LUCY THOMAS OAM 🌈

HAPPY IDAHOBIT 🌈 Photo 1: Cam and I on our wedding day, both of us absolutely shitting bricks in the moments before the ceremony. Photo 2: me, around 9–10 years old. For a long time I couldn’t look at this photo without feeling ashamed. I used to see a kid who was too self-conscious and weird to be lovable – and I was honestly pretty cruel to them in my own head for YEARS. Being visibly queer meant learning very early that some people will project their discomfort onto your existence – through outward hate, harassment, character attacks, violence, sleaziness, toxic secrecy, and moments that stay with you long after they’re over. But over time, I started to see that kid wasn’t something to fix or apologise for. They were just trying to exist without the language or safety to do it easily. And I’ve had to slowly unlearn that shame and learn to love that kiddo. Because I never knew it was possible to be non-binary, queer, and still be loved. To build your own family. To marry the person you love! To feel safe in your body. To be a CEO and still be fully yourself. Yet here I am. And I hope posts like this help someone else realise what I couldn’t see back then: that they are not too weird, too much, or too hard to love. In fact, they are probably incredibly easy to love. Now when I look at that photo, I don’t see something to be embarrassed about. I see someone I wish I could go back and sit next to. The International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination is a reminder that so much harm is both external and internal – and that healing can look like unlearning the way you learned to speak to yourself. Be who you needed when you were younger ❤️

AND SO IT WAS WRITTEN 📜 The digital commandments, delivered unto us by our cofounder and CEO @lucylockit . *not an exhaustive list, add your own below ↓

💕 R O S I E 💕 𝗥 is for really good fashion sense, evident in the fact that she steals my clothes 𝗢 is for obviously obsessed with me, also evident in the stealing of my clothes 𝗦 is for stealing tendencies, one of the qualities that I cannot say I role modelled to her growing up 𝗜 is for inquisitive about what’s in my closet (although I will add that she was emphatically supportive when I first came out of it) 𝗘 is for extremely large feet, which she has and this is the only reason she does not steal my shoes Happy birthday to my little blister, ultimate stealer of my clothes, and my heart (vomit). Love you forever xx [image: A selfie of Rosie and Lucy both smiling. Rosie is actually wearing her own clothes for once]

Standing on that stage, looking out, it’s hard not to feel the scale of what’s happening 🤯 Each year @ylaaustralia brings together thousands of young people across the country to spark the kind of internal change that leads to something bigger, and this year that reached over 11,500 young people. I had the chance to join the crew and keynote the Melbourne and Adelaide events, unpacking this idea: The world doesn’t need perfect leaders, it needs everyday people like you and me – we just have to be brave enough to get started. To kick things off on stage, I played a track and asked everyone to guess what instrument they thought I play. The vast majority went for lead singer, bass guitar was a close second (apparently that’s the hair), and almost no one said drums. The correct answer, in fact, is the drums. I reckon that says something. When you’re on stage delivering a ‘Leadership Keynote,’ people default to a certain image – that big, lead singer energy. But I’m living proof that we don’t have to lead from the front all the time. Sometimes it’s from behind (drums), sometimes side by side (bass), and what I’ve learned is that the most powerful thing I can do is lead from within. And that’s exactly what you could feel in those rooms... That quiet shift, a spark of realisation, the internal cogs turning – people starting to notice that leadership isn’t reserved for a certain type of person. You don’t have to be the loudest, the most confident, or have it all figured out. Maybe it’s always been there, just waiting to be unlocked. And when it is, I guess we’re not the same anymore… Huge thank you to the YLAA team for having me and for the work you’re doing. The scale is incredible, but it’s the moments inside those rooms that really matter. Congratulations on making magiccc ✨✨✨ 📸 @marked_moments_ [images - a selection of photos of Lucy delivering their keynote at YLAA 2026 + photos of the audience taken at Melbourne Convention Centre]

