Thinking is one of the most stressful things I've ever come across; not being able to articulate what I want to say drives me crazy...

Alright loves!

Long time no speak, my baaaad. There a million and one things I want to write about and I've got a few drafts under way but without a functioning laptop it's near on impossible to write leisurely and coherently. Snatched sentences here and there have a horrible habit of culminating in a ramble of nonsensical rubbish, which I really don't want to subject people (who are sweet enough to spend their precious time reading this) to that. So here is a very brief entry to let you know I'm still musing and keen to write! I'll be back with a vengeance one of these days :) I'll leave you with this pretty inspiring video from the Ted Talks archive whereby Kelly McGonigal manages to make stress sound fun, it's truly amazing. Have a few of my closest friends currently experiencing various degrees of stress in their day to day living, whether it be financial stress, uni work or complex love lives, it's refreshing to hear Kelly's philosophical approach to handling stress and coping with worries.

Hope it makes your Monday a little less stressful! x

My heart skips a beat every time that we meet; it’s been a while and now your smile is almost like a memory...

Last weekend was so much fun; I managed to see two of my favourite people! Friday night my friend and I took a road trip to Manchester, listening to lots of Tame Impala and eating so many Salt and Vinegar Pringles my lips started to sting. I went to see little sister in her student halls for the first time (my bad it took so long!) which made me feel pretty old – I like to pretend to myself I’m still 19 living the first year fresher’s dream.. I’m so far from it now aha. It was looovely to see her; we went to Tops and ate our body weight in noodles then retreated back to her accommodation to watch a bit of stand-up. I dragged her out of bed the next morning to do some shopping before I jumped on a train to Preston to see my bestest! You won’t be able to get rid of me so easy next time Clobo... We need to go see all the libraries of Manchester :)

Sam, the bestest, loves to hate her uni town (famed for possessing the first UK branch of KFC – oh dear) but it impressed even her this weekend. Avenham Park adventures, Prawn and Calamari risotto along with Adventure Time on repeat made for a perfect weekend getaway. One of my favourite places we visited was the Mystery Tea House from which I bought a Cherry and Rum blend... too good! A few doors along from the tea house is Retro Rehab, a lovely little Vintage shop that doesn't require you to sift through a tonne of ill-fitting smelly clothes before you find something semi-decent. We both loved everything we tried on and had to resist buying more than the few things we did get. Saturday ended with an intense game of Charades and films in bed... 

Top Babe <3

Concentrating on not falling in gives you extra chins.

Spending the weekend chatting about silly things, walking in woods and skyping our lovely best friend Chan was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time.  THANK YOU for having me Chloe and Sam xxxx 

'Feminism is the radical notion that women are people'

Happy International Women’s Day everyone!

I was going to wait a while till I got opinionated but the 8^th of March comes but once a year and I’m not wasting this chance to speak out about things that constantly bother me. When I say ‘Happy International Women’s Day everyone!’ – I mean everyone, not just women. It is imperative that men, boys, women and girls understand why it’s important to celebrate women worldwide. Various factors such as culture, biology and location determine what constitutes being a woman differently. I have no qualms in admitting I still don’t feel like a woman (opposed to being a girl – I’m female, promise), but I know that if I wanted to classify myself in that way it wouldn’t change my life so drastically. What about those girls who fear the day they get their first period because they know the traditions of their society might cause them far more pain than menstrual cramps? Or the second class citizens who aren’t permitted to speak up to their husbands? Or even the women that voice their interests and concerns in the Commons Chamber? I’m getting a bit ahead of myself aren’t I... in the not very wise words of Cameron, calm down dear.

The history of this world can be rather dark and dreary if you trudge too deep into a topic as colossal as women and their rights. I’m not a history major; I have a habit of inverting numbers and mixing up names that don’t want to mingle. Rather than imparting some sketchy Wikipedia facts to you I’ll just talk to you about my first hand experiences of what it is to be female and how this shapes my life day to day. One of the prompts for my writing this article was a friend’s status (and I say friend in the loosest term of the word) that caught my eye yesterday. Here it is, exactly as follows:

‘Men have 2 emotions.. Hungry or horny, so bitch if u see me without an erection u best be making me a sandwich’

Poetic right? I won’t name the person because there isn’t any need, if he’s posted this in the first place I’m quite sure my little rant isn’t going to turn him into the next Bill Bailey (didn’t you know?! Find your favourite feminists here) and spark brain cells that might cause him to blush with embarrassment at this appalling quote. I probably laughed awkwardly at things like this a decade ago, but I know better now. If shit like this goes unchallenged – or worse, liked by upward of 30 people, both male and female – where do you start drawing your lines? The boy who wrote this is harmless I’m sure, and pleasant and polite to his muma and nana and all the other lovely ladies he encounters through his days on Earth. Yet he felt the need, ironically on the eve of International Women’s Day, to remind us girls of the two emotions men apparently possess. So what about the emotions women have? This guy’s snappy sentence left me feeling a plethora of emotions and neither were close to hungry or horny.

It seems to be hard to disentangle women and feminism; the two are inextricably linked, in sickness and in health. I could wax on about this all day – but I won’t, it’s Saturday and I’ve got things to do. With that in mind, my rant is coming to an end, and I really do bid you a very happy InternationalWomen’s Day – celebrate yourself, your mum, sisters, daughters and the ladies who paved the way for this day, whoever you want. Don’t let the men who sit quietly on facebook with strange misogynistic quips taint what is a truly worthy cause of celebration. Women are rad, without them the world would kind of be at a loss. Nobody explains this better than Itch, so I’ll leave you in his capable hands.

Love x