"Sorry, I'm Not Wearing Any Makeup"

"Sorry, please excuse my horrific face today, I'm not wearing any makeup".

This is a sentence that I find myself using frequently when I see people that I know, or am acquainted with, out in public whilst I give my skin a rest from brushing and painting different combinations of chemicals on it on a day-to-day basis. I say this because they are probably not used to seeing me in this state, as I will most likely be wearing makeup if I am going shopping, out with friends or even to school. Obviously I feel comfortable with my nearest and dearest without makeup, however I still use that sentence embedded within my greeting.

Personally, I wear makeup in order to hide spot scarring (which I frequently end up with because my skin hates me), and also because I am a makeup enthusiast. I do not wear foundation unless it is a special occasion, though my hobbies include experimenting with different eyeshadows, eyeliners and even the occasional lipstick.

However, this is not the case for others. In today's society, people feel pressured to wear makeup due to their peers wearing it, their favourite celebrities looking beautiful with paint caked onto their faces and the media expressing how girls should look. (My friend/fellow blog writer posted something onto this blog talking about a similar subject last week - find that here). I believe strongly that people should reevaluate the reasons why they are wearing makeup, as it should purely be down to a personal decision - who cares what other people think?!

Moreover, why on earth should you be sorry for not wearing makeup??? I don't seem to see anybody saying "Oh, I sincerely apologise for expressing my natural beauty, I know it is within my rights but I do wish to spare your eyes from seeing such a mess", which is essentially what the statement means. Or, at least, what it means to me.

So I, for one, am going to put an end to this statement. If I feel like I am going to say sorry for giving my face a breather for a day, I am going to stop myself and point out something that I like about my face. I mean, for me I'll always say it's my eyes as, like our co-blog-owner's-boyfriend says: "I hate you because you have nice eyes". I like that.

I urge you all to join me on this mission, and by doing this tiny thing can edge us closer to slamming the media's extortionate expectation of teenage girls.

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for 100 followers!!! We cannot believe it, and are eternally grateful.

-LF, LR and MG
xxx

How Not To Be Squashed By Exam Stress

Everyone knows what we mean when we say the summer term. Long gone are the happy memories of extended break time in the sun, t-shirts and shorts or summer dresses. The mixture of suncream and ice cream wafting in through the open classroom windows.

All that disappeared as most of us hit year ten, with it intensifying for year 11-13. Now when someone mentions the summer term, you see a bunch of 15-18 year olds cringing, significantly tensing up, tears welling in their stressed out eyes.

We all know that with May and June approaching, summer term turns into exam season. Counting down the days until our first exam and then to the last, before we are free! However, on some level or another, exams are known to cause a lot of distress and in the worst cases can trigger intense anxiety, depression and cause us to malfunction because we are unable to survive copious amounts of pressure that piles up as exams loom closer.

So how to survive?! Revision is a must, and the long days can sometimes be too much for people to take. Here are some tips that should get you through the summer months:

1) Each day set yourself reasonable targets of what you want to achieve. Try to set a small list of things that you know you will be able to accomplish if you stick to schedule. Some people find a timetable the most effective way to do this, but personally, a list works just find, ticking the things you have done as you go. This way at the end of each day, you will feel that you have achieved what you needed to do, and end off by feeling good about yourself and your progress instead of overwhelmed and like you are unable to meet your targets. This way you will maintain a hard working and positive attitude that will see you through the exam period.

2) Sleep. (I don't mean between 3am to 12pm.) I mean sleep long, workable hours. Aim for about eight hours a night, with an early start so that you can be productive from the beginning of the day and finish revision as early as possible. The less time spent working in the evening the better, in order to get a good break and prepare yourself for the next day. Sleep is a time for your body and your brain to get optimum rest, so don't miss out on it, because it will affect your revision outcomes.

3) Maintaining a healthy diet and drinking water. This is something that is often preached about, but seriously can actually have a big effect. It is proven that a healthy body can equal a healthy mind, and therefore, eating three good meals a day, with a snack in between can alter your progress and help you in feeling better and more productive during the day.

4) Take breaks! It is unhealthy to be stuck inside all day! I suggest working in a room with windows, natural daylight is important, and opening your window will make the room brighter and help you to focus with fresh air. After you tick off one thing on your list, take a 15-20 minute break, helping you re-cooperate and will also keep you focused when you are working. Once a day, take a longer break, say 45 minutes and go for a walk, get fresh air and some exercise, both things that have significantly improved my progress in revision.

Those are just some techniques that help me to calm down and stay focused. Exam stress for the most part is inevitable, but as long as you practise calming techniques, as listed above, you will hopefully give yourself enough breathing space to remember that you are going to do it.

