[Zeal]

Hey James,

Thanks 🙂 I won't name the organisation, as I don't include any identifying information on the forum (I'm a cautious person when it comes to online safety). Beyondblue is certainly a safe forum, but I'm a bit over-cautious by nature! Being good with kids could come more naturally to you than you think. I'm good with kids aged 2 and over. I have very little experience with babies. I babysat an 11 month old once, and that was an experience! I did alright, but the crying was stressful. I love being able to verbally communicate with children, and you certainly can't do that with babies!

I'm actually on uni holidays now (we go back next week), but I have assignments due soon after the "break".

This weekend should be nice 🙂

I hope you're doing well James 😄

Best wishes,

Zeal

[james1]

No worries.

I can kind of work with kids around 5-10, but it's really when they get to year 5 and above that I feel more comfortable. I just love the insight kids often have. It's amazingly refreshing because I think as adults, we fall into patterns of thinking that are, by and large, deemed "socially acceptable", but kids know no rules, haha.

Oh yes, I loved how they were called "breaks". What crap, haha. "Let's put some assignments just before and just after, because surely no other subject would also be doing the same..."

Hope you enjoy the rest of the day.

James

[dark_unicorn]

Hey James - Haha yes, now we wouldn't want any customers getting food poisoning, would we? You're sooo brave for risking your health like that 😝 And don't worry, I'm not good with small kids either...which is hard because all my cousins are under the age of 9 😕

Hi Zeal - Aww I don't mind being the little sister of the group 😛 And wow its lovely how you went to talk to the boy. I don't think some people understand that although someone may not talk or have a mental illness they are actually very aware and most usually very smart. My mum works with kids that have learning difficulties at my old primary school so I hear a fair bit about different mental situations, especially autism.

To anyone else reading through, I hope you're having a good week! I'm going rollerblading with friends tomorrow night and I haven't been in a while so this'll be interesting! I'll let you know how I go 😛

Tara x

[ahw309]

Hey everyone! Oh wow, quite a lot has happened in such a short time!

Welcome, welcome Demi!!! Nice to meet you - it's so great to have you here and I really look forward to getting to know you better! As Dottie said, I'm doing my HSC soon as well. How is your studying going? (I hope it's been going better than mine as I haven't exactly been doing any haha! yikes is definitely the right word to describe how I feel right now!) What subjects are you doing? And do you have any plans for what you want to do/study after this?

You must be really busy with so much work, I don't think I'd be able to handle it!! I do work at a pharmacy, but only once a week. I also dance and play the violin, and I like to read and write. Do you have any hobbies or do any other extra curricula activities? 🙂 I'm so jealous of both you and James, as like Dottie, I love dogs too but don't have any pets!

Tara, one of my friends recently did the same thing for her birthday and it was a lot of fun! An outdoor movie theatre party is the kind of party I really like, and we watched 10 Things I Hate About You - one of my favourite movies!!

Zeal, you're welcome! You've been such a great support and friend to me from the very start, and always reply to me, and I'm so grateful for all that you've done and continue to do!! 🙂 The volunteering sounds like a very enjoyable and rewarding experience and I know the boy must have really appreciated you sitting and talking to him 🙂

James, I really love the insight young kids can have too! Their innocence and honesty is so refreshing, and I love hearing about what they say or think. I would really, really like to work with young children or maybe teens in the future, but I'm not too good with children, so we'll see 🙂

Dottie and Grace I hope you are both well!!

My anxiety has been bothering me a bit more than usual the past few weeks, but other than that, I've been ok 🙂 I'm currently feeling pretty drained of energy as today I made a pretty important phone call - and I hate phone calls. I'm pretty proud of making the call in the first place, and getting through the call without crying or panicking hahaha! 🙂

[Zeal]

Hey guys,

Thank you so much ahw for your lovely thoughts! It's great to read positive and thoughtful comments like this 🙂
I hope your anxiety keeps under control. Don't forget to check in with your doctor and talk to your family about your concerns. Good on you for making progress with an important phone call! I remember you saying a while back about how much you dislike making calls because of anxiety and panic.

James, I found your comment about uni assessments amusing!

Tara, good luck with the rollerblading. I have been roller skating once, and I was going slowly around the outside barrier the whole time 😛 If you've been before, you'll probably be fine 🙂 I bet it's like riding a bike or snow skiing - you may not be quite as confident, but it's hard to forget the general physical movements.

Dottie, Grace and Demi: I hope you guys are also doing well 🙂

Best wishes,

Zeal