Episode 243: Born to Stand Out - How Hip Hop, Hope & Healing Shape Purpose with Dr. Sarah Williams

Dr Sarah Williams on Ubuntu, taking your blinkers off and the quote on her kitchen wall

TL;DR

• Ubuntu means "I am because you are". Our humanity is bound up together.
• Take your blinkers off, because the next step on your journey is often one small conversation away.
• You can choose your self-talk, even on a glum day.
• Find your why through curiosity and reflection, then find your tribe to hold on to it.
• Put a quote or affirmation that means something to you front and centre.

Introduction

Dr Sarah Williams works at RMIT University, but she calls herself a "pademic" because she never wants to sit in an ivory tower. She's a youth work practitioner who's deeply embedded in community, mostly with people of African descent, and especially the South Sudanese community. She's also a spoken word artist and the author of a new book, Born to Stand Out: Hip Hop and Political Voice for Young South Sudanese Australians.

Her sense of purpose started early. Her parents were Salvation Army ministers who ran the social services side in Shepparton, and Sarah grew up with all kinds of people at the dinner table. She knew from a young age that she was part of a bigger picture.

Lesson 1: Let relationships lead you

Insight: In her early twenties, Sarah was living in Dandenong, a suburb with around 235 languages spoken, and working at the Salvos helping with material aid. Some of the people who came in regularly asked if she wanted to go to South Sudan with them to build a school. She said yes.

She's clear that it wasn't about finding a place on a map and going to save someone. She'd noticed a flavour of saviourism in her field, the idea that you've got something to solve someone else's problems. For her, it was the relationship that drew her there.

The school never got built, because half the materials got stuck up the Nile. Instead, she sat in circles with women and young people and listened to what mattered to them. That experience set her on the path of working with former refugee and asylum seeker communities back in Australia.

Action: Say yes to one invitation from someone you'd like to know better, even if you don't know where it will lead.

Outcome: You open yourself up to a path you couldn't have planned.

Lesson 2: I am because you are

Insight: Sarah shared the concept of Ubuntu, from southern Africa. It means "I am because you are". My humanity is bound up with your humanity, and if you're free, I'm free. She believes we're all bound together in the West too, we just don't realise it.

When she worked with young South Sudanese Australians, she says she wasn't helping them and they weren't helping her. Their humanity was bound together. Once she knew their stories, she couldn't walk away. They became her friends and family.

Action: Think about someone in your community whose life looks different from yours, and get curious about their story.

Outcome: You start seeing connection where you once saw difference.

Lesson 3: Take your blinkers off

Insight: Sarah's idea of alchemy comes from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. In the story, a shepherd has a conversation on a park bench that sets him on the path to his purpose. Her point is that if you go through life with your blinkers on, you won't see the opportunities around you or the people who could lead you to your next step.

She gave a practical example from the morning we recorded. It was a dark Saturday after a big week at uni and she was tired. She caught herself and decided she could choose her self-talk. She put on some music, reminded herself how cool it was to be recording a podcast, and her outlook for the day changed.

She's careful to say this isn't just positive psychology. People carry real trauma, and telling someone to change their mood won't fix that. For her, it comes back to intrinsic messages of self-worth.

Action: Next time you catch yourself thinking "it's a glum day", choose one small action, like music or a walk, to shift your mood.

Outcome: You start noticing that you have more say over your day than you thought.

Lesson 4: Use what lights people up

Insight: After South Sudan, Sarah met young hip hop artists in Dandenong who were rapping in front of their bathroom mirrors because there was nowhere to perform. She saw that services often didn't know how to reach culturally diverse communities. Hip hop became a bridge. She organised events, festivals, pop-up performances and flash mobs.

For many young people who'd been told they didn't belong, hip hop gave them a sense of purpose and a voice. She's now journeyed with some of them for around 15 years, including a group of dancers who used to travel to Fed Square just to practise in front of the mirrors and later got booked for big performances.

She saw the same thing in South Sudan, at a peace and reconciliation basketball tournament organised by local friends. Young people from neighbouring villages who'd been in conflict played games together, shared meals and stayed in the same accommodation. Within three days, they were saying they could visit each other's villages. As they talked, they realised what they had in common, including a lack of jobs and opportunities.

Action: If you want to connect with someone, find out what they love and start there.

Outcome: Shared passion builds trust faster than words alone.

Lesson 5: Find your why through reflection

Insight: At RMIT, Sarah teaches reflective practice. Her job is to ask students curious questions about their experiences on placement, so they learn to ask those questions of themselves. That's how she thinks people find their why: getting curious and reflecting on what they're good at and what matters to them.

She also writes spoken word. She keeps a notebook next to her bed, and sometimes a single word or theme like "purpose" turns into a poem.

Action: At the end of today, ask yourself one curious question about something that happened, like "Why did that affect me the way it did?"

Outcome: You build the habit of learning from your own experiences.

Lesson 6: Find your tribe to hold on to your why

Insight: I admitted to Sarah that some days I question why I do what I do. She said she'd asked herself the same thing the day before. Her answer is finding your tribe, people you can call and say, "Today is really hard. I know my why, but today it doesn't feel like it."

We also talked about how often Australians describe things as "not bad". Sarah notices she can get stuck in the "I'm so busy" story, too. She's working on changing that narrative to "I get to do excellent things in my job". She also finds it helps to write down things that bring her joy, whether daily things or something to look forward to.

For movement, Sarah prefers nature to the gym. She's into dance, stand up paddleboarding and scuba diving. She did her scuba course alongside two 14-year-olds and figured that if they could do it, so could she. Her tip for finding a group is to do a "temperature check" first. Check whether it's well moderated and how people talk about each other.

Action: Write down three things that bring you joy and put one of them in your week.

Outcome: You have something to lift you on the hard days.

Lesson 7: Put your quote front and centre

Insight: When I asked what one thing Sarah would get every Australian to do, she said find a sentence, quote or affirmation that means something to you, and keep it where you'll see it. Hers is the quote from her bio: "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure." Many people attribute it to Nelson Mandela, but Sarah says it was actually written by Marianne Williamson. It's now in her kitchen, and she also has a picture of little Sarah on her bathroom mirror.

She leaned on that quote before her book launch. She had all the negative self-talk: who am I to do this, nobody will come, it'll fail. She asked herself instead, what if it actually works out? And it turned out amazing.

Action: Choose one sentence that lifts you up and put it somewhere you'll see it every day.

Outcome: You have a reminder ready when the self-doubt creeps in.

Quick wins

• Put on music that lifts your mood on a slow morning.
• Say yes to one new invitation this month.
• Keep a notebook by your bed for ideas.
• Try a form of movement you enjoy, like dance or paddleboarding.
• Ask "what if it works out?" when doubt shows up.

Closing insight

When I asked Sarah what alchemy means to her, she said it's the combination of moments, experiences, awareness and consciousness that can create something powerful. She's happy to leave it as a mystery. What's clear from her story is that those moments start with taking your blinkers off and saying yes to the people in front of you.

Connect with Dr Sarah Williams

Find Sarah on Instagram at sarah_willow77 and on LinkedIn at sarahwilliams77. You can also check out some of the artists we spoke about, including Tebir, Malesh P and Queen P.

Listen to the full episode

The full conversation is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, or press play at the top of this page.

Related episodes: Leadership, Resilience and Community with Mamuch Chuol and Redefining Mental Health Through Culture, Connection and Gratitude with Nyachan