Love from, Florence Grace

What seems like a life time ago, our lives were changed with the unavoidable presence of former Apprentice participant, Katie Hopkins. Without realising what was happening, Katie was suddenly everywhere we looked- in the paper, on the TV and, of course, all over Twitter, with an account that has caused more controversy than any other. Outspoken, unafraid and highly opinionated, Katie Hopkins is the human equivalent of Marmite. But why do so many of us choose to hate her? Katie Hopkins is most famously known for having an opinion and airing it for anyone to hear, with no care for how it affects other people. This can be good and bad. It's always a positive thing to be able to have an opinion and to express it regardless of how others may feel. To be that confident is a great thing, and to have your own opinions rather than being a sheep and copying others, as many people tend to do nowadays, is also a great thing. However, expressing an opinion that will intentionally upset someon...

So what started as a hot and sunny month, bizarrely, suddenly changed into a mass of rain, storms, grey skies and sub-zero temperatures. Everybody, say hello to October! I welcome October with open arms, as I love Autumn. However, cold I can deal with, wet weather I can not! Anyway, here are my style picks for the month where Autumn really gets underway...spend wisely! The 'Black Fluffy Short Sleeve Jumper' is available from New Look at £19.99. I feel this is the perfect jumper for October! There is still some warmer weather, so the short sleeves accommodate for this, whilst the fluffy material ensures you will stay nice and toasty when the temperature drops a little! At just under twenty pounds, the price isn't too bad for a jumper- and don't forget to take advantage of your student discount!  I love the 'Tia Dogtooth Print Leggings' from Boohoo, and they are an absolute bargain at just £6.00...again, don't forget your student discount! Dogto...

I'm sure all you fashionistas out there have been keeping a careful eye on Paris Fashion Week and wishing you could be there, wearing the clothes, designing them- whichever role, I'm sure you were watching it with a dream in mind! So I'm sure that it came as a surprise to everyone when well renowned designer Karl Lagerfeld hosted a display of 'protest', supporting the wrongly controversial political movement, feminism. At first, the idea struck most as quite positive. Someone of a high status choosing a popular event to support feminism- great idea, right?  Look a little deeper into the display and I am sure you will notice just how flawed the display was. Let's first take a look at who was used to take part in this display supporting feminism. Stick thin models, probably size 6 or less, all with the 'perfect' Westernized look and in, obviously, designer garb. These women, representing 'real' women all over the world, and yet hardly an ou...

So as we start October, we feel the full effects of Autumn. The bizarre 'heat waves' we were given throughout September have quickly faded out and the colder weather, storms and fallen leaves and darker evenings have begun to make themselves at home. I, for one, love Autumn. Bonfire night, Halloween, the cosy clothes that provide a transition into winter and the beautiful coloured leaves. Need I say more? Anyway, to emphasize my love of Autumn, I have decided to complete 'The Autumn Tag' for my next blog post. Kick back with a hot chocolate, snuggle into your granny cardi and read away...! Okay, we're talking coffee's- what's your favourite seasonal drink from Starbucks/Costa/Cafe Nero etc.?  It's actually a really sad fact that I talk about often- I don't like hot drinks at all  so always miss out on the 'cute' seasonal latte's etc.! It always makes me sad because they always look so nice and have such lovely names but I just can...

To 16 year old me, Where do you start with a letter you are sure will never be read? I don't know for certain that time travel exists, so how can I be sure you would ever get this letter? I can't be. And yet there is so many things I want to tell you about, so many words of wisdom and warnings that I would like to pass along to you, to protect you from the negatives that are coming your way and to help you look forward to the positives (without ruining the surprises to come too much!). Perhaps even if you- my 16 year old self- never reads this, another 16 year old girl will do, and I can help her too. Knowing this is a possibility makes me happy...so let me continue to write, and hopefully pass on some nuggets of information to you that will help you in one way or another. At just 18, I still have plenty more to learn about life. And yet at just 18 I have learnt enough to guide someone younger than myself through their teenage years. I must first break you the disappointing...

Everyone knows just how hard it is to break into a career that you really dream of doing. Every day you have more and more people applying to the same jobs, trying to reach the same dream. It's even harder when the industry that you are trying to break into is such a competitive one- such as the media. Unfortunately for me, it has always been my goal to work in the media, and as I get older I realize just how difficult it is going to be to achieve my dreams. However, as I get older I am also being presented with new opportunities and 'ways in'...so it is getting a little easier for me. On Wednesday the 24th of September, I traveled to London (alone...for the first time!) to participate in two sessions that I hoped would help me on my way to becoming a media superstar. The first session was in the morning- 'A Day In The Life Of Q Magazine's Art Director'. As you can probably guess by the title of the session, I was past excited. Q Magazine is huge . I could har...

WARNING:  The following article is about rape and contains sensitive content. The subject of rape I have chosen to talk about is predominantly female victims with male attackers from Britain and the USA- this does not mean I am not aware that rape victims can be male, can be children and that it is a huge issue all over the world as well as here. Please do not take offence to the areas that I personally have chosen to focus on. Girls love a big night out- the gossip, the drinking, the dancing. Best of all is the pre-drinks, and the getting dolled up, all girls together. Fancy heels, little dresses, eyelashes and glitter all come together to create an outfit preparing you for a night on the town. There's no denying though, that throughout all the fun of getting ready, there is often one worry lingering at the back of a girls mind. "Does this outfit create the wrong impression of me?". Half of all youths think that rape is 'okay' in a 'certain situation...

