HOME TRUTHS: Izzy

Izzy is 23 years old and lives in Carlton in Melbourne’s inner north. After
growing up in seven different cities around the world, Melbourne is the
place where she feels most at home. Izzy loves the city but, most of all,
she loves her friends – they’re what really represents home to her.

Name: Izzy

Age: 23

Lives in: Carlton, Melbourne 

Please finish this sentence – I feel at home when … I am surrounded by loved ones. My friends here in Melbourne are truly my chosen family and, while they may not all be here together with me now, Melbourne represents to me all the wonderful times we've shared together, and all the memories and opportunities we have yet to create.

 What does home mean to you? Has this changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?

Having moved around to seven different cities when I was living with my parents, home has always felt a bit intangible to me. We would often need to pack up and travel on a whim because of my dad's work, so I constantly felt reluctant to attach myself to a new location. I recognise this to be a real privilege, to have encouraged me to explore my own identity and engage with a range of perspectives more than the average kid. It has meant that, with my choice to move to Melbourne for study and continuing choice to stay, I feel autonomy over my choice of home, in a way.

That said, for a long time as I was growing up, my truest sense of home was tied to the United States – in particular, San Diego, where I lived until I was 8. While I still am a US citizen by birth, I have never identified with the country less than I have during COVID-19. My parents are currently based in the US and every day I worry for their safety and feel truly ashamed by a government that has failed them. Even with the level of restrictions here in Victoria, I feel so lucky to be in a country that is handling this crisis in a much more responsible way.

Where’s home for you?

I love living in Melbourne, and I'm so glad I made the decision to move out of home and study here. I live in a small apartment with my best friend, a stone's throw from Lygon Street, and I've never felt more independent and self-assured. I started at Melbourne Uni in 2017 to study a Bachelor of Arts, and was beyond lucky to find friends I am sure I'll have for life.

Of course, home here is inherently a political term considering Australia's history. I was fortunate enough to receive some really important lessons about First Nations' sovereignty here in Australia, and I know there's so much work to be done to make Melbourne a true home for all people and, most importantly, its traditional owners and custodians. I want to continue to do more to educate myself and work towards a future where all can feel at home here.

What have you lost because of lockdown? Is there anything you’ve gained?

I had just started full-time work with a start-up at the beginning of 2020, and was really excited about some of my new responsibilities, including creating a new sustainability policy for our organisation. As a start-up, however, my employers were not in a position to qualify for government support through JobKeeper and had to make me redundant. That said, my real loss in quarantine, I feel, has been valuable time I wish I could be spending with my friends, many of whom have travelled back to their families interstate. While I was lucky enough to qualify for JobSeeker and can continue to look for more work, no amount of Zoom calls can really compensate for how much I value time spent with my loved ones, and how much each and every day I wish I could be surrounded by friends again.

Like many others, I gained some valuable time for introspection when COVID-19 first hit. This time has encouraged me, as a creative, to start thinking about new small-scale projects I can start working on from home. This is a real creative freedom that I was not able to balance alongside a full-time job as effectively, and I'm grateful for the time I have been able to hone some digital skills and techniques at home. I have also, very fortunately, found some new work. I am coordinating product photography and social media content shoots with a local gin distillery, and helping in the online community management for a mental health charity based in Albury. I've been encouraged to push myself outside my comfort zone, to ‘put myself out there’ in a career sense, and to create new networks in a way I thought was well beyond my experience at the outset of this year. In that way, I'm really proud of how far I've come.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when there are no restrictions at all?

As silly as this may sound, I have been dying to go to the movies! As a Screen Studies major, I have felt acutely the desire of wanting to cozy up at Cinema Nova with some friends, and then chat about the film at length over some drinks late into the evening. Having directed plays and musicals over my time at university, I am so incredibly excited for the return of live theatre as well.

Most of all, I can't wait for hugs with my loved ones, for sharing food and drinks and late nights, and for the freedom to travel around and explore more of this city I love so much. I'm so excited to get to know more about my home when all this is over.

Illustration Emma Leonard