Love from, Florence Grace

Growing up we are always told to be ourselves. Be original, be different, stand out from the rest. Most of us can pride ourselves on doing just that. Others are not so lucky. Too large of a portion of people have become what society likes to define as "sheep". And it doesn't stop at people looking up to celebrities, or younger people looking up to older people that they seem to idolize. No, it seems to be as contagious as the common cold with people clinging on to close friends, or even people they despise, and copying their every move. Living in a generation so modified to the lifestyle humans lead 100 years ago, now is the time to be as different as you can be- so why is imitation taking control? Your teenage years can be confusing. Your body experiences a lot of change, your emotions and hormones go through the roof- boys and girls- and you can sometimes be unsure of who you are and who you want to be. Often we find someone who appears to be doing it all right- ...

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...

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...

What a wonderful surprise I had today...my new friend Hollie, who I have met through blogging, nominated me for an award- one that I had never heard of, the Liebster Award . Hollies blog can be found here http://holliegarner44.blogspot.co.uk/. I would highly recommend it if you love football, fashion or polka dots! Through some research, I discovered this is not an award you can nominate yourself for- someone else has  to nominate you, so you can imagine how lucky I feel to have been nominated myself. The main rules once you have been nominated are as follows: Get nominated. Link back the person who nominated you. Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you. Create eleven new questions for the people you choose to nominate (this is optional- you can keep the questions the same if you wish) Nominate 5-20 people for the award.  So here are the questions I have been asked to answer! 1) Who are your top three bloggers and why? I a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

WARNING:  The following content may be upsetting for those suffering from/recovering from/have suffered from cancer. No harm is meant by my words but if you are easily upset regarding cancer please do not read on. So, August 2014 has seen the newest craze spread over the internet- the Ice Bucket Challenge. Not sure what this is? Google it. The Wikipedia definition reads "an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water over someones head to promote awareness of the diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL)". Once this has been done, the participant nominates some friends to also participate and donates to the charity. It's an excellent way to promote awareness of a disease that I will admit I did not know about until now. The videos posted on facebook are also humorous and encourage other people to join in, spreading awareness even more- excellent. Except that, it seems a lot of people are missing the point of the Ice Bucket Challenge now. Lets just take a min...

As humans , we have the capability to love very intensely- and the capability to love everything! We find it very easy to declare our love for something, whether it be for our new shoes, the latest TV sitcom on E4 or our best friend, the word love is tossed around more than a bottle of coke on the river Thames. And yet whilst we find it so very easy to love things, both people and inanimate objects, we find it so very difficult to love the most important thing in the world- ourselves. It is very rare that you come across a girl who isn't constantly aware of the flaws she believes she possesses. More often than not the issue is weight, but it is other smaller things too, like boob size, the amount of visible pores she has, height, foot size, even intelligence- or lack of it. A lot of the time, she comes with a some groupies who support her- they tell her how wrong she is, how amazing her figure is and how smart she is. This is very nice of them, obviously. It's never okay to m...

The year is 2014. It is now easier than ever before to modify the way you look be it through body piercings, tattoos, plastic surgery etc.. If there's something you don't like about yourself you can upgrade it to a better, newer look- or eradicate it completely. It is in fact so advanced people can even change the gender they are. You can literally be whoever you want to be. But it's not always easy being who you want to be. Whilst you may finally feel happy with the person that you have become, it might not please everyone else quite as much. It is widely acknowledged that if you look too 'different' it can effect other areas of your life- such as job opportunities. Whilst this is superficial and cruel to judge someones appearance in order to determine whether they are suitable for a job, is there a beneficial reason for doing so? The question we must ask ourselves in this modern day in age is: should how you look have an effect on your job opportunities? When...

