If you don't live in the UK, you probably will have no idea what I'm talking about but if you do live in the UK, you will know that this day will forever be known as the day all hope died.
So, I wrote that intro a couple of hours ago. And now I'm kinda going to contradict it. I'm not going to congratulate the new government, I'm not going to pretend it's all fine but I'm also not going to let it ruin the next five years.*
*I'm also not going to try and write this impartially, funnily enough.
For the entirety of the Labour-Tory fight, the Conservative Party have stood for making the rich richer and the poor poorer. They want to concentrate wealth, and ensure anyone who needs help for whatever reason, doesn't get it. They seem perfectly content with keeping bedroom tax, a tax that unfairly negatively affects people with disabilities, and not considering mansion tax, a tax that would only affect people with houses worth £2m+ (poor them) and would mean more money for the NHS.
Even writing that made me want to just go to bed and sleep for the next five years.
But, on the plus side, because this election result has angered so many young people, hopefully this result will make people realise that to change politics, you actually have to be involved in it.
Voter turnout for 18-24 year olds increased this year, and I can almost guarantee it will increase further at the next General Election. If my Twitter and Facebook are anything to go by (not that it is really, considering I'm a 16 year old female living in Bristol aka. prime Labour/Green supporting suspect), the next bunch of 18-24 year olds voting in the election in 2020 will hopefully swing the vote the other way.*
*Ie. away from the Tories.
If we let this election result define our lives, we are essentially bowing down to the Tories. Instead, why don't we show them just how hard the 'non-voters' can fight when they believe in something.
They didn't care about us this election because we couldn't vote, but next time we can and we will.
Friday, 8 May 2015
Friday, 1 May 2015
Feminism Is Like Sex.
I tried writing this while listening to the BBC Woman's Hour election debate episode but couldn't quite concentrate while UKIP's Diane James talked about her party's 'fair' policies.
Today's one is going to be both political and feminist because I believe those things are completely intertwined and should be seen as being completely intertwined.
My mum asked me whether I'd listened to the Women's Hour episode (see above) and I said I hadn't but would. However, in true Lily fashion, I also went on a bit of a tangent about the separation of women and men's politics. Because I felt like I didn't quite articulate myself well enough (hard to believe, considering how beautifully written this blog is) I'm going to try again, with the aid of Women's Hour, Google, and the backspace button on my computer.
We hear loads of stuff about how women are unrepresented in the House of Commons (currently only 22%, compared to 51% in the UK), and how the current government have a complete disregard to maintaining gender equality (eg. classing sanitary products as 'luxurious' and 'non-essential') and how even Labour got trying to encourage women to vote so wrong (pink vans ring a bell?). What we don't hear much about is how these problems can be resolved. The resolution I'm going to discuss today is positive discrimination.
positive discrimination /noun/: the act of giving advantage to those groups in society that are often treated unfairly because of their race, sex, etc.
The way in which this can be done is by setting a quota for the number of MPS in the House of Commons (or Lords) that are female and male. This means you can guarantee a fair number of women MPs (51%, I guess, would be the ideal amount).
This would almost guarantee 'women's issues' would be debated (eg. sanitary product tax) and the women of the country's views would be much more fairly represented.
The first problem with this is with the method of allocating MPs. Positive discrimination means that women wouldn't be chosen for their skills, or qualifications, but for their gender. Isn't this the very issue we should be trying to fight? I can't help but think of the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap, 19.7% in 2013, is based on the fact that women are paid less on account of their gender. Shouldn't we be concentrating on trying to remove this bias, not instilling the reciprocal of it into our political system?
However, positive discrimination would provide a ground for which representation of women can be fair, which is essential if we ever want gender equality to be achieved. It's stupid that the need for positive discrimination is so high, but it is.
I, personally, have a bit of an issue with the separation of gender-orientated policies. Yes, it may be hard to see how the tax on sanitary products negatively affects men (no judgments here) but things like free childcare hours and maternity/paternity leave are not gender exclusive. This relates to the issue of men's rights activist groups. The things these groups fight against (eg. unequal maternity and paternity leave) are a result of gender inequality. The reason women have longer leave is because, traditionally, women were (and still are) expected to stay at home and be the sole childcarer, while the man goes out and works. Not only is this hetero-normative, but it also reinforces gender roles and stereotypes.
