The Gallery of Happy Memories

We asked our team to send in a photo of something they held dear, something that made them happy or reminded them of a good time. Here is what they sent.

Jennifer Chance

A childhood friend gave me this pin as a farewell gift when we left for university. At that time, I didn't think we could ever grow apart, but we did. Now, it reminds me that living means losing, but that joy still comes from forming genuine connections while we can.

Catherina Harley

Back during the first lockdown, my flatmate’s mom sent her a birthday cake. Just a simple celebration at home and the cake was really good!

Nadya Evelyn

This pink name tag was from my first Easter camp. The camp was extremely tiring since we didn’t get any sleep, but at the same time, it was one of the best experiences I had in my life! I got to make so many friends and eventually made them my family in Melbourne! Oh, how I wish this year’s camp wasn’t cancelled!

Angela Stacia

There was a time when my housemate and I got so hyped up about collecting these kinds of free collectibles from Woolies. We never knew that little things like these could make us so happy and make us feel like we're little kids again.

Michelle Koo

Given to me by my high school math teacher whom I consider to be a close friend and mentor, the book was a bittersweet parting gift before she left to teach abroad. Personally I consider her decision to give away her book as a representation of giving me a fragment of her life experience. The book is her way of providing guidance despite being far apart.

Alfarez Wirawan

My best friends gave me this compass some years ago in the airport shortly before my first flight to Melbourne. “Just in case you get lost there,” they joked. This little thing always reminds me of them.

Evelyn Homin

This is a bouquet of flowers my friends gave me for my 20th birthday. Even though we live far away in different countries, they managed to make the most out of my quarantine birthday.

Arletta Witaria

This box contains a collection of letters from the closest people in my life. It was given to me by one of my best friends for my 17th birthday. I was going through a rough patch and these letters really helped me through. To this day, if I read any one of them I tear up instantly.

Sabrina Kosman

I got all of these at the Moomba festival. We had such a good time there - my boyfriend and my brother won some games. This was exactly a few days before lockdown; I’m very glad that I got to experience this.

Jennifer Wibisono

During the last few weeks of highschool, my best friend and I felt very disheartened as we both knew that we were going on different paths for the next part of our lives. She thought of the idea of capturing our last moments of high school together using this polaroid camera, and since then this camera has been capturing our best memories even after our high school years.

Olivia Sieva

This boarding pass first took me to Melbourne in 2016. To say I was stoked to finally be in Australia is an understatement. Little did I know, depression was just right around the corner.

Vanni Anastasya

My grandma used to make so many of these growing up. I decided to bring one with me to Melbourne so I can feel close to her. She was a dedicated Temari and Ikebana teacher, and I miss her everyday.

Chiara Situmorang

This brush set was given to me by my closest friends on my birthday two years ago. They had come to my house the morning of, walking a full kilometre under the scorching sun and conspiring with my mom just to surprise me. I had never felt so loved.

Joanne Amarisa

I still keep this old Revlon lip balm, passed down from my mother. Something about the way she carried it around with her all the time, paints how much I used to look up to her as this busy career woman making it in the big city. The cap is broken and none of us even use it anymore, yet I still keep it in my bags sometimes - I can’t seem to throw it away.

Angela Theodore Nubary

My cousin gave this to me a few years ago. I keep it as a reminder of how good things can be if we keep it simple.

Ivanka Maxwell

An old friend and I had an impromptu adventure to a pop-up market that sells a variety of antiques. What makes these plates memorable is the little words being described on each plate. It reminds me of how just little things can make someone realise that they are being remembered.