University. The whole idea of starting somewhere new, living away from home and trying a completely different lifestyle whilst learning a new subject and important life skills can seem both daunting and exciting at once. There's often one problem that bothers new students the most though- money. University is, ultimately, not affordable. The cost of books, equipment, accommodation, the course itself and then just the cost of living (food, clothes etc.) all totals to huge amounts that not even our parents could afford, let alone 18 and 19 year old students. And what do you get at the end of it? Yes 'life long friends' and life skills (which can be gained anytime, any place...) but also a huge amount of debt to pay off, and no immediate job prospects a lot of the time. Whilst having a degree used to put you above the rest, is university still the best option of school leavers? Going to university is no longer a route that will lead you to a guaranteed job complete with an ...

This piece has been edited with pictures removed to avoid copyright infringement. September is here! Summer has gradually faded out and autumn is creeping in...days get shorter and the weather gets colder. But now summer is over, this doesn't mean style walks out the door too! Here are my style picks for September. The 'Horoscope Tee' from Topshop for £16.00 is one of my favourite t-shirts around at the moment! The symbols for each horoscope are all so cool, and to have them on the t-shirt in such a simple way really appeals to me! It looks far better than Tee and Cake's star sign tee, which is over crowded and messy looking. The price is a little steep for what the top is, but it's definitely a must- buy on my list!             The 'Lace Panel Tee' in 'Berry Red' is perfect for the start of Autumn. The colour is perfect for September. but the lace edging to the t-shirt is perfect for the sunny days that September still has left! Av...

So the first week of starting school or college is finally over...and if you're starting college or sixth form, you're probably realizing that you may need to make some major changes in your life to accommodate yourself to the life of an A Level student. Having completed two years of A Levels and leaving with some very good results, I've compiled a list of my top tips to help you out for the next step in your education! Tip One : Be organised. This sounds obvious, but as you get older and gain more freedom, become able to drive or drink (hopefully not at the same time...!) staying organised becomes more and more difficult. Keeping a diary is a must- this really will prevent you from forgetting anything. Dates, meetings, deadlines, anything. Have plenty of folders and dividers to keep all your work organised and have a set space in your room kept clear for storing your work and keeping it safe. Tip Two : Start retaining information you learn right away. When writing in ...

At this day in age, we are used to seeing the female body naked. It might be in films, to portray a sex scene. It might be in advertising, such as the campaign "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" campaign by PETA. One of the worst forms of female nudity in our society however is the Page 3 Pin Up girls. One word- why? Page 3 pin ups are something I have never understood. Whether that's because I lack sexual attraction towards women or not, I don't know. But I just can't get my head around two major points about pin up girls. Firstly, why would you want to smack an image of a naked woman, who doesn't look anything but trashy, in the middle of a well respected newspaper, such as The Sun? Secondly, what woman wants her naked body displayed as a grainy image in a newspaper for aging business men to ogle over on their train journey home to their wife? I just do not understand. Let's first look at this from the woman's point of view. Obviously the ...

If anybody has been watching the newest series of Made In Chelsea, MICNYC, you will have been introduced to a fairly new concept by the slightly slimy New Yorker, Jules- Polyamorous love. In the series, New Yorker Jules Hamilton takes a love interest in Chelsea girl, Rosie. Whilst Rosie begins to fall head over heels for what appears to be a handsome, charming young man, co-stars Binky and Louise later reveal to her that Jules has a girlfriend, and is seeing 3 other girls as well as Rosie in what is called a 'polyamorous relationship'. So what does being polyamorous mean? Polyamory is defined as the acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. To the ladies on screen- and off!- this sounded a lot like 'slutty behavior' and 'cheating', whilst to men this sounded like a dream set up. Needless to say they were far more open to the idea than the Chelsea ladies. But is polyamory all abou...

So despite Brangelina being a 'thing' for God knows how many years, the superstar couple weren't actually married. Who knew? The pair tied the knot, diminishing all rumors of divorce and break ups, in France, on the 23rd of August, with just 22 guests to witness 'Brangelina' finally tying the knot. The pair acknowledged just how important it was that the day was entirely family orientated in a joint statement, saying "It was such a special day to share with our children and a very happy time for our family". And indeed the children did get to share the couple's special day in great depth. The venue for the special occasion was the family's home in France, Chateau Miraval- familiar and comforting for the children and personal to the loved up couple. Perfect. The vows were not only romantic and sweet but were written with assistance from their children, and consisted of promises the children wanted their parents to make to each other in order to ...

Bullying. A word we all learn to become familiar with from a young age- which in itself says a lot about the society we live in. Bullying can take many shapes and forms and isn't always recognizable. It can affect people mentally, physically and emotionally. It can be done in the work place, in the street, in schools or clubs, over the internet. And most importantly of all- it can happen to anyone. Here in the United Kingdom, there is currently no legal definition of bullying. This only proves more so that it can be so complex, and sometimes so hard to pinpoint in all of its forms. Defining bullying does seem nearly impossible when it can cover so much. So whilst we can't define exactly what bullying is, what we can define is what a bully is. A bully is "a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker". That is what bullying ultimately comes down to- having power and control. Bully's often feel the need to have power and con...

David Cameron,  I am an 18 year old student from a small town, with no interest in Politics whatsoever. But I am an opinionated 18 year old, and I have very strong opinions on some of the things going on in this country. They may not be right, they may be ridiculous to someone who really  knows how to run a country, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to express my opinions to you.  One thing that really grinds my gears is benefits- or rather, who receives benefits and for what. If you are physically disabled and really can not work, benefits are needed. If you are plain fat and can't work because you've sat around eating one too many pizzas, you do not need benefits. You need to get off your fat behind, lose weight and get a job. There is a difference between people who physically cant work and cant earn enough money to support themselves and people who put themselves out of work because they refuse to act in the appropriate way to keep a job, or they make themsel...