Gender equality benefits both sexes, and all genders.
In conclusion, positive discrimination is not really a good thing in itself (why have we got to this point of needing it?) but would ensure women, and their views, are fairly represented. The fight for gender equality (aka. feminism) is for both sexes, and needs both sexes to succeed. A bit like sexual reproduction.
Today's one is going to be both political and feminist because I believe those things are completely intertwined and should be seen as being completely intertwined.
My mum asked me whether I'd listened to the Women's Hour episode (see above) and I said I hadn't but would. However, in true Lily fashion, I also went on a bit of a tangent about the separation of women and men's politics. Because I felt like I didn't quite articulate myself well enough (hard to believe, considering how beautifully written this blog is) I'm going to try again, with the aid of Women's Hour, Google, and the backspace button on my computer.
We hear loads of stuff about how women are unrepresented in the House of Commons (currently only 22%, compared to 51% in the UK), and how the current government have a complete disregard to maintaining gender equality (eg. classing sanitary products as 'luxurious' and 'non-essential') and how even Labour got trying to encourage women to vote so wrong (pink vans ring a bell?). What we don't hear much about is how these problems can be resolved. The resolution I'm going to discuss today is positive discrimination.
positive discrimination /noun/: the act of giving advantage to those groups in society that are often treated unfairly because of their race, sex, etc.
The way in which this can be done is by setting a quota for the number of MPS in the House of Commons (or Lords) that are female and male. This means you can guarantee a fair number of women MPs (51%, I guess, would be the ideal amount).
This would almost guarantee 'women's issues' would be debated (eg. sanitary product tax) and the women of the country's views would be much more fairly represented.
The first problem with this is with the method of allocating MPs. Positive discrimination means that women wouldn't be chosen for their skills, or qualifications, but for their gender. Isn't this the very issue we should be trying to fight? I can't help but think of the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap, 19.7% in 2013, is based on the fact that women are paid less on account of their gender. Shouldn't we be concentrating on trying to remove this bias, not instilling the reciprocal of it into our political system?
However, positive discrimination would provide a ground for which representation of women can be fair, which is essential if we ever want gender equality to be achieved. It's stupid that the need for positive discrimination is so high, but it is.
I, personally, have a bit of an issue with the separation of gender-orientated policies. Yes, it may be hard to see how the tax on sanitary products negatively affects men (no judgments here) but things like free childcare hours and maternity/paternity leave are not gender exclusive. This relates to the issue of men's rights activist groups. The things these groups fight against (eg. unequal maternity and paternity leave) are a result of gender inequality. The reason women have longer leave is because, traditionally, women were (and still are) expected to stay at home and be the sole childcarer, while the man goes out and works. Not only is this hetero-normative, but it also reinforces gender roles and stereotypes.
Gender equality benefits both sexes, and all genders.
In conclusion, positive discrimination is not really a good thing in itself (why have we got to this point of needing it?) but would ensure women, and their views, are fairly represented. The fight for gender equality (aka. feminism) is for both sexes, and needs both sexes to succeed. A bit like sexual reproduction.
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Babe Is Busy
The music has changed!
I'm sure only a tiny fraction of you actually let the music play (instead of instantly hitting pause*) but I really feel like one of the best ways to get to know a person is by what music they like/listen to. The songs I choose to put on this blog are songs that make me happy and if you don't like them, that's fine. I'm glad you don't all like the music because if we were all the same, and liked the same things, conversations would be boring and there would be way fewer emojis.
*The pause button is the little daisy flower thing, just in case you hate the music so much that when you can't find the pause button, you have to mute the entire computer (it happens, I have done it).
I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I will abide by the promise I made last May (when I started this blog) that this will not just become one of millions of slowly decaying blogs, but be a positive influence on the Youth Of Today's minds. Okay, maybe that wasn't the promise, or the outcome, but it is the dream.
