Saying Hi and inspiring thoughts

So finally my January exams are finished! Thank goodness! Its been a lot of stress and a lot less blogging has been occurring, and for that I apologise! However, this is a quick post to say HI to you all out there, who are reading this post.

Its a quick post because early tomorrow morning I will be heading to the mainland to attend some Girlguiding Advocate meetings which I am very excited about, so be waiting in anticipation next week for me to share some of my experiences at our meetings as we talk gender equality and positive female role models!

So its a quick hello and goodbye from me, as I need my sleep, however there is an article I would like to share. Its called "What women lose in the fight to be thin", it is incredibly well written by Kate Orazem, with all too true statements such as "Whole nations of women spend their hours not reading books or loving bands or making goddamn change but instead agonizing over the inches of a waist." It is definitely worth a read, and Kate leaves us on a very positive challenge .... "For a generation of brilliant, driven, angry, wonderful women who get up, and look in the mirror, and demand so much less of themselves"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-orazem/body-image-what-women-lose-in-the-fight-to-be-thin_b_2551124.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

So I will leave with a thought, what do we, both men and women, sacrifice for external "beauty", do we sacrifice passion and motivation ... or even our individuality, to be clones of what the media perceive as perfection?! 

Love 

Vicky x

Tweet your way to change the world

Today I found a collection of inspiring stories about a twitter campaign called #NotBuyingIt
Basically what happens is if you see a product or ad that misrepresents or degrades women, use Twitter to post a description or upload a picture of the offensive item. By using the hashtag #notbuyingit the campaign can be followed by the campaign leaders "Miss Representation" - http://www.missrepresentation.org/take-action/notbuyingit/


And for all you male tweeters, you dont have to be female to join the campaign! One male tweeted recently "Really? A woman's body is a billboard or car? My daughter and wife are not commodities #NotBuyingIt"
In an example of the power of your twitter voice, I will tell you one of the success stories of this campaign - one where a few women used Twitter to eliminate a really terrible Hallmark greeting card in a matter of hours.






To the right is the card that caused the controversy.
Stated on this happy birthday card to a 13 year old says "If you had a rich boyfriend he'd give you diamonds and rubies. Well, maybe next year you will, when you've bigger boobies" - Found by a woman in Hallmark who tweeted about it.
What was pointed out was the subliminal message to young and impressionable adolescents that when your "boobies" are bigger you will get a rich boyfriend and he will buy you whatever your heart desires

What was incredible was that the picture was posted on twitter and hastagged and It was soon re-tweeted, blogged about and posted across the Internet. By this afternoon the mainstream press had even picked up the image and the story building on Twitter.
The results came instantly,  with Hallmark apologising and pledging to track down all existing copies of the card still in circulation. 

This is such a success story! The campaign Miss Representation stated that "passionate consumers were able to call-out, organize around and ostensibly eliminate a seriously problematic piece of media from the world’s most recognizable greeting card company (within the span of a single day!) is an awesome reminder of just what we are capable of as a community. And, in particular, the fact that this campaign was sparked, led and won by women is proof that new media is empowering the marginalized in a way that old media never did." From: http://www.missrepresentation.org/notbuyingit/how-twitter-defeated-a-hallmark-greeting-card/

So you can "use your consumer voice" or tweets, to help to
Its really that easy!  A simple message with the hashtag #NotBuyingIt could actually make a real impact!
So... Get Tweeting! 
Love 
Vicky 
xx

Happy New Year!

2012 .. When this year is stated, what will be your memory? The year the world was supposed to end? The year the Olympics came to London? The year you smiled more than you cried? 

I guarantee that all of us will have great laughs and funny times that 2012 could relive for them, but I'm sure all of us have some memories of 2012 that they want to keep there... Losing a loved one, Getting your heart broken, Not getting what you want - life doesn't always go to plan, and we can't predict what's instore for us in 2013 - But that's life, and we need to embrace it unpredictability, as -regardless of religious beliefs- I believe that everything happens for a reason. We may not always see it at the onset, but it will somehow reveal itself.

When I thought over 2012 for me, a number of things stood out for me. I shortlisted these things into a list of 12! Some of them are slightly comical so feel free to laugh...

1. Don't fall asleep with people around... You'll end up with photos like this on facebook ....

                                                                                                   

2. Coke is NOT a good drinks mixer 

3. Duke of Edinburgh Gold is rough! Worse than rough - it could be described as hell.... train everyday before you even think about doing it!

