I was meant to have 5 siblings in total; however my eldest sister died when she was only a baby and my other brother died when he was 7, both from sickle cell disease. Now there are only 4 of us: my two older brothers and my sister. One of my brothers, Matthew, has been surviving with sickle cell ever since he was born: he is in his late 40s now and it has been difficult to watch him experience the enduring pain that goes along with it.
Read MoreI want and discuss the do’s of a dating method that 100 years ago would have been ridiculed, eye rolled upon and disbelieved. Dating apps and internet dating has undeniably become the ‘easier’ more accessible option. We now let our index fingers and thumbs decide our fate / next date. Sometimes we accidentally swipe who could be a great match back into cyber space.
Read MoreMany - too many - online publications are sustained by their clickbait headlines and ‘fake news’ stories. Behind their shining screens, armchair experts are always ready to draw conclusions, dispense dubious advice, and intentionally or unintentionally share misleading and captivating content. All of this is in order to gain a mere couple more likes.
Read MoreWhen I was in primary school, my parents and I were watching something about race and discrimination in America. My dad turned to me and said to me: ‘it is one of the greatest gifts of your life to be born white, you have no idea how privileged you are.’
Read MoreIn Romania, the Romani population constitutes one of its largest minorities. I cannot help but realise, while writing this sentence, how eerily similar the words Romanian and Romani are: it’s only 2 letters different, and for most people there is no research that goes into identifying which one is which one.
Read MoreFirstly, did you want lemonade in your life? Do you even like it? Doesn't the fizz go out of lemonade too, just like life can go flat? Also, why is there the expectation to make lemonade? Isn't that just an added pressure to the fact that you've been delivered a crate of lemons you didn't order to begin with?
Read MoreWhen I was younger, my brain could spiral into days of intense distress at the simplest of things. Accidentally kicking a pebble on the pavement would invoke an influx of intrusive thoughts, each of them coming with a huge amount of guilt and the certainty that consequences of this small action would be my fault.
Read MoreI re-stumbled upon ‘Real Girls Fart’ an acronym for: Fearless, Authentic, Rescuer, Trailblazer (perhaps the best page name ever?!) Founded by Achea Redd: Author of ‘Be Free, Be You’, Blogger, Activist and Mental Health Advocate, “Real Girls Fart exists to empower and equip women with the necessary tools to use their voices and become their best, most authentic selves”
Read MorePowered by a wave of determined motivation, I started a go-fund-me and used what was left of my summer-job savings to book my flights. Making sure there was no turning back, the preparation began. Research into where I was staying, endless vaccinations, reading government advice and spending way to long trying to memorise the airport map. Finally, I was confident in the decision.
Read MoreBEAT, an eating disorder charity, has claimed a 50% increase in calls to their helpline since the start of lockdown. The increased focus on being fit and healthy is affecting those who are already struggling. The rise in workout regimes and diet pill social media ads makes it impossible to get away from the so-called ‘ideal body’ we should be aiming for.
Read MoreAs a black pharmacist it’s quite difficult to dissociate the virus from racism. BIPOC people statistically are dying at a greater rate at the hands of COVID and this is combined with direct negligence.
Read MoreThis is a love-letter to words. William Golding spoke of the power of words and the role of the novelist: ‘I almost prefer the word craftsman, like one of the old fashioned ship builders who conceived the build of the boat in their mind, and after they had touched every single piece that went into the boat […] they knew it inch by inch […] I think the novelist is very much like that’. The author knows the book ‘inch by inch’: he handles every clause as the shipbuilder touches every bolt.
Read MoreI feel like the school curriculum is so narrow in terms of what they decide to teach you for you to become a fully fledged adult. They fling simultaneous equations, how to use semicolons successfully in a sentence, and how to make literal explosions in the chemistry labs, but they don’t actually make us aware of some of the things I am sure all of us would like to know the answers to.
Read MoreMy profession also had to move online. I work as a life model; posing nude for art schools, universities and community groups, as well as facilitating my own life drawing class in Bristol, with a collective of life models (United Models Life Drawing).
Read MoreNot only taking hormonal contraception can act as a plaster over our bodily symptoms, but it can also cause serious side effects. Weight gain, acne, depression, headaches, even agonising back pain.
Read MoreMany players said that they often tuned out the sounds of the stadium and focused on the game at hand. However, some suggested that the roar of the crowd from a big play revitalised a team’s efforts and morale and could occasionally be the catalyst that was needed for a big comeback.
Read MoreThe term Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) is problematic. It lumps together vastly different groups of people, ignoring that within all of these groups the socioeconomic conditions in which individuals evolve can be vastly different. The term inherently embodies the othering of people of colour.
Read MoreSo, whilst I know I would happily have endless video calls with my friends and family, as a woman, I think I find it easy to do that. Meanwhile, my boyfriend has very rarely video called his friends during lockdown, why would he when he can talk to them over a game of Warzone?
Read MoreLike most things, creating change ‘from the bottom’ is difficult and it definitely does not occur overnight; it is even more difficult to spark political and social change. Social and political change will take us to unify as one voice, educate ourselves daily, and question the world around us - the same world that has been fed to us as a delusion: a utopia. So, what can we really continue to do outside of protests?
Read MoreAs a woman growing up, I’ve rarely felt empowered in my own body. Its shape, its strength, its power, its intricacies. I have felt its weight, its fat, its rolls, its appearance to the eye of other’s. I’ve rarely felt ownership, pride and confidence in its beauty and everything it does to keep me alive.
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