I would say that the best way not to be squashed by exam stress is to remember one very important thing:

Yes, exams are important and no one is denying that. However, exams are not the only important thing. They do not define who you are as a person and what you are going to be like for the rest of your life. They do help shape your future, but there are so many other factors that shape your future, not just exams. Sometimes you just need to go for a walk or have a chat with a friend to remind yourself that life will go on, and the most important thing is that you retain your mental and physical health, not that you pass your exams but have become a wreck as well.

At the end of the day, we should not be letting a bunch of letters on a sheet of paper define who we are or what we are worth as people, and when you find yourself being swallowed up by the idea that your exams are the be all and end all, take a step out, read this post, and remind yourself that you are worth so much more that some grades on a piece of paper, and you should never forget that.

-LF, LR and MG

How to Stay Strong

Hope is a funny thing. You keep telling yourself that it will get better, but deep down, in the pit of your stomach, where all your anxieties live, you can't help but remind yourself that although at some point it may get better, it still hasn't yet.

Here is the thing, even in your darkest moment, on your darkest days, you have to remember that you can do it. You have to remember that you are as strong as you need to be and that no matter what life throws at you, you are capable.

Because in the end, everyone has pain, its whether or not you chose to suffer with it: that is key.

You have to take a deep breath, and remember that whatever is going on now, isn't permanent, and that there is going to be a time where this time in your life when you spent days and weeks not being able to look past it, fades into the past.

There is going to be a time, where you are living your life the way that you want to, with everything behind you.

Hold on to that thought, and don't let go. No matter what happens, if you have that thought of 'its going to be okay' then it will be okay.

A lot of the time, we believe that things happen to us are going to break us, not build us. But you have to hold on to the fact that the darkest times come just before dawn, and that if you can just wait it out until the morning, and keep on fighting, then it is going to be worth it.

I promise you, that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how many times you break down and you tell yourself that you can't do it anymore, you can do it.

You are so much stronger than you think. Never ever forget that.

It is always ok to feel like you just can't do it anymore, it is always ok to feel that nothing is ever going to get fixed, as long as you remember that it will. As long as you remember that it is worth the fight, it is worth the tears. Because at some point, it will come right.

What will be, will be. But as long as you know you have done everything you could to help yourself, then whatever happens will happen for the good.

I can't tell you that whats going on in your life is as a result of anything, but I can tell you that it is going to build you into the most incredible person. And that when you smile, it isn't the smile of a broken person, it is the smile of a warrior.

The smile of a person, who has built their self on strength, on bravery and on kindness. On the basis that one day, one day they are going to get there. One day they are going to look back and smile, and say that they did it.

And if you never forget any of that, then you will stay strong. You will stay strong until the very end, and I believe in you.

Please remember to speak out and speak now, if you are having a hard time staying strong.

-LF, LR and MG

Is Racism Really an Issue of the Past?

Mike Brown.

Hopefully, by now most people will know this name. Mike Brown was a black civilian shot by Darren Wilson, a police officer eight times.

What makes the injustice of Mike Brown's case even more tragic, is that there is undeniable proof that Mike Brown was an unarmed, nineteen year old boy, that wasn't posing any threat that deserved that out of proportion treatment to society. But here is the thing that gets us the most: Darren Wilson walked away from this a free man. Mike Brown however, will never walk again.

We say that there is undeniable proof against Darren Wilson, and yet-

We deny.

We deny Mike Brown's right to live, simply because he was black.

It is a despicable crime that is not an issue of the past, but very much an issue of the present. How can we, as people of the twenty-first century, who have been brought up learning history, and have known or seen people who are a part of that history, let history repeat itself?

It is very easy to let Mike Brown be another name with the millions of other people who have fallen simply because of their skin colour. We propose that we don't let him be forgotten. We are shocked and appalled at the devastatingly high amounts of apathy shown in our world.

In fact, it is way too easy to just let this go. We ignore the suffering that doesn't directly impact us because we are too preoccupied with the mundane things that happen in out lives that we consider to be more important than remembering.

'Lest We Forget' is a phrase that we use to remember those lost in WW1 and WW2. But it is applicable here as well. Lest We Forget those who have fought a different kind of war. The war against racism, that has taken and continues to take the lives of so many.

We must remember Mike Brown, not just for what he stands for, but also who he was as an individual. A young boy, who had his whole life ahead of him. Being apathetic towards the situation is not enough. We need to be proactive in putting a stop once and for all to all these tragedies.

The message we would like you to carry with you from this post, is to speak out and speak up about racism. Report these issues as they come up, because even though you may not partake in a racist act, you must raise the concern, in order for it to be heard by anyone.

Here is a link to a website that will enable you to educate yourself about some of the issues surrounding racism: http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/

-LF, LR and MG