This post is going to be a light-hearted one because:
a) I can't be bothered to thesaurus-up long, confusing words and google the definitions of these long, confusing words.
b) I've already ruined the mood by saying 'daisy flower thing' and mentioning emojis.
c) I've just had a long cry about my exams and it's kinda making writing a heartfelt essay on how you have to be able to exert power to discriminate against someone, or how we all have to accept the inevitability of death, and dying, in order to not alienate people in our society who are termincally ill sound as appealing as letting my two year old brother lick my face.
I thought I'd go through the songs on my new playlist and explain why they make me happy. Yes, I've already done this with Scissor Sisters but I love writing lists and I love being happy.
1. In The Long Run - The Staves
I was introduced to The Staves by a friend of a friend (who is now, hopefully, my friend too). I can't quite remember when, or where, but I know that it has definitely improved my life. I love harmonies and I love three part harmonies even more. The Staves write such beautiful songs and this is my favourite because of the Beyonce-esque run* on the word 'long'.
*The thing where singers make one syllable last for a couple of minutes by travelling to many different realms of musical perfection.
2. Magic - Eliza Doolittle (originally by Coldplay)
I didn't really choose this song because of the song, but because of the artist. I have loved Eliza Doolittle since about Year 8 (12 years old) when I first heard her song Pack Up. It was a song about not caring about what people say and leaving behind your 'worries'. It was the song that made me genuinely stop caring what people thought about me, and instead just focus on what I wanted. It was also the song that gave me the incentive to buy knee-length purple converse. So, mixed results.
3. I Try - Macy Gray
I only really heard this song properly about 8 months ago when me and my mum were in the car on the motorway. It was after we'd just been to look around Bristol and I remember me and my mum trying to guess the words to it and failing miserably. It's also super catchy and just a real classic.
4. At The River - Groove Armada
I can't remember when I first heard this song but everytime I do now, I get this really nostalgic feeling I can't quite pinpoint. To me, it sounds like a blend of The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. Completely random but so right.
5. Care - Hudson Taylor
I had never heard this band play before but I agreed to go to their gig with my friend in Nottingham. It was so good and I loved every single one of their songs, this one in particular. It reminds me of those friends in Year 7 who would be like "Omg 'Generic Female Name' said this about you yeah she really hates you - I'm only telling you because I'm your friend". I don't think that's quite what the song was intended to be about.
6. Lovers' Carvings - Bibio
I had this friend in Nottingham who was essentially a music prodigy (or at least the most music prodigy-y friend I had) and we used to send each other music we were listening to. My stuff was all cheesy and high-pitched and his stuff was either beautiful or electronic and made me feel way too uncool to be his friend. Anyway, this song was one of the many he sent me and now it brings back happy memories of listening to all these weird electronic songs and hating them all unless they had some sort of lyric. Like I said, way too uncool.
7. Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
This song is completely self-explanatory and anyone who says they have never felt at least a little twinge of joy when listening to this song is lying. Top. Tune.
Sorry I've been too busy to write on this thing. I will try and write a couple more during exam-time but I warn you, they may reflect my emotions a little too much and put you into an almost trance-like state of stress.
Just joking, I'm totally unstressed. *nervous breakdown laugh*
I'm sure only a tiny fraction of you actually let the music play (instead of instantly hitting pause*) but I really feel like one of the best ways to get to know a person is by what music they like/listen to. The songs I choose to put on this blog are songs that make me happy and if you don't like them, that's fine. I'm glad you don't all like the music because if we were all the same, and liked the same things, conversations would be boring and there would be way fewer emojis.
*The pause button is the little daisy flower thing, just in case you hate the music so much that when you can't find the pause button, you have to mute the entire computer (it happens, I have done it).
I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I will abide by the promise I made last May (when I started this blog) that this will not just become one of millions of slowly decaying blogs, but be a positive influence on the Youth Of Today's minds. Okay, maybe that wasn't the promise, or the outcome, but it is the dream.
