I love a good TED Talk, there’s something almost magical about finding one that feels like it’s speaking solely to you and no one else. Often in life, I feel like a creative genius with no form of creative outlet traditional artistic talent, I have so much buzzing around in my head in terms of ideas, thoughts, day-dreams and goals that I feel almost worn out and lost. I find TED Talks to be a great source of calm and a great way to reignite purpose. While searching for creative inspiration a few months back, I stumbled across a TED Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert… and had an ah-ha! moment. You possibly don’t know who Elizabeth Gilbert is, don’t worry I didn’t either at first to be honest. Elizabeth Gilbert is the best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love as well as six other books. I’d certainly heard of her work, and was intrigued about what a big time author would have to share, and I was especially intrigued after she mentioned people now treating her like she was “doomed“… and the pressure to create another best-seller. I’ve never written a best-seller, or even a slow seller for that matter, […]
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It’s almost everywhere you look, Fit-Inspiration, or Fitspo. It’s that barrage of motivational memes with that slightly nastiness about them, it’s those ‘miracle‘ shakes, wonder pills, apps for tracking calories, detox teas and so-called ‘influencers‘ showing us how wonderful life could be if we were disciplined, dedicated and toned. If you’re happy and comfortable in your own skin, then possibly all this fitspo just washes over you. However for some it’s a little more damaging, and can feel like yet another reminder that you’re just not good enough and yet another edition to your to-do list. While there are few contemporary studies into the negative effects of Fitspo, previous research does suggest that an over exposure to fitness related images can be detrimental, particularly to women. Fitspo started out as an online phenomenon, spurred on by Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram but morphed to include things like apps and television shows; helping to create multi-millionaires out of entrepreneurs like Kayla Itsines with her Bikini Body Guide workout app. Nowadays, however, the world almost seems to be full of superfood focused, raw juice obsessed, turmeric crazed, workout junkies, Paleo pedantic, health and wellness diehards. Me on the other hand, I try to eat well […]
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Bullying nowadays takes on many shapes and forms, it’s no longer just the kids taunting one another on the playground at school. Bullies come in many shapes and forms, there workplace bullies, cyber bullies, women bullying other women, bosses bully employees, customers and clients who bully staff… bullying is literally everywhere. Bullying is deliberate, whether words or actions or even inactions, it’s the act of doing or saying something with the intent being to hurt, mock or bring someone down At high school I was called ugly by a group of girls. Day in and day out I was taunted with the words ugly and useless, the words unwanted and hate were also thrown into the mix, leaving a lingering feeling of pity and self-doubt in their wake. I tried to avoid these girls, who were once my friends, but they made a special effort to hunt me out. Prior to the names and the words, the end of our “friendship” was signaled by the girls filling my drink bottle with toilet water and laughing while I unknowingly drunk it. At primary school a teacher on several occasions called me stupid in front of the entire class, and a group […]
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I’ve come across some weird and wonderful people over the years. So much so, I often wonder if my life isn’t really just a Truman Show style experiment. I’ve come across far too many characters for it to be a random coincidence and often imagine that somewhere out there, two TV producers are high-fiving one another for a job well done. Perhaps I’m just a magnet for colourful characters, or maybe all these colourful characters, wonderfully whacky and brilliantly bold people are simply meant to be fodder for great blog content. When I left home at 17, I picked the furthest point from my home town to relocate to, the aim was to be as far from home as possible yet still be in the same country. So naturally I ended up in Invercargill, having never been to the South Island before. From the moment I stepped off the train in my Waikato rugby jersey, I basically flew solo into a Wizard of Oz style tornado full also sorts of different people. I clearly wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I’m not sure where or how I first encountered Dave*, he kind of just appeared from nowhere and then continued to appear […]
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Dear Diary, I’ve been reading and rereading the same letter on and off for almost a year now, it’s neatly folded up and tucked away in my desk drawer and each time I open the drawer I find myself reading it again. Mum found the letter at home, tucked away safely with all my teenage treasures, clearly I’d always planned on keeping it. The author of the letter is a once dear friend, a friend I flatted with, a friend I shared my teenage years with and a friend who I’m no longer in contact with. “Hey Dee, Merry Christmas and all that stuff. … I always thought of you as too popular to lower yourself to my level. Thanks for picking our group. The letter is a bittersweet read, it breaks my heart to think we’re no longer friends and that I don’t know why, but at the same time there’s a sense of joy that I once had such a good friend. It serves as a reminder this letter, a reminder about perception versus reality, a reminder about the power of friendship and a reminder about not taking things for granted. It reads as though I was the cool […]
