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Short Story: Finding Myself Through Code
Author's Note:
I was told not to publish this. I was told it would be difficult to those involved. I was even told that these people are victims too. That is the exact reason I MUST publish it.
Being difficult to hear or admit to, does not negate that it happened. It simply confirms why it is so important for me to share my story.
This is my truth and I will not be silenced.

Shannon Meilak
3 hours ago7 min read
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Poem: Not The Place To Call Home
Foreward: Readers looking for restraint will not find it here. Readers willing to sit with someone while a lifetime of longing spills out again and again until it finally exhales into a bruised, stubborn, almost inaudible hope, are welcome to stay.

Shannon Meilak
Nov 286 min read
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Poem: Claimed
...Enticingly possessive, it can consume me—Control me or comfort me; there’s no negotiating with it...

Shannon Meilak
Nov 201 min read
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Seeing the Disability Pride Flag Fly in Victoria for the First Time
Making History: Victoria Raises the Disability Pride Flag for the First Time.

Shannon Meilak
Aug 113 min read
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Disability Pride flag raising in the West
Victoria made history this July, raising the Disability Pride flag for the first time during Disability Pride Month.

Shannon Meilak
Aug 42 min read
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Review: Jay & Pamela
Unlike shows that infantilise disabled adults or use them as inspiration porn, Jay and Pamela offers a refreshingly honest portrayal.

Shannon Meilak
Jul 11 min read
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Poem: Tommy
...This post-soviet provocateur is reflecting back my own aspirations.
The artist I want to be, presents as a pencil moustache with braids...

Shannon Meilak
Jul 11 min read
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When ‘Accessible’ Isn’t Enough: The Gaps in Event Inclusion
It seems that everywhere we turn, events are advertising themselves as accessible and inclusive, but what does that really mean in 2025 and is it just tokenism?

Shannon Meilak
May 203 min read
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Lets get disability on the agenda this federal election.
As the upcoming Federal election looms large, it's time to shine a spotlight on an often-overlooked demographic; people with disability.

Shannon Meilak
Apr 104 min read
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Poem: Unbreakable Me
Theme: No one chooses for us.
A personal poem about Shannon's lived experience as a person with disability.

Shannon Meilak
Mar 61 min read
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Do we need to rethink ‘petting farms’?
Rethinking Petting Farms: Pleas for Kindness at Community Events

Shannon Meilak
Mar 32 min read
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Brimbank’s ‘rainbow community’ pushes back against letterbox disinformation
Advocacy groups have condemned ACL’s actions. ..This is not the first time Brimbank’s rainbow community has faced targeted attacks.

Shannon Meilak
Dec 2, 20242 min read
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Toxic Tactics and Lost Faith: The Dark Side of Brimbank's Local Election Battle
The Campaign Chaos Eroding Community Trust in Brimbank

Shannon Meilak
Oct 25, 20242 min read
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"Brimbank Celebrates Carers Space Launch Amid Ongoing Questions"
This article was originally published in 'The Westsider' on 1st October, 2024

Shannon Meilak
Oct 1, 20243 min read
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"Climate Commitments or Empty Promises? A Call for Genuine Action in Melbourne's West"
This article was originally published in 'The Westsider' on 1st September, 2024

Shannon Meilak
Sep 1, 20243 min read
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'Encanto' (2021)
Encanto has all the things we have come to love about Disney films; great characters, heartfelt music and a story with great morals. But...

Shannon Meilak
Feb 10, 20223 min read
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'Burning' (2021)
Originally published to 'Janks Reviews' December, 2021

Shannon Meilak
Dec 18, 20213 min read
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Ladri Di Biciclette / The Bicycle Thieves (1948)
De Sica’s ‘The Bicycle Thieves’ is a poetic story of personal struggle and tragedy that follows the journey of Antonio and his son Bruno,...

Shannon Meilak
Sep 6, 20163 min read
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La Strada (1954)
Fellini’s ‘La Strada’ could be seen, as the title suggests, as the original road movie, or at least as an Italian neorealist version of...

Shannon Meilak
Sep 6, 20163 min read
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Paranoid & Hysterical Hollywood of the 1950’s and 2000s
How did Hollywood address the paranoid, hysterical political climate of the 1950’s and is that being continued in post-9/11 Hollywood films

Shannon Meilak
Jun 6, 201613 min read
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