This post is going to be a light-hearted one because:
a) I can't be bothered to thesaurus-up long, confusing words and google the definitions of these long, confusing words.
b) I've already ruined the mood by saying 'daisy flower thing' and mentioning emojis.
c) I've just had a long cry about my exams and it's kinda making writing a heartfelt essay on how you have to be able to exert power to discriminate against someone, or how we all have to accept the inevitability of death, and dying, in order to not alienate people in our society who are termincally ill sound as appealing as letting my two year old brother lick my face.
I thought I'd go through the songs on my new playlist and explain why they make me happy. Yes, I've already done this with Scissor Sisters but I love writing lists and I love being happy.
1. In The Long Run - The Staves
I was introduced to The Staves by a friend of a friend (who is now, hopefully, my friend too). I can't quite remember when, or where, but I know that it has definitely improved my life. I love harmonies and I love three part harmonies even more. The Staves write such beautiful songs and this is my favourite because of the Beyonce-esque run* on the word 'long'.
*The thing where singers make one syllable last for a couple of minutes by travelling to many different realms of musical perfection.
2. Magic - Eliza Doolittle (originally by Coldplay)
I didn't really choose this song because of the song, but because of the artist. I have loved Eliza Doolittle since about Year 8 (12 years old) when I first heard her song Pack Up. It was a song about not caring about what people say and leaving behind your 'worries'. It was the song that made me genuinely stop caring what people thought about me, and instead just focus on what I wanted. It was also the song that gave me the incentive to buy knee-length purple converse. So, mixed results.
3. I Try - Macy Gray
I only really heard this song properly about 8 months ago when me and my mum were in the car on the motorway. It was after we'd just been to look around Bristol and I remember me and my mum trying to guess the words to it and failing miserably. It's also super catchy and just a real classic.
4. At The River - Groove Armada
I can't remember when I first heard this song but everytime I do now, I get this really nostalgic feeling I can't quite pinpoint. To me, it sounds like a blend of The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. Completely random but so right.
5. Care - Hudson Taylor
I had never heard this band play before but I agreed to go to their gig with my friend in Nottingham. It was so good and I loved every single one of their songs, this one in particular. It reminds me of those friends in Year 7 who would be like "Omg 'Generic Female Name' said this about you yeah she really hates you - I'm only telling you because I'm your friend". I don't think that's quite what the song was intended to be about.
6. Lovers' Carvings - Bibio
I had this friend in Nottingham who was essentially a music prodigy (or at least the most music prodigy-y friend I had) and we used to send each other music we were listening to. My stuff was all cheesy and high-pitched and his stuff was either beautiful or electronic and made me feel way too uncool to be his friend. Anyway, this song was one of the many he sent me and now it brings back happy memories of listening to all these weird electronic songs and hating them all unless they had some sort of lyric. Like I said, way too uncool.
7. Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
This song is completely self-explanatory and anyone who says they have never felt at least a little twinge of joy when listening to this song is lying. Top. Tune.
Sorry I've been too busy to write on this thing. I will try and write a couple more during exam-time but I warn you, they may reflect my emotions a little too much and put you into an almost trance-like state of stress.
Just joking, I'm totally unstressed. *nervous breakdown laugh*
Friday, 6 March 2015
Let Them Wear Jeans.
I'm going to give you a quick run through of what the world would be like without feminism.*
*Yeah, yeah, I know, more of that boring equal rights stuff but hey, it's my blog so deal with it.
Without feminism, women wouldn't be allowed to play sports such as football or rugby.
Without feminism, rape within marriage would still be legal.
Without feminism women wouldn't be able to wear jeans.
Without feminism, women wouldn't even be given the choice as to whether to vote or not.
Without feminism, women wouldn't have any education other than learning to cook and sew.
Granted, there are still people, male and female, who are victims of this sort of injustice. Slavery and trafficking is still a very real threat for millions of people. And we can't forget about them. But, we can take small steps. Every single thing feminism achieves brings the human race a few steps forward in wiping out all forms of injustice, which is why we can't stop.
I've been reading Caitlin Moran's book 'How to Be a Woman' (well technically I read half of it then had to give it back in to the school library) and it got me thinking about when girls deny being feminists.
