We are the generation of worriers.

I'm unsure as to where this blog post is going to go so bear with me.

I'm thinking maybe I should start doing a weekly thing so I keep up to date with this blog. However I do have exams that I need to revise for and, sorry, but they must come first (as much as I hate to admit that). If I were to do a weekly thing I would have no idea what I could that is 'original'. As I was revising today I was listening to Radio 6 and this caller said how he was in his final year of university, doing music journalism, and he couldn't find a job. Then Steve Lamacq gave some advice that you need to find your own 'thing'. You know, like what makes you original. But I've come to realise that originality is getting harder to find. Technology has meant that literally every aspect of anything has been talked about. As much as I love that technology is always rapidly changing, sometimes I just can't keep up and then I think we begin to lose ourselves. 

I know this sounds selfish, but I do feel sorry for our generation. Making a stand used to be so...rare before, but now it seems that it makes no difference. Both my parents are teachers and we've been on so many marches in our time, but none of them seem to make a difference. Gove is still ruining education and it's not as if Ed Milliband has said anything against him before. I think something original needs to happen. That doesn't mean violence or whatever, just something that gets our voices heard. 

I would have said, that because of the vast amount of technology we have now it must have become easier. But think about the whole getting 'Ding-Dong The Witch Is Dead' to number one for Margaret Thatcher's death. The people of the UK spoke and they wanted that as their number one, however, this was completely dismissed and we only heard five seconds of it. I've begun to realise that you have no voice if you're not important in some way. And by important I mean part of the Upper Class. Knowing what you want to do in life. Knowing that you'll go to a public school. Knowing you'll go to Oxbridge. I am constantly losing faith in what I will become and who I'm going to be. It's become so hard.

I also think it's sad that I've started to think this way. I'm a seventeen year old girl. I should have a wide amount of possibilities before me but I know that's not the case. Maybe it's from living in a very realistic household. Or maybe it's from actually taking into consideration what is happening in the world. Whatever it is, I feel that I know the truth and I feel deflated about it. I miss being a little kid without any cares. Without the constant worry that I should be revising "10 hours a day" (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration) for my exams. Or without the worry of University fees. 

I've come to the conclusion that we are the generation of worriers. We have a lot to worry about, no matter how much we try to not show it. We are. Think of this what you will.

Mabel x

Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card

Have you ever read a book that has changed your life? One that has really just made you stop and think about everything and who you are and who you want to be? Yeah, I haven't. Well, I don't think I have. Surely if I had I would remember it?

I just finished reading The Fault In Our Stars after literally everyone on twitter fangirling (sorry) over it. I had read Looking For Alaska by John Green and was extremely dissapointed. I wasn't as dissapointed with this one, however, I didn't like it very much. It seems that for a book to be a teenage book it has to be about someone (obviously another teenager) that has a really horrible life and then finds love and it gets a bit better but then everything is crap again. (But it's always kind of good by the end). I don't know about you but I've never really properly related to these kind of books.

I just want something real. Something utterly depressing because it's utterly real. 
For my English A Level we studied a play called Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett and if any of you know the play you would know it's a comedy but nothing, and yet everything, happens. And basically it is about life. We're all waiting for something but everything just stays the same. Where are the books like this? Maybe people feel they wouldn't sell (everything is about money nowadays) because when most people read they want to be exported from the real world and into someone else's. Which, I admit, that is one of the main reasons I read. But just for once I would like to read a book that I can relate to and will make me think. 
Maybe you guys have some recommendations? 

Anyway, this was just a little thought. Sorry for not writing many blog posts, I haven't felt inspired as they say. 
Thanks for reading and now time for some nice images.






(I'm going to see Lana Del Rey live in 20 days!!)


(Did you all have a good Record Store Day?)

It Ain't Me Babe

I have absolutely nothing to say. As you may have noticed I haven't written a blog post in a few weeks and seeing as I have no inspiration, here's some songs that I've been listening to and playing on the guitar. 

I Am A Master Hunter - Laura Marling

All Too Well - Taylor Swift

Panic Cord - Gabrielle Aplin

Laura - Bat For Lashes

Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush

Bel Air - Lana Del Rey

Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole - Martha Wainwright

Last Hope - Paramore

Eet - Regina Spektor

America - Simon & Garfunkel

To A Poet - First Aid Kit

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

Venus In Furs - The Velvet Underground

I'm sorry this isn't a proper blog post. (No ranting etc). But I haven't had anything to say other than I have exams but instead of revising I'm playing the guitar.

Listen and tell me your favourite songs!

Body Issues

You may have noticed from my past few blog posts that I haven't been having the best few months and that can also be shown on the scales. This month I've gained half a stone and, to be honest, I'm actually freaking out by it and I hate that I'm thinking like that. If I know that everyone is beautiful no matter what shape or size, why don't I think that about myself? 

This week I saw an article about Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays about how she's put on weight from a size 8 to a size 10. This article was extremely negative about this weight gain, saying things like "apparently she's happy about the weight she's gained." Well, if she's happy, then why should we care? And why is it that a female's weight is part of the news?! The article ended with a slide show filled with celebrities that had lost weight and were obviously very unhealthy, however, they were saying how amazing they looked. Really we should be encouraging people to be a healthy weight. Being 'skinny' does not mean they are fit or healthy. That's what people need to realise. 

It depresses me that because these females are in the limelight they feel that they must lose weight. Everyone is different. We are encouraged at a young age to think differently, have our own ideas about things, however, why when we grow up is it not the same? Society has forced us into thinking one way is the best way and sadly weight is one of the major factors. Designer 
Caroline Castigliano has been working in fashion for two decades and in her London Fashion Week show, of this year, she couldn't find 8 models that were of a healthy weight. Most designers don't even care about this, so when girls of my age or younger see these images, we think it is the norm. 

In a Sociology lesson that I had the other week we looked through a number of magazines all for different ages. For every single female magazine it mentioned something about dieting, even the children's magazines. This made me realise how much of a problem this is and it wasn't until recently that I realised that it was also a problem for me. I can admit that I am overweight, I know my BMI, however, if I do lose weight, it's for myself. It's to get healthy. It's not for anyone else. Which is why I appreciated Frankie Sandford for telling everyone she gained weight for herself and because she wanted to be healthy. Girls need good role models in their lives and we need to stick together to make a difference because recently, I have felt that feminism has been going backwards.

Actions speak louder then words. Which is why I know writing a blog post about this won't do much, however, every little bit counts. Read some magazines and get noticing these things. Send complaints to editors or tv programme studios and let's start making a difference! You never know, you could be the next Gloria Steinem.

 

This is an image of the model Karlie Kloss that was published

in a Japanese magazine. 

Dove did a campaign to make people aware of the power of photoshop.

 

However, it is not just women who have body issues.