A few months ago we bid farewell to Sanduni Hewa Katupothage, a star editor who took Rosie to exciting new places. Some of our favourite articles from Sanduni include an intro to ableism and how young people can take matters into their own hands. Sanduni danced into Rosie with life, love, and abundance — we’ll miss you big sis!

Exchanging hands with Sanduni is our new editor, Maki. We sat down with Maki to chat all things feminism, teen hood, and what’s up next for Rosie.

ROSIE TEAM: To start us off, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

MAKI MORITA: Sure! Well first up I’m pretty obsessed with books, movies, plays… any form of storytelling really. I’m an only child, so when I was growing up I spent a lot of alone time delving into fictional worlds. I think this has really influenced who I am today — I can be social and love hanging out with my friends, but I’m also very independent and enjoy doing activities in solitude. I also like doing fun things that get my body moving and transport my senses, like live music, dancing, and more recently I’ve started trying (and mostly failing at, but eh) skateboarding. 

What does feminism mean to you and why is it important?

When I was younger I had feelings and experiences that I would now say are feminist. I wondered why guys at school treated me a certain way, why people expected less from me. Feminism is important to me because once I learned more about it I realised these feelings are valid. It made me see I’m part of a big, global collective that wants change and is doing exciting things about it.  

What are your favourite feminist films and TV shows?

I watched The Watermelon Woman recently, which is an intriguing film that really sucks you in — I highly recommend! Mustang, Pina, and Persepolis are some other all-time faves. Ooh and Promising Young Woman was an interesting watch, Carey Mulligan’s performance in that is incredible. In terms of TV shows I can’t go past Fleabag, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the entire series three times. 

What advice would you give to your teen self?

Looking back at my teen years, I had a serious lack of self-esteem and struggled with social dynamics at school. I was never happy with how I looked, how my friends treated me, and how I was perceived by others. I was very shy and anxious, and honestly wanted to be anyone but myself.

Now that I’m a bit older, I feel confident in who I am and feel lucky to have such supportive family and friends. If I could go back in time and give advice to teenage-me, I would say: don’t sweat the small stuff, embrace who you are, and remember that we’re constantly growing, learning, and evolving. It’s so easy to get caught up in your little bubble, and I wish I had seen the bigger perspective — it’s a huge world out there!

What do you want Rosie readers to know?

Rosie is an amazing platform and I’m so excited to get cracking as the new editor. I want Rosie readers to know that you’re awesome, you all have such valuable knowledge to share, and to keep writing and contributing. There are some great stories to come, and I hope our community only keeps growing.