She said something about how she doesn't even argue with these women who say they're not feminist because by expressing that opinion, they are already contradicting themselves. Without feminism, these girls wouldn't be able to discuss the prospect of gender equality in public anyway.
I can guarantee every single woman who says she isn't a feminist has worn trousers once in her life. I can also guarantee that she has been offered to play football (or any sort of sport really) at least once in her life.
Basically, in a round-about way, I'm saying that most women who think they're not feminists actually are. And, unsurprisingly, most of them do not actually believe men are superior to them.
Please sign this petition standing up for girls who aren't offered an education because why wouldn't you?
https://www.upforschool.org/petitions/stand-upforschool-2?signature_token=f1eb05e1c3222527d9cbe8e46d306bfcfd7e2d72
*Yeah, yeah, I know, more of that boring equal rights stuff but hey, it's my blog so deal with it.
Without feminism, women wouldn't be allowed to play sports such as football or rugby.
Without feminism, rape within marriage would still be legal.
Without feminism women wouldn't be able to wear jeans.
Without feminism, women wouldn't even be given the choice as to whether to vote or not.
Without feminism, women wouldn't have any education other than learning to cook and sew.
Granted, there are still people, male and female, who are victims of this sort of injustice. Slavery and trafficking is still a very real threat for millions of people. And we can't forget about them. But, we can take small steps. Every single thing feminism achieves brings the human race a few steps forward in wiping out all forms of injustice, which is why we can't stop.
I've been reading Caitlin Moran's book 'How to Be a Woman' (well technically I read half of it then had to give it back in to the school library) and it got me thinking about when girls deny being feminists.
She said something about how she doesn't even argue with these women who say they're not feminist because by expressing that opinion, they are already contradicting themselves. Without feminism, these girls wouldn't be able to discuss the prospect of gender equality in public anyway.
I can guarantee every single woman who says she isn't a feminist has worn trousers once in her life. I can also guarantee that she has been offered to play football (or any sort of sport really) at least once in her life.
Basically, in a round-about way, I'm saying that most women who think they're not feminists actually are. And, unsurprisingly, most of them do not actually believe men are superior to them.
Please sign this petition standing up for girls who aren't offered an education because why wouldn't you?
https://www.upforschool.org/petitions/stand-upforschool-2?signature_token=f1eb05e1c3222527d9cbe8e46d306bfcfd7e2d72
How to Win Every Argument.
One thing my Global Perspectives teacher said the other day really stuck with me. She said 'You can't have a fully formed opinion without a thorough understanding of both sides of the argument'.*
*Not verbatim.
This is one thing I've really had to work on these last few months or so. In Politics, we have to be able to debate both sides of an argument, regardless of your personal opinion. This is obviously beneficial because of like mark schemes and all that boring stuff but it also teaches you to be open to other opinions and really understand how someone could believe something different to you.*
*Most of the time it's not that deep. It's usually stuff like 'Should we have more referendums?' - gritty stuff, I know.
We had a debate in Biology last week about stem cell research and I had to argue on the against side. This was really hard for me because I am so passionate about new scientific discoveries and giving people the best possible chance of survival, but am also Christian so believe in preserving life. So, not only was this internal debate going off in my mind, I also had to piece together the couple of kinda lame ideas I'd had in preparation for the debate into a comprehensive argument.*
*I'm prone to headaches.
The outcome of the debate doesn't really matter (namely because it was a Biology lesson not the House of Commons) but what I took away from it was that I am finally starting to be able to clearly see two sides of a debate.
Writing that makes me realise how, to anyone else, this is like nothing. Being able to think is hardly an achievement. It reminds me of when your really fit, sporty friends are like 'Omg I got my PB in 100m backcrawl today' and you're like 'Please would you pass me the crisps'.
No-one cares.
This is just a bit of a heads up to people who strongly believe something. People won't take you seriously in an argument/debate if you don't consider their opinion.*
*This is coming from my experience of many, many hopeless arguments where I forgot that it is possible to not agree with my opinion. (Like, what?)
So be acceptant, open-minded and most importantly, kickass.
*Not verbatim.