WARNING:  This poset contains content that may be found triggering to those suffering from /recovering from/have recovered from eating disorders due to mental health problems. Katie Hopkins, a woman infamous for her controversial opinions and brutal honesty, aired through her weekly columns and over her Twitter account. Some say her honesty is a fresh new change for someone working in the media industry and agree that she says what everybody else is thinking but too scared to say, whilst others believe that she takes her opinions to far until they become rude and targeting towards certain subcultures. The former 'Apprentice' stars most recent opinions have been aimed at overweight/obese people- including celebrities such as bolshy pop star, Lily Allen . Katie frequently tweets about how if you are over weight it is through no fault of your own. Many people seem to respond positively, telling her their own story and saying how it is all down to you. Others don't agree a...

So summer is drawing to a gradual close, and September- a.k.a the start of school- is drawing ever closer. Whether it is a new school you're starting, University or a new career path, you're going to be meeting a lot of new people. You might not love them all- you might not love any of them! But everywhere you go, you find the same groups of people. When you do meet them, check them off of this list... 1. The 'it' girl. Her presence will be made clear as soon as you step foot in the building. You may not see her straight away but you will feel her presence. She will be all smiles and hugs and act thrilled to meet the new girl- but look into her eyes and you'll see they have hell behind them. She is the queen around here and you aren't to do anything to ruin that, or disturb her empire. Get in line, peasant. 2. The eager beaver. Someone who is eager to stick to your side- either because they have no friends of their own or are trying to impress someone high...

As if the death of the late, great actor, Robin Williams, wasn't devastating enough for both family and fans, it has now been reported that members of Westboro Church, based in Kansas, are planning on disturbing the memorial service held for Williams, for no reason other than their dislike towards one of his previous roles- the role of a gay man. Westboro Church, based in Kansas, is infamous for its controversy, but letting its members make the effort to travel to the memorial service and interfere with it is not only disrespectful to the actors family, but completely out of order. Members of the church have announced over their official twitter page that they plan on picketing the memorial service and preaching the message "Repent or likewise perish". Repent or likewise perish. Likewise perish. Let's just take a look at Robin Williams and the person he.As an actor he was extremely versatile, and took on many wonderful roles for both children and adults to enjoy...

WARNING : The following content is sensitive and may be found triggering to those suffering from, recovering from or those who have recovered from an eating disorder or mental health problem. When we think eating disorders, we think skinny. We think sagging skin and jutting bones, two fingers down a throat forcing food to reemerge from our system. We do not often think of the other end of the spectrum- not the people who refuse to eat, but rather, the people who can't stop. Obesity effects between 16 and 33% of young adults and kills 300,000 people a year. Although it is one of the easiest medical conditions to diagnose, it is one of the most difficult to treat. In comparison to anorexia and bulimia, obesity is not regarded as an eating disorder. Rather, people will look at a victim of obesity and think "they clearly eat too much" or "they're so fat it's disgusting". People don't often stop to think about why  the victim may be eating too muc...

Feminism is something we hear about all the time- girls defending it and boys taking the mickey out of it. It is an important movement that should not be forgotten, and it moved women forward in society, into the position that we find ourselves in today. So many opportunities women have are down to the feminists who lived before us, fighting for women's rights and equal opportunities. I for one am pleased with how feminism has changed the lives of so many woman and, although we aren't completely there yet, how it has helped some  men understand that women are in fact equal to men. Yet, although I am a feminist myself, I do think that somewhere along the line, something has gone wrong. Somewhere along the line, whilst fighting for women and men to be equal, we decided that actually, not all men were equal. Somewhere along the line, we started treating men the way men treat women. Doesn't this defeat the point of feminism? Feminists, including myself, are continuously put...

Sexualising females in the media is not a foreign concept. It is something we understand and are forced to see every single day- the way we have been for years and years and years- only, recently it seems to be getting worse. In advertising, in artwork, in music, the sexualisation of females is everywhere. There's no denying that the feminists from 100 years ago achieved excellent results. At last, all females can vote. Females can work in all kinds of jobs, not just "feminine" ones. Females don't have to be married to be respected. Females are undoubtedly more independent than they were 100 years ago, and it progresses all the time in leaps and bounds. But one area we seem to be going backwards  is in the representation of women in the media. Whilst women are feeling stronger and usually feeling more equal to men than ever before, the media are doing their best at trying to reverse over 100 years of hard work that has got women to the position they are in today. Mu...