4. When on a ski trip with friends, it is NOT a good idea to do the cinnamon challenge - people will vomit, your room will stink for the whole week of cinnamon and vomit, and you'll be coughing up chunks of cinnamon from your lungs for a good couple of days.

5. Life has a lot of ups and good times 

6. But a heck of a lot of challenging, hard times

7. Being a little bit crazy is not a bad thing 

8. The Mayans were wrong! 

9. I am surrounded by people who love me dearly and have AMAZING friends and family - Love you all! <3 

10. I am stronger than I think 

11.  Boys are mean ... Don't make your car a target! 

12. I can make a difference in the world.

And my last one for 2013 ...The years go by so quickly - cherish every second 

Reflecting on 2012, what memories does it bring back to you? Good or bad, embrace them! They are in the past! And just remember, the experiences you had in 2012, have shaped your character for moving into 2013!

Lots of love and Happy New Year!

Vicky 

xx

Merry Christmas

The 25th of December ... possibly the most exciting day of the year.
 
In the US alone, more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent, every year. It is this day that is proclaimed by Facebook as the "least popular" day for breakups, however, it is found that lots of couples break up two weeks before Christmas. In fact this period is the second most common time of the year for couples to split. So it seems like a happy time, right?
 
I have some more facts for you, sales of mistletoe increase by 45% at Christmas time... so lots of smooching going on, however, next time you go to kiss that special someone under the green twig, think about this. The word mistletoe comes from the Anglo-Saxon word misteltan, which means “little dung twig” because the plant spreads though bird droppings - lovely, the bird poo plant! Sounds romantic, right?
 
Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins - Hmm Sounds very festive, right?
 
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are 2,106 million children under age 18 in the world. If there are on average 2.5 children per household, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles. To reach all 842 million stops, Santa would need to travel between houses in 2/10,000 second, which means he would need to accelerate 12.19 million miles (20.5 billion meters) per second on each stop. The force of this acceleration would reduce Santa to “chunky salsa.” - Sounds viable, right?
 
Some people want to escape from Christmas, but this Christmas fact shows us that Christmas is almost inescapable as carols have even been sung up in space. The first song to be sung in space was Jingle Bells. Two astronauts back in 1965 reported seeing a UFO. They then claimed that the UFO had one main command module and eight smaller modules in front and that the pilot was wearing a red suit. The mischievous pair then went on to sing Jingle Bells to NASA - inescapable?! Sounds like a thrill, right?

I am by no means a scrooge, in fact, I love Christmas! These are just some of the shocking facts I found while scouring through the internet on the laptop I received for Christmas... Despite this, I do believe that this festive holiday has been destroyed in a lot of ways, and in some cases, has lost its true meaning. It has become an over commercialised event, all retailers have jumped on the media bandwagon!
"Christmas is the season of giving" true... but how many times have you been undermined by retailers by this phrase... engraining it into your head that you have to spend your life savings in order to make someone happy. Happiness certainly does not come from materialistic things, such as (as much as I love it) Apple products or any of the other popular items that we on the wish list this Christmas season, or any other Christmas season for that matter.

For me, Christmas means, spending time with your family, seeing relatives you didn't know existed, and seeing people that your busy schedule doesn't allow for you to see. Its a time to take a break (as much as CCEA exams would tell you otherwise!) from your life and focus on the things that our vitally important - showing love, spending time with people who are important to you, showing caring thought.
So as this Christmas Day draws to a close, reflect on how you have spent your day, and how you want to spend your next few days, and perhaps your next Christmas!

So have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!
Best Wishes
Vicky
xx

At World's End

I can safely post this blog, knowing that our world did not end on 21st December 2012, as it is now 28 minutes into the 22nd December.

 Well, initially when I was writing this blog, these numbers were correct, however I got distracted, and 3 days later, I have gotten round to posting it ... so just play along :P

Whether you believed in the Mayan prophecy or not, interpreted it in a different way to the rest of the globe or ignored it, we can all picture what would happen if our world did end. I the world ended on the 21st of December 2012, what legacy would you have left? What way would you have left it with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, the people that you interact with every day? Did you get round to doing that thing you always waned to do? Did you live your life to the fullest potential?