This is one thing I've really had to work on these last few months or so. In Politics, we have to be able to debate both sides of an argument, regardless of your personal opinion. This is obviously beneficial because of like mark schemes and all that boring stuff but it also teaches you to be open to other opinions and really understand how someone could believe something different to you.*
*Most of the time it's not that deep. It's usually stuff like 'Should we have more referendums?' - gritty stuff, I know.
We had a debate in Biology last week about stem cell research and I had to argue on the against side. This was really hard for me because I am so passionate about new scientific discoveries and giving people the best possible chance of survival, but am also Christian so believe in preserving life. So, not only was this internal debate going off in my mind, I also had to piece together the couple of kinda lame ideas I'd had in preparation for the debate into a comprehensive argument.*
*I'm prone to headaches.
The outcome of the debate doesn't really matter (namely because it was a Biology lesson not the House of Commons) but what I took away from it was that I am finally starting to be able to clearly see two sides of a debate.
Writing that makes me realise how, to anyone else, this is like nothing. Being able to think is hardly an achievement. It reminds me of when your really fit, sporty friends are like 'Omg I got my PB in 100m backcrawl today' and you're like 'Please would you pass me the crisps'.
No-one cares.
This is just a bit of a heads up to people who strongly believe something. People won't take you seriously in an argument/debate if you don't consider their opinion.*
*This is coming from my experience of many, many hopeless arguments where I forgot that it is possible to not agree with my opinion. (Like, what?)
So be acceptant, open-minded and most importantly, kickass.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
How Gone Girl Screwed With My Mind.
Who sees the real you?
Bit of a deep one for you today. I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm writing this in between watching Nashville (like when it's buffering) so it may be slightly bitty. Just so you don't feel left out of the video-watching club, here's a video by Soul Pancake (a Youtube channel).
As you can probably tell, this video is what prompted me to write this post.*
*I can't come up with deep subjects like this all on my own.
Anyway, it really got me thinking about who sees the real me (funnily enough) and I thought I'd just pour out all my thoughts into this blog in an attempt to see it more clearly. Does that make sense? I feel like this post is just going to drag me deeper into the void of self doubt. Ah well, as long as it isn't too long...
The first thing I thought when I watched this video was: What does see mean? It could mean understanding and really knowing a person, or it could be mean, like, literally seeing. I'm guessing the video is focusing on the former because it's deeper and easier to add emotive background music to.
In that sense, I don't think anyone sees 'The Real Me' because I'm not sure who that person is. Before you start to think I'm going to go off on some longggg tangent about finding myself and Jesus and self-acceptance and all that stuff, I'm not. Because I don't think I'm there yet. Or more accurately, I don't think this 'there', this final destination, is even on my map. I think we're all a lot of people. We're who the person you're interacting with needs, we're who a certain decision needs to be made, we're who we need to be to get through the day.*
*Can you tell I've read Gone Girl?
And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with being a different person with different people because everyone does it. Maybe it's not very noticeable in a lot of people, but sometimes it's just little things. For example, someone may react differently to a question depending on who's asking and what the consequence of their answer will be, or someone may laugh at a joke they would never find funny in a different situation.
I am a lot of people. I'm a typical, hard-working student in Biology, I'm an argumentative feminist in Politics, I'm a frustrated failure in Maths, I'm an annoying big sister with my brothers, I'm an ill patient at the doctors and an exhausted teenager in my room.
So no-one sees 'The Real Me' because I'm never all of those things at once and I'm never in a situation where I need to be.
Just writing this, I've come up with an idea. Whenever you feel yourself being one of your 'many selves', think to yourself 'Who/what am I being this person for?'. When the answer is 'Me', then you've found yourself.
Bit of a deep one for you today. I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm writing this in between watching Nashville (like when it's buffering) so it may be slightly bitty. Just so you don't feel left out of the video-watching club, here's a video by Soul Pancake (a Youtube channel).
As you can probably tell, this video is what prompted me to write this post.*
*I can't come up with deep subjects like this all on my own.