72 hours in Tokyo for work ✌🏼❤️ This city doesn’t stop, and neither did I 🫠

Imagine a 16 year-old going live on CNN to talk about the world’s biggest shift in tech policy for teens - and ABSOLUTELY OWNING IT 🔥🔥🔥 It’s not just the massive platform or the fact she was right up after a former Aussie prime minister… It’s the way Vedrana’s voice cuts right through with honesty, authenticity and power. So proud of Vedrana and our whole National Youth Collective for showing up to these big conversations with such courage and trust. More listening to young people. Less speaking for them 💙

A LIGHT FOR ELOISE 💛 Today marks 50 years since our cousin Eloise Worledge was taken from her bedroom and never returned. She was eight years old. She was loved then, and she is still loved now. Today, Victoria Police announced a landmark $1 million reward for information about what happened to Eloise. In the lead-up to this anniversary, my mum, Margie Thomas, Ella’s aunt and godmother, has chosen to speak publicly and advocate for Eloise for the first time. We hold our whole family with compassion, recognising that we all have different experiences and wishes. For many years, Mum carried this grief privately and painfully. She now speaks from a belief she has always lived by: there are moments when staying silent is no longer an option. This is for Ella – a child who was deeply cherished, whose absence has shaped our family across generations (including my sister Ro and me), and who no longer has a voice to advocate for herself. Tonight, Mum has a simple request: please leave your porch light on for Eloise as a small, visible way to remember her and keep conversation alive. Investigators still believe this case is solvable with public support. We also hold this moment with respect for families across the country (especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities) who have lost children and are still waiting for truth and justice. Advocacy takes different forms, but the longing for answers is shared. Thank you to everyone who has played a role in getting to this point (you know who you are). If you know something no matter how small or how long ago, please come forward. And if you can, leave the light on tonight. For Eloise 💛 #JusticeForEloise [images: A photo of Lucy’s mum on the front verandah with fairy lights, followed by a series of tiles courtesy of the ABC, and finally a photo of Ella, aged 8].

Bye bye USA, hope I find you feeling better next time 💔🇺🇸 #MakeEmpathyGreatAgain

WHEN NUANCE MAKES THE HEADLINES 🤯 It’s not everyday that you see balanced, thoughtful reporting on young people and social media. Thank you to @abcnews_au breakfast for elevating members of our National Youth Collective and honouring the complexities of lived experience in the lead-up to the social media minimum age restrictions. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing as much helpful advice as we can. Because now is the time to support anyone under 16 to navigate this transition, particularly young people who already face marginalisation IRL. Please share this advice directly with anyone who needs to hear it. Oh, and massive thank you to @anikawellsmp for elevating our advice to teens!

So lucky I get front-row seats to your calm, your chaos, and all the utter nonsense in-between. Happy birthday you dazzling maniac. I love you endlessly ❤️‍🔥

Sister act, but make it a keynote 🎤 Ro and I don’t often get to co-keynote anymore (we save the sibling chaos for family dinners), but at Ripple Festival 2025 we’re taking the main stage to share how a youth-led community project somehow snowballed into a national movement against (cyber)bullying. It’ll be part origin story, part ‘how did we get here?’ and part love letter to all the young people out there who keep proving the world wrong. Expect blunt force honesty, sibling banter, and maybe a plot twist or two. So what is @ripple_festival all about? Well, business events are tired. Festivals are unforgettable. Ripple smashes the two together for a full-body, full-heart experience that makes small business feel lighter, easier, and a lot more fun. Two days of big ideas, bold conversations, and the kind of connections you can’t get from a LinkedIn DM. Get your tickets at ripplefestival.au and we’ll see ya there! Images: A carousel of three bright blue tiles. The first has a photo of Lucy & Rosie looking very pumped to be speaking at Ripple fest. The second has an overlay of text that reads “music, art, comedy + small business - see you there?” The third reads “Ripple Festival, November 12-13, Grazeland, Melbourne.”

🖤🖤🖤 Image description in comments