Body Image

Body image has always been something I've personally struggled with, as I'm aware many other people do as well. I feel like our generation and society have this image of what the 'perfect' person should look and be like when in reality nobody is actually like this expectation and frankly I don't think we should have to live our lives trying to please society. We are constantly putting ourselves down because we don't have long silky hair, flawless skin or a tiny waist, but why is it acceptable to be told what we should look like when our image doesn't define who we are?

Something that really frustrates me nowadays, and I feel is the reason I struggle with my body image, is social media whether that be online, on the TV or in magazines. Magazines always seem to present the 'perfect' person, however what we all seem to forget is that these images are highly edited, the models are plastered in make up and they're photoshoped so that all of their imperfections disappear. But isn't it completely natural to have blemishes, redness and dark circles? I find it extremely hypocritical that we are told we should look like these women in magazines when in reality they don't even look like that themselves.

We are constantly being told that we should be confident in the way we look but how is this possible to do when the media is bringing us down and putting a huge amount of pressure on us to look a certain way. Over half of the models today are between a size 4-8 and are 6"7 or taller, but where is the realistic reflection of our society? The average woman today is around a size 12 and 5"4, so why is the media completely ignoring what is normal? We all come in different shapes and sizes and we all have flaws so instead of addressing how we should look we should be focusing on and embracing how we do look.

What are your thoughts on the way the media portrays body image?
- Meg♥

Autumn

October is finally here, although I'm not sure how it's come around so quickly, but being October can only mean one thing...it's finally Autumn! I've never really been excited for this time of year before because I've always found myself to be more of a summery person. However something's changed this year and I'm extremely excited about it and surprisingly happy to finally say goodbye to summer. 

Here are some of  the things I'm particularly looking forward to:
✽ Halloween
✽ Halloween films
✽ Hot drinks
✽ Knitted cardigans
✽ Oversized jumpers
✽ Scarves and hats
✽ Boots and knitted socks
✽ Dark lipstick
✽ Candles
✽ Autumn scents
✽ Cosy socks
✽ Blankets
✽ Bonfires
✽ Fireworks
✽ Leaves changing colour
✽ Fairy lights
✽ Autumn colours 
✽ Evenings getting darker
✽ Having the fire on
✽ Seasonal drinks

What are you looking forward to during this time of year?
- Meg♥

Expectations vs Reality: College

I've been at college now for almost a month and it's safe to say that the expectations I had have not matched the reality, however this isn't actually a bad thing in some cases! I thought I'd share a few of the things with you that I definitely wasn't expecting.

A Levels are extremely difficult: I remember when I finished school so many people told me that college would be a huge step up from GCSE's and that it would be a lot more difficult. Although it's only been a few weeks, so far the work hasn't been as challenging as I was expecting. In all honesty after being able to understand the work it's having to remember everything that becomes challenging rather than the actual work itself, which sucks for me because I don't have the best of memories.

Organising work: One thing I never anticipated before starting college was that I would be given so many worksheets and booklets that then required me to also have many folders, even 2 for some subjects. In my head I imagined only needing a notebook for each subject and a folder for any lose sheets but obviously that is not the case at all. In reality I've had to abandon my notebooks, despite how pretty they were, and switch to just using folders which I now have 6 of. However in some ways this has actually turned out to work better for me because it means everything is organised and kept together in one place, which will definitely be an advantage when it comes to revising.

People: Something that made me anxious about college was all the new people that would be there because I'm not the most confident of people so after spending 5 years with the same people it's quite intimidating being faced with over 1000 new faces. At first I didn't think I would be confident enough to talk to people however I found that it's extremely easy to talk to everyone which has definitely put me at ease.

Being judged: One of the major changes for me when starting college was no longer having to wear a uniform because I've pretty much worn one for the past 12 years. I've always thought that one good thing about wearing a uniform is that everybody looks the same so you don't get judged, which made me believe that at college I would be judged everyday for the way I dressed. But I couldn't have been more wrong! Not having to wear a uniform means that everybody can be seen as an individual and express themselves through their clothes and to my surprise I haven't been judged like I initially thought I would be.

What are some things you weren't expecting from college/school?

- Meg♥

Being Positive And Happy

Over the past year I haven't really been the happiest of people and I found myself to be in a very negative state of mind. All my thoughts were negative and that caused me to live a negative life, which was definitely not fun for me or the people who knew me. Once I was in this state of mind I found it extremely difficult to come out of it as I got so used to it that it became natural for me to feel this way. 

However over the past month or so I realised that this unhappiness had taken over my life enough and that I deserved to be happy just like everyone else. This realisation actually came from stumbling across this video on youtube and in all honestly after watching it my outlook on life completely changed and I slowly started to become a lot happier and more positive about things.

It wasn't just this video that helped me though there have also been 5 tips I've been living by to help me be more happy and I thought I would share them with you;

1. Don't let things bother you that are out of your control ~ it's so easy to let little things get to you but the best way to deal with this is to either accept the fact that it happened because there was nothing you could do about it or to just ignore it completely.

2. Be grateful for everything good that happens to you ~ nowadays it seems to me that everybody takes things for granted whether that be little things like someone holding a door open for you or bigger things like having a place to live. But I've found that being grateful and acknowledging good things that happen to you can make a whole difference in having a good day, month or even year.