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Social media and our now digitally saturated lives mean the core of journalism has been forever altered, and largely for the worst I believe. We expect news updates fast, and will tolerate articles packed with he said, she said while accuracy falls by the wayside. Opinion and fact are interchangeable and information is fast and easy to come by, investigation is as easy as tapping away on a keyboard and smashing some search terms into google. The prevalence of Facebook and news apps on our smart phones, as well as Instagram and Twitter mean our demand has changed, we digest media differently and expect news stories, gossip stories, opinion pieces, rumour and salacious stories fast and updates almost instantly. Like naughty teenagers the motto of the day is “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness, than to ask for permission“. News media outlets now battle it out to bring you the “news” first… not the news most well written, or news most well thought out. Speed is the most important part of journalism now… not whether the material reads correctly, or that credible sources have been quoted or that it’s even news. We deal now in “content” which we expect constantly, rather than the […]
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Awesome is kind of in the eye of the beholder… everyone measures or recognises awesome differently, however, when you boil it down awesome does tend to comprise of the same core traits. Popularity aside, awesome is something we all want to be. We want to be awesome, lead awesome lives by doing awesome things… but where does one start? Once upon a time I set myself the task of being more awesome, which is vague airy fairy way of saying I really wanted to just embrace being me. I’ve never been “cool” or particular popular, and I’m pretty okay with that, I’m not interested in following the crowd just to be “cool” but I do fell that being awesome is well within my reach. Easy Steps To Becoming Awesome Do What You Think – Follow your gut and what you believe in and people will in turn respect you. Have a weird idea? Make it a reality. Don’t let neigh sayers stand in your way, many great things have sprung from off the wall ideas. Confidence In You – Awesome is being yourself and being confident in who you are as a person, you don’t need follow fads and fashions […]
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Loneliness is a strange thing, in a crowded room or a busy neighbourhood you can still feel like you’re standing alone, like nobody hears you and nobody can be bothered with you. You can feel completely isolated from your community, colleagues and peers without actually being all alone. You can’t measure loneliness, it’s an immeasurable feeling, rather an a quantifiable situation, meaning you can feel lonely without actually being alone. Someone else can’t measure your loneliness, and you can’t measure theirs. In fact loneliness and being alone aren’t even the same thing, time alone or solitude is something you choose, loneliness is imposed on you by others. Loneliness feels draining, distracting, and upsetting; while being alone is often a desired solitude that feels peaceful, creative and somewhat restorative. Solitude restores body and mind. Loneliness depletes them. In 2018 experts believe that loneliness is serious issue, and that we are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. There is no magic number or mathematical formula for loneliness, it doesn’t matter how many friends you’ve got, or whether your single, dating or married, loneliness is based more on whether you feel disconnected from those around you either emotionally or socially … or both. […]
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I’ve always been of the opinion that the shape and proportions of a mannequin are much like that of Barbie, lovely to look at but at the same time totally unrealistic. I guessing being shorter than most mannequins means I’ve automatically said “nope” and categorised them in the “that’s not me” pile. Every now and then the transition into summer, coupled with poorly thought out comments and media hoopla combine into a mannequin hating, industry loathing shit storm where everything becomes either Fitspo or a Body Positivity message. In 2014, renowned New Zealand fashion designer Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, made the scathingly honest comment that “clothes look better on skinny people” and everyone threw their arms up, ready to hit the streets with burning torches. As much as I hate to say it, she is kinda right, but is that because the fashion industry has coached us to think this way. I would like to think a person of influence, like Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, would do more to create change in the industry rather than further perpetuating the old school ideal of skinny is better. Comments about skinny models and painfully thin mannequins are damaging; as a retail business it deters those customers who […]
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Of course you’re familiar with the TV sit-com Friends, it was one of the most popular television sit-coms of its time running for 10 seasons and since the final episode aired in 2004 the series has aired again and again with years and years of re-runs (which for a long time still pulled big viewer numbers). You’ve most definitely seen an episode or two, and now due to years of reruns I can safely say I’ve probably seen ever single episode and it’s no secret that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the program. I have those remember when moments, except they’re not actually moments from my life… they’re moments from friends. When I was 13, I gave up Speech and Drama classes on a Wednesday evening, simply because it clashed with Friends, obviously this one a time before On Demand viewing, streaming, downloading or straight forward recording of TV programs. If my mum ever asks, the story we’re going to stick to is… I just “got sick of Speech and Drama. It wasn’t fun anymore”. I remember watching the final episode, crushed by the realisation that this was going to be the end of an era. It felt like I was losing […]
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