At that moment, Tia Hinton's mind would not let her be happy.
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"I've had a somewhat troubled life," she said.
"Family relationships. Domestic violence. I had finally got out of that. I met this amazing person, my current partner, and he has two beautiful children. He inspires me to be a better person; to make a difference because he has made such a difference in my life.
"I had moved back home with my mum. I had all this amazing support around me. But for some reason I just wasn't happy and I couldn't work out why.
"I had been in survival mode for so long. I didn't allow myself to break down. And then I was surrounded by all that love and support and, I didn't want to, but it just kind of happened. I felt like I could just fall apart; not intentionally, but I felt safe enough to be able to do that.
"I didn't love it. It wasn't something that I wanted to do."
On July 17, with her mind in full rebellion, Tia took her daughter Araya for a walk at Whitebridge and carried some chalk along with them. They made a small artwork on a manhole cover in bright colours and, later, Tia scribbled a line onto the pavement. It said "You look great".
There was an unexpected therapy that came from it; a simple, straightforward catharsis that took away some small part of her troubles and replaced it with healing.
Tia came forward as the artist behind the affirmations that have been appearing along the beachside walkways of the city this week, after Thursday's edition of Topics revealed one local's profound experience with them, and has since been overwhelmed with gratitude from strangers who have shared similar stories of finding comfort in her musings.
Tia describes the beaches of Newcastle as her safe space and, as often as she can, travels in from her home at East Maitland to wander along the Nobbys foreshore, or up around Bathers Way, stopping every now and then to add another line as they come to her. She doesn't think too much about what she writes, and sometimes the messages leave her soon after they're written, but they're not meant to last forever.
"It's not permanent and I think that is part of the whole thing; like the chalk, your worries aren't permanent. They will fade," she said.
At Nobbys on Friday afternoon, with a bucket of chalk in her hand, she pointed to a message.
"I wrote that one this morning," she said. It read: "If you're gonna be anything, be kind". It was a lesson that her mum had taught her, and one that stuck with her.
"I felt lost for a really long time," she said, "I didn't know what I was doing in my life. I didn't know who I was. My mum always told me that if I was going to be anything, be kind.
"I want to be kind."
Tia's messages are unvarnished and uncomplicated. Sometimes they're funny, like the one that shouts up "Whoa, you really do look that good right now". Sometimes, they're meant to inspire: "I hope you find a reason to smile today".
And sometimes they are there for the person who needs to hear it.
"'I am resilient'," she quoted, recalling one of her affirmations. "That is something that I have always had to be; something I would strive to be. I am resilient. Look at how far I've come, and everything I have been through. You are stronger than you think you are."
Then: "I can't sit here and say that they are all for me - not all of them are for me. Some of them, I think, are things that people just need to hear.
"I was expecting some negativity. I knew there would be positivity as well. But the amount - the overwhelming amount - of people telling me to keep doing this; I just feel like I can't stop now."
She knows her affirmations might not be for everyone, but there's a kindness in making them that helps her, and knowing that they might help others has been a comfort.
Tia met her partner Taraq online, and when she talks about her odyssey out of trauma and tragedy in her life, she turns to him regularly in the same breath. They met in Newcastle and connected almost immediately.
"I didn't know that people like that existed," she said, "He has changed my life. I've never felt so strongly about someone and I just think he's a really beautiful person - a really good person. There's just something about him.
"I was always worried that someone wouldn't love my daughter like they loved me. To take on someone else's child is a huge thing ... but they have built a beautiful relationship and his children and us all together, it's just a really warming feeling. It's a really safe environment and I want to give them all the love, and teach them to be kind.
"A lot of people don't have that love and support in their life. If they're getting it form a little message on the pavement and it's helping, I'm going to keep doing it.
"I feel like everyone is feeling so isolated and if I can be that weird, kooky stranger who makes you smile for no reason, then I'm going to do that."