Anyway, it really got me thinking about who sees the real me (funnily enough) and I thought I'd just pour out all my thoughts into this blog in an attempt to see it more clearly. Does that make sense? I feel like this post is just going to drag me deeper into the void of self doubt. Ah well, as long as it isn't too long...
The first thing I thought when I watched this video was: What does see mean? It could mean understanding and really knowing a person, or it could be mean, like, literally seeing. I'm guessing the video is focusing on the former because it's deeper and easier to add emotive background music to.
In that sense, I don't think anyone sees 'The Real Me' because I'm not sure who that person is. Before you start to think I'm going to go off on some longggg tangent about finding myself and Jesus and self-acceptance and all that stuff, I'm not. Because I don't think I'm there yet. Or more accurately, I don't think this 'there', this final destination, is even on my map. I think we're all a lot of people. We're who the person you're interacting with needs, we're who a certain decision needs to be made, we're who we need to be to get through the day.*
*Can you tell I've read Gone Girl?
And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with being a different person with different people because everyone does it. Maybe it's not very noticeable in a lot of people, but sometimes it's just little things. For example, someone may react differently to a question depending on who's asking and what the consequence of their answer will be, or someone may laugh at a joke they would never find funny in a different situation.
I am a lot of people. I'm a typical, hard-working student in Biology, I'm an argumentative feminist in Politics, I'm a frustrated failure in Maths, I'm an annoying big sister with my brothers, I'm an ill patient at the doctors and an exhausted teenager in my room.
So no-one sees 'The Real Me' because I'm never all of those things at once and I'm never in a situation where I need to be.
Just writing this, I've come up with an idea. Whenever you feel yourself being one of your 'many selves', think to yourself 'Who/what am I being this person for?'. When the answer is 'Me', then you've found yourself.
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Lovey Dovey Ghetto Princess.
I have loved Scissor Sisters since, like, forever. There's just something about their music that makes me want to eat a handful of glitter, jump on a train to Vienna and buy a herd of wild pugs.
All whilst singing at an only-dogs-can-hear pitch and thrusting rhythmically.
After writing that pretty graphic (yet realistic) description of me dancing, I realised I didn't really know what else to write about this. So, I'm going to list my favourite of Scissor Sisters' songs and give a brief insight into why they make me so happy.
5. I Don't Feel Like Dancin'.
This goes without saying, really. I just find it so great that the one song professing not dancing is the single best song at making you want to dance. Also, literally nobody knows the words to the rest of the song except the line 'I don't feel like dancing, no sir, no dancing today'. Personally, I like to sing the first line as 'Wake up in the morning and the mojo's in the place, my heart can take a chance but I don't whither either way'. According to azlyrics.com (reliable source, I know), the actual lyric is 'Wake up in the morning with a head like ‘what ya done?’ This used to be the life but I don’t need another one'. Let down. To be perfectly honest, I don't even think Scissor Sisters know what the actual words are to this song. They just shimmy gracefully through the song, trying to make it rhyme.
4. Skin Tight.
Lesser known, but a classic. Well technically it's not a classic for exactly the reason I just highlighted, but it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I love this song because the lyrics are like properly beautiful and emotional yet they choose to put them to a rave-worthy bass and make it a groove, rather than a ballad. I don't know about you, but I love a groove. This is the sort of song I can imagine dancing to in the rain.
3. Filthy / Gorgeous.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the genius of this song. I can pretty much guarantee that every single one of you will have at least one memory of listening to this song. And that memory will either be excruciatingly painful to recall or will make you smile reading this. It's just one of those songs. Personally, I have countless memories of dancing to this at parties, generally with my parents and their friends. Yes, that means that 6 year old me used to innocently sing the words to this song (or at least some version of the words) with adults that knew perfectly well what the lyrics meant but let me belt them out to crowds of strangers anyway.
2. Invisible Light.
I don't know why I love this song so much, but I really do. I can just imagine the chorus being the soundtrack to almost every single good moment in my life. I listen to it when I'm sad or grumpy or bored (or any other mood that requires me to wear extra eyeliner). Just listen to it, and hopefully you'll understand.