3. Make other people happy ~ in my opinion one of the most rewarding things is making other people happy and it's something I try to do everyday if possible. Just knowing you make other people happy can also make you feel a lot better about yourself and it's honestly one of the simplest things to do.

4. Live your life only for yourself ~ the only way you can truly be happy is by doing things you love and that make you a happy person. The best way to do this is not to care about what other people think, although I know this can be very hard to do. But don't stop doing something if somebody else doesn't approve of it because as long as it's making you happy then what other people say shouldn't really matter.

5. Surround yourself with people who make you happy ~ if you have somebody in your life that makes you unhappy the best thing to do is either block that person out of your life or just not involve them in your life as much. Surrounding yourself with people who make you happy will most likely make you a much happier person because there won't be anyone bringing you down.

Are there any things that help you be a happier person?

- Meg♥

Starting College

Yes you probably already know it's that dreaded time of year again to go back to school, or in my case to start college. So that also means it's time to say goodbye to the lovely weather we've being having and being to sleep as much as we want; two things I know I'm going to miss dearly! 

If you'd asked me a couple months back how I felt about leaving school and starting college I probably would have told you I couldn't wait for it, however now that the time has actually come I couldn't feel more unprepared. After being at school for 5 years and seeing the same faces and surroundings almost everyday it's safe to say that not going back to that familiarity is very nerve-racking for me. I've never been the best at adjusting to new things or making new friends for that matter as I always manage to think of every possible scenario that could go wrong 

However despite all the anxiety I'm feeling I've decided that I need to start focusing on the positive aspects of starting college in order to help me feel more comfortable with the situation. To help me do this I've managed to write a list of 5 things I'm actually looking forward to and I thought I would share them with you; 
1. Studying subjects I actually want to learn about 
2. Being more independent
3. Expressing myself through the way I dress
4. Finally being treated like an adult
5. Having free periods to do what I want

Hopefully with these things in mind I can somewhat block out all the negative thoughts I'm having, stop worrying about everything and try my best to actually look forward to and enjoy college.

what are you looking forward to about starting school/college.

- Meg♥

10 Things That Make Me Happy

One. Stationary ~ it's safe to say that I may have an unhealthy obsession when it comes to stationary, anything like notebooks, colourful pens and post it notes make me extremely happy.

Two. Being happy with my appearance ~ although these occurrences don’t come around very often I love those rare days when I can look in the mirror and be happy with the way I look.

Three. Clean bed sheets ~ I love getting into bed after the bed sheets have been washed, it somehow manages to make the bed a lot more comfortable.

Four. Driving at night ~ although I can’t drive myself yet I still love being driven in the car during the night time. There’s just something calming about it which I love.

Five. Pinterest ~ one of my favourite things to do is scroll through pinterest and look at all the different pictures of animals and different places.

Six. Cats ~ I actually have 2 cats of my own and they fill me with joy every day, I just love cats.

Seven. Musicals ~ two of my favourite things are movies and music so when they come together to form a musical it makes me very happy. Some of my favourite musicals are Grease, Wicked, The Wizard Of Oz, Annie and Mamma Mia.

Eight. Even numbers ~ yes I'm one of those people who has to have everything on an even number, so when things happen to automatically fall on even numbers it makes me very happy.

Nine. Discovering new music ~ I love finding new bands/artists that I've never heard of before and instantly falling in love with their music.

Ten. Making others happy ~ in my opinion one of the best feelings is seeing other people smiling and happy, especially when you were the one to make them happy.

What are some things that make you happy? 

- Meg ♥

Summer Reads

It’s no secret that I am a huge book worm and once I get into a good book I can’t bring myself to put it down. Reading is my way to get away from the world and almost live inside somebody else’s life for a little while, you could say it’s my escape from reality. So due to having so much time to spare over the past couple of months I've got through quite a few books and these are just a few of my favourites. 

To give you an idea of what each book is about here's a description of each along with a link to Amazon in case you're interested in purchasing any;

Fallen: 17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart. 

The Shock Of The Fall: ‘I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.’ The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and ground-breaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.

Girl, Interrupted: In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele, as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary. 

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story: Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbours include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Allegiant: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

- Meg ♥

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I've been considering writing a blog for quite some time now so since recently finishing school I thought this would be the perfect time to start. I've loved writing ever since I was young however I was usually drawn towards more creative pieces which means blogging is something completely new for me, but I thought I’d give it a go anyway.

I feel it’s probably important for me to tell you a few things about myself so back to basics – My name’s Meg and I'm 16 years old from a small town in England. On a more personal note here’s 5 facts about myself;

♥ Reading is my favourite hobby
♥ I love all the Harry Potter films
♥ I love anything fashion related
♥ I listen to an array of different music from country to pop punk to indie

♥ I adore animals and currently have 2 cats and a turtle

My blog will be broadly lifestyle based about things I'm loving and just anything happening in my life that’s worth blogging about. However you may also find a few fashion/beauty posts dotted around every now and then. 
I'm looking forward to finally getting this started and I really hope you like it!

- Meg ♥