Love from, Florence Grace

When I was younger, I wanted a life that emulated that of my parent’s; married with kids and a house by the time I was 22 years old. Lol, okay. Next joke please! I’m 22  in six months  and haven’t even made it past a second date with someone in the last 18 months, let alone be anywhere near a marriage, moving out of my mums or a pregnancy deadline! But not only that- I’ve decided that I want a completely different life for myself than the one that I envisioned when I was younger. I wanted to live in a big house with a husband who had a good job while I stayed at home looking after our two children, a son and a daughter, and our assortment of pets. That was my  dream - and now, to me, it seems like such a sad one! Of course, there were dream jobs I wanted- mainly to be a singer or in a band, or a writer (Jacqueline Wilson was my biggest inspiration), then as I reached 11/12/13 I wanted to work in radio and TV and be Fearne Cotton, but  ultimately ...

I am the eldest child of three, and all three of us are girls. In some ways, the three of us are incredibly similar (we don't care about anything, lash out at people who insult us, hate everyone etc. etc.) and then we are totally different too...and where there's differences, there's clashes. I've spent my life living in a house of girls, and let me tell you I've learnt a couple of things whilst doing so... Privacy does not exist I mean, at all. It didn't matter where I hid my Felicity Wishes diary, my sisters still found it, and vice versa. We actively sought out each others diaries to use them against each other! Growing up with girls I've also had to share the bathroom (not by choice), had my sisters walk in on me without knocking, had my stuff rummaged through so that one of my sisters could find something she had convinced herself I'd taken...oh gosh, it's endless. If you want privacy, don't live with girls. Trust me. You end up ...

Well, almost a week later, my birthday celebrations are finally over and done with! Last night I finished my 21st birthday with a bang, taking a limo for myself and seven friends to a cocktail bar in London where we had a booth booked before heading back to town to do some more club hopping. It was a brilliant night, I definitely went all out and my friends spoiled me rotten. With a pink and silver theme, a personalised Instagram frame and wrist bands, I had the best time and have never felt so lucky or so loved before!  It's late and I'm tired/slightly hungover, so I'm going to do a more in depth post about it tomorrow, or later on this week (possibly a "look what I got" post about the gifts from my friends because I was so  spoiled!) but for now, here's some photo's from the night! I had such a great night and I am so lucky to have such brilliant friends and family who have made my 21st birthday th...

As an adult now, I often look back on my childhood and think about things that I wish had been different- not necessarily because I feel that these aspects were bad but because I just wish they'd been...well. You know, different. So here's a list of things I often think about and wish were a little different!  I wish I'd been asked to do chores. Yes, really! In a way, I'm incredibly  lucky because I had such an easy, relaxed childhood. There were no chores lists or rotas, me and my sisters literally did nothing around the house- as bad as that sounds! Our parents were made to do so many chores from such a young age themselves, they didn't want our childhood to be the same. While they were making cups of tea and dinners for themselves from the age of about 9, if not younger, me and my sisters have never  had to do anything like that, other than tidy away the toys we played with! But as good as this sounds, now at 20 years old I am an ill equipped adult. ...

Today I did something I've never done before; I went out for dinner with just my sisters.  My relationship with my sisters is, as I imagine, the same as it is for everyone with sisters. One minute you're the best of friends, the next you're at each other's throats. For me, I've found my relationship has improved with both of my sisters as I've gotten older. When my parents split up, it was an emotional time, and I feel since then I've grown closer to my youngest sister, doing all I can to make her happy. I take her shopping, buy her treats and spoil her rotten, just to make her smile.  My relationship with the middle sister is a little more turbulent. On and off through our teens we have had a love/hate relationship, especially when our boyfriends had an intense dislike for each other too. But I've been there for her at some of her most emotional moments, and she for mine, and even if we're in the biggest battle, it doesn't matter....

Everyone knows I'm a firm feminist- I don't exactly keep my views on the subject of gender equality secret! I'm very open about it. I have also been open about the fact that my mum and one of my sisters don't necessarily choose to identify with the label 'feminist', and how that's often hard for me.  However, today my mum launched her personal trainer business and a friend tweeted me to congratulate my mum and said "a family of hard working, enterprising women". And I suddenly realised that whilst I'm not necessarily surrounded by women who label themselves feminists, I am definitely surrounded by women who take the opportunities they've been provided thanks to feminism and have begun to pave the way for brilliant futures.  My parents split up when I was 15 (wow that long ago already?!) and since then I have lived in a house with four women, myself, my mum and two sisters now aged 18 and 13. In the last five years all three o...

Mums. You gotta love them, right? Yet sometimes they can be so  annoying! They do and say such frustrating things that all you can do is sit there staring at them like... what?!  So I thought I'd compile a beautiful, gif filled list (you know I love them!) about the most common things all  mums seem to say and do that grind our gears!  They shout from five rooms away to get your attention and when you shout back she claims she can't hear you...or if you don't respond because you can't hear her, she gets narked, even though she wouldn't be able to hear you if you screamed back. Um, so how did you expect me to hear you? Huh? HUH?  They call you all of your siblings names and sometimes even the pets names before reaching your name. Seriously, mum, you have one job. Remember the name of your favourite child. Not that hard is it? They suggest you eat foods they know you don't like when you tell them you're hungry. Mum, why? I'm ...

When I was younger, I wanted to be married with children by the time I was 20, and had decided I would not have children later than 25, because I wanted to be a young, pretty, cool mum like my mum was. I think that was what influenced this naive idea- the fact that my parents were married with children by the time they were 22. This, and the fact that a lot  of Jacqueline Wilson books I was reading (she was my favourite author) featured young, single mums who were pretty and cool and all had babies when they were 16.  It wasn't until I reached 16 myself that I realised how far off 20 was- the answer? Not very far. I had started to consider university and further education. I couldn't possibly have a baby whilst at uni! I made calculations in my head. Finish uni by 21, baby by 22, 23 and still be a young, cool mum with a degree.  Then I reached 18. 20 was creeping ever closer. I had given up on the idea of uni, much to my school and my parents disappointment...

To... Well. 'To' a lot of people really. Old friends, family, people I never really liked or got on with. There is a whole variety of people that I will not be keeping with me once the New Year rolls around. It's a sad thing to think about, and it hurts a lot to think about all of the people who have intimidated me, bullied me, betrayed me or even just distanced themselves from me through no fault of my or their own. To the family members, you have hurt me deeply. They say blood is thicker than water but a blood tie with you means nothing to me. My real  family members know who they are and I value them more than anyone else. You have hurt me deeply. Family are supposed to love each other, look after each other. With only your selfish, inconsiderate ways in mind, you have not only hurt me but my siblings too. Although it hurts us to admit it, we will all be happy to leave you behind. I hope you will not treat your other family members the way you have treated me and...