1. Fire with Fire.
This is my favourite song of all time, not just of the Scissor Sisters collection. I cry almost every single time I listen to it, or I energetically dance solidly for the entire song. My moods vary a lot. I think it's a combination of the piano riff at the beginning, Jake Shears' shameless vocals, and probably my favourite lyrics ever written. If there was ever a song that came close enough to describing me, it would be this one. Fire with fire. It's practically my motto now. Not that I'm validating 'revenge'; I'm a firm believer in the 'if someone hits you, turn the other cheek' party line. But 'turning the other cheek', to me, doesn't mean forgetting about it. If someone hurts you, or something you care about, you have a right to question it and to stand up for what you believe in. So even if your fire is a huge bonfire, or the tiny flame hiding underneath the coal, you're still fighting.
So, at the end of that rather long 'list', I hope you have something to take away from it. Even if it's just that I had a slightly dysfunctional childhood. At least you now know a little bit about why I am, well, the way that I am.
#bornthisway #cheesyinspirationalmetaphorsforlife
All whilst singing at an only-dogs-can-hear pitch and thrusting rhythmically.
After writing that pretty graphic (yet realistic) description of me dancing, I realised I didn't really know what else to write about this. So, I'm going to list my favourite of Scissor Sisters' songs and give a brief insight into why they make me so happy.
5. I Don't Feel Like Dancin'.
This goes without saying, really. I just find it so great that the one song professing not dancing is the single best song at making you want to dance. Also, literally nobody knows the words to the rest of the song except the line 'I don't feel like dancing, no sir, no dancing today'. Personally, I like to sing the first line as 'Wake up in the morning and the mojo's in the place, my heart can take a chance but I don't whither either way'. According to azlyrics.com (reliable source, I know), the actual lyric is 'Wake up in the morning with a head like ‘what ya done?’ This used to be the life but I don’t need another one'. Let down. To be perfectly honest, I don't even think Scissor Sisters know what the actual words are to this song. They just shimmy gracefully through the song, trying to make it rhyme.
4. Skin Tight.
Lesser known, but a classic. Well technically it's not a classic for exactly the reason I just highlighted, but it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I love this song because the lyrics are like properly beautiful and emotional yet they choose to put them to a rave-worthy bass and make it a groove, rather than a ballad. I don't know about you, but I love a groove. This is the sort of song I can imagine dancing to in the rain.
3. Filthy / Gorgeous.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the genius of this song. I can pretty much guarantee that every single one of you will have at least one memory of listening to this song. And that memory will either be excruciatingly painful to recall or will make you smile reading this. It's just one of those songs. Personally, I have countless memories of dancing to this at parties, generally with my parents and their friends. Yes, that means that 6 year old me used to innocently sing the words to this song (or at least some version of the words) with adults that knew perfectly well what the lyrics meant but let me belt them out to crowds of strangers anyway.
2. Invisible Light.
I don't know why I love this song so much, but I really do. I can just imagine the chorus being the soundtrack to almost every single good moment in my life. I listen to it when I'm sad or grumpy or bored (or any other mood that requires me to wear extra eyeliner). Just listen to it, and hopefully you'll understand.
1. Fire with Fire.
This is my favourite song of all time, not just of the Scissor Sisters collection. I cry almost every single time I listen to it, or I energetically dance solidly for the entire song. My moods vary a lot. I think it's a combination of the piano riff at the beginning, Jake Shears' shameless vocals, and probably my favourite lyrics ever written. If there was ever a song that came close enough to describing me, it would be this one. Fire with fire. It's practically my motto now. Not that I'm validating 'revenge'; I'm a firm believer in the 'if someone hits you, turn the other cheek' party line. But 'turning the other cheek', to me, doesn't mean forgetting about it. If someone hurts you, or something you care about, you have a right to question it and to stand up for what you believe in. So even if your fire is a huge bonfire, or the tiny flame hiding underneath the coal, you're still fighting.
So, at the end of that rather long 'list', I hope you have something to take away from it. Even if it's just that I had a slightly dysfunctional childhood. At least you now know a little bit about why I am, well, the way that I am.
#bornthisway #cheesyinspirationalmetaphorsforlife
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