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2 days ago
Let’s Catch Up!
It has been a super long time since I last posted, but I’ve been working on a lot of exciting things away from Tumblr. For starters, I’ve just finished my first year at university! Pat on the back for me, thank you, thank you. Of course it’s a while before I get my results, but I’m pretty damn sure they haven’t managed to get rid of me yet.
I’ve also rented my first house. (It’s really lovely and you’ll no doubt be seeing pictures in the near future) The whole house hunting process was both scary and exciting. Mostly because talk of tax paying, water rates and landlines is completely lost on me. All the same, I’ll soon be moving into a lovely three bedroom house with Lucy & Harriet.
Finally, (I promise you I’m so excited about this I’m smiling like an idiot right now) I’ve just launched my own jewellery website called ‘Teal Magpie’. Take a minute to check it out here. It’s all handmade by me and I’m almost as proud of it as my mum… almost.
Here’s one item I have up there, which I’m finding very hard to not keep for myself:
Lara
5 days ago - read more...
Don’t Waste Your Youth Growing Old.
At fourteen I was enjoying girly sleepovers. My interest in boys had peaked and I was constantly thinking about my first real kiss, which between my friends and me was an OMG moment. Wild nights out meant karaoke, disco dancing and a sneaky bit of Smirnoff Ice. Only one bottle permitted as ruled by my mum.
Fourteen year olds now couldn’t be more different than I was at that age. For most now, there’s apparently a need to cover your face in ten layers of make up and see how much you can drink before passing out in a bath. Or at least, that’s the impression I get from the ambush of shameless photographs on my Facebook timeline.
It even appears that the decision to lose your virginity is an easier one than choosing a sandwich filling.
A rush to grow up has developed, and the blame for this can be placed on parents. Adults show concern about children growing up too fast, but what are they actually doing about it?
Kylie Jenner is fourteen. At that age I proudly walked around showing off my newest pair of dolly shoes. She on the other hand, recently spent a day shopping the streets of LA in 5-inch heels… that she couldn’t even walk in!
As soon as my mum heard the clip clopping of heels coming down the stairs, she would have made some silly joke about me dressing like a hussy and forced me to do a U-turn.
I was recently shocked at Channel 4’s program ‘Strictly Baby Ballroom’ where there were children dancing in a way that can only be described as grinding without a man. The same children (as young as 5) were getting hair extensions, fake tans and false eyelashes. I’m eighteen and I haven’t had any of those things.
The most appalling thing about this show was how supportive the parents were with transforming their daughters into women. The idea of children growing up too quickly has been shown in other shows like ‘Toddlers and Tiara’s’, and ’16 and pregnant’. As my mum frequently texts me during such shows, it’s crazy!
Children need to start enjoying their youth as much as I did, and the only way to make this change is with parents putting their foot down.
Knowing the responsibilities I’ll face in the future, I still cherish my teenage years. I can go to roller discos when I’m older, but the possibility of throwing out a hip, or even the inability to get back up from a fall, will replace the essence of fun with pure fear.
And yeah, I could continue turning cardboard boxes into pretty cool rockets when I’m thirty, but my current excuse of ‘I’m a teenager and I’m sure as hell going to act like it’ won’t go down as easily as it does now.
3 months ago - read more...
Photography.
I love photography, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve seriously taken shots of anything. In fact, my camera is currently two hours away at home, probably covered in a growing layer of dust.
The other day though, I got the chance to go out & take a few shots (just for fun) with one of the university’s cameras. It reminded me how much fun photography was, and it definitely inspired me to get back into it.
Therefore, I have promised to polish off my Canon camera & bring it back to uni with me after the Easter holidays. So expect me to be posting some photographs soon!
3 months ago - read more...
Anti-Independence Day.
In case the soppy video on Google, the heart shaped balloons in shops, the ambush of romantic posts on your Facebook timeline, or even the powerful love ballads on today’s radio didn’t tell you, it’s Valentine’s Day.
I used to call this day ‘Hallmark Holiday For Hopeless Romantics’. Now, I use the name ‘Anti-Independence Day.’ Yes, I’m not a fan of Valentine’s. No, it’s not because I’m a bitter singleton.
This year however, I did manage to put my hatred for this holiday aside long enough to make some humorous cards for my flatmates.
All of them are filled with some of my very best cheesy chat-up lines, and in true, Valentine’s tradition, I signed off with a question mark… Followed by my name in brackets!
To my surprise (or not because I saw her make it), I even got a card of my own from Lucy. (See below) It’s a beaut right!?
In case you’re like me and do not have any cheesy tunes on your iPod, the wonderful words she has written inside come from a Kylie song.
Now that the card giving part of today is over though, it’s just another Tuesday for me. So I intend to go out with some good friends, dance terribly to Cotton-Eyed Joe, and laugh at all the people who feel the need to be loved.
3 months ago - read more...
Art, How I’ve Missed You!
Growing up I dreamed about becoming an illustrator. While that dream may have now changed, my love for art certainly has not. Taking time out to draw/paint etc is really important to me. It gives me a chance to step back from everything else going on in my life and just enjoy being creative.
Since being at university I’ve been ridiculously busy. Aside from a few doodles in lectures, I haven’t been able to put my pencil to paper nearly as much as I would like to.
Right now though, I have no close assignment deadlines & my new timetable has left me with a little more spare time in the week, so I’ve been jumping at the chance to draw whenever I can.
I just finished up this drawing of a rose. I’m a little rusty so it’s not brilliantly shaded but I thought I would share it all the same.
3 months ago - read more...
I’m not dead.
Stop the search parties, I’m still alive! I haven’t blogged in a stupidly long time and I feel really bad about it. University has kept me more than busy, and in the small spaces of time I have to myself I just haven’t been inspired to write. But new year, new starts and all. I’m going to try my best to get into this blogging business. After all, I’m a journalist.
4 months ago - read more...