Ok so false alarm, the world didn't end n the 21st,  however Maybe those mischievous Mayan's did us a favour. Maybe, just maybe, they prepared us for the inevitability that we are not immortal... however this can be a good thing! In our lives we are certain of nothing, except for the fact that one day, death will occur. Although death is a topic we like to brush off and not talk about, is it not a good thing that we know that one day we will leave this earth, and go to the place that you believe occurs after death?

Anyways, not getting too deep, I want to leave you with the challenge. Live everyday of your life as if you are at World's end, like every tomorrow is the 21st of December 2012... Make right your wrongs.... Make friends with your enemies .... Laugh until you cry.... Love so much it hurts ... and just live life to its fullest potential, because we aren't cats, we don't get 9 chances, we don't even get a practice run at life.... This life we are living is our one shot and we need to make the most of it! So Live, Laugh and Love

Lots of Love
Vicky
xx

Foundations to life

Whilst at the cinema today ... watching Breaking Dawn Part 2 (which was Fabbbb!).... I saw an advert for a movie called The Impossible. 

It is released in January 2013, and is (as described by IMBD) "An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time."

From my understanding of the advert, it is a recreation of the 2004 South Pacific tsunami, based on a true story. 

When it comes out, it will definitely be a tear jerker of a movie, as I was nearly crying just by watching the advertisement!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgw394ZKsis

 The trailer can be watched via the link above. 

The first 30 seconds of the trailer would disillusion you into thinking that this is either a Thomas Cooke commericial or a cute family movie, however it is far from both these portrayals.

Despite the saddening nature of the film itself, I think it has a very positive portrayal on human race. There is a quote that comes up which is very true...

"Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit"

In the situation, you see each person, helping out others, The son of the family was helping others to find their family, and the father saying "Ill look in all the hospitals and I'll look in all the shelters... I will find them, I promise you". 

 This is a film of hope. We may be constantly bombarded of images in the media of a workd that lacks hope and love, something which is part of the foundations of the Human Beings ... What are we without hope.. "without hope we have nothing"

Without love, we as humans are just empty vessels."To live without love is merely existing, its a robots life" . As the human beings, we need to love and be loved. 

Therefore this film highlighted to me, the two things which are paramount to our Human of Being. When considering this, the famous love verse from the Bible crept into my head, and I thought I would share it.

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.

Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong,

 but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things." 

On a lighter note, this week I discovered the term "Omnishambles" which has been shortlisted for the Oxford English Dictionary, and is defined as a "situation which is shambolic from every angle". Its a comical word, and my aim is to try and use it in a sentence sometime in the next week! Try it for yourself!

Love

Vicky xx

Take back the night ...

My blogging activity has been poor recently due to the mountain of work that is currently building up in my diary. This week has been a busy one, with admissions tests and mock exams, so on Friday nights I like to relax and read some emails... 

With being a part of the "Stop the Violence" campaign network, I regularly get informed of other great charities who support our cause. Tonight, ironically, the organisation I am looking at is called Take Back the Night - Website can be found 

http://www.takebackthenight.org/

A woman walks alone down a dark, deserted street. With every shadow she sees and every sound she hears, her pounding heart flutters and leaps in her chest. She hurries her pace as she sees her destination draw closer. She is almost there. She reaches the front door, goes inside, collects herself, and moves on. The lock she secures helps her to forget, at least for tonight, the gripping fear that momentarily consumed her.

Take Back the Night Foundation seek to end sexual assualt, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence. It aims to create safe environments and respectful relationships. As highlighted on of my previous posts I reiterated the silence that is violence against women ... WAGGGS Stop the Violence campaign along with other organisations such as Take Back the Night aim to turn this silence into a shout! 

Personally, the aim of creating respectful relationships is one that I believe will be a large task. The stigma of relationships, teenage especially, is that you let the male be in control and the female is inferior, and relies on the male ... she has the status of "in a relationship" therefore has lost all independence ... NO this isn't how it should be! 

Girls, remember L'oreal says "you're worth it!" ... You are worth so much more than to be abused in a relationship (both emotionally, mentally and physically) and you definitely don't deserve any of it! 

Found this the other day, possibly no relevance to this post at all,
but quite cute .... Trust Physics to cheer you up!

Listening to Boyce Avenue on Youtube  ... They do a reallly good cover for Apologise by One Republic, 

have a listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DOasai3_Vo

As always, feel free to comment, drop me a text/ facebook message or follow me on twitter! @vkinkaid11

Love 

Vicky xx