2/24/2018 0 Comments Diet and DifferenceNo culture is more prestigious, and no culture follows the “right way of life” – for there is no right way because there is not a right candidate to define it. Therefore, there is no correct fashion, correct beliefs nor is there a correct diet – but there is a correct way to approach them, and this is respect. At the moment, I believe veganism has become the new feminism, a widely discussed and debated attitude to life that has resulted in an unfair stigma against those who follow it – arrogant and inconsiderate diet extremists, which is unfair to those who would just simply prefer to live and eat that way. But I do not mean this to completely be aimed at vegans, but it is simply more prominent at the moment.
However, I have noticed certain people in society to be inconsiderate to other people’s diets – like prejudice against people for “supporting animal cruelty” by eating meat, which is not applicable to every case. As a meat eater, I do not agree with the way of which animals are bred and killed for food, yet I am aware that through eating meat I am, in a way, condoning the issue BUT I am not supporting it. I do not support the way in which they approach it, not like I can think of a better way to do so on the spot; I have the modern attitude to wearing animal fur and skin for clothing, I do not necessarily support this but I can understand that it was prominent in trends of an older generation; I certainly do not support cosmetic or medical animal testing. A typical argument of a meat-eater is that it is a part of the circle of life, like being a part of the animal kingdom, something we do in order to survive, like survival of the fittest – which is something still relevant for humans also in terms of wealth and confidence as well as health. Although not a necessity, meat can be healthy for you in moderation like most things, but there is other sources of protein and some people are content to not have it in their diet – which is just as acceptable as having it in it. In a big happy healthy community, we preach for self-confidence, and in a part of that we encourage people not to deprive themselves of what they want and essentially give your body what it wants. By this, I am not saying I can not live without meat in my diet, but I am saying it is something I would like in my diet, and by eating it I am giving my body what it wants. Therefore, I should not be made to feel guilty for giving my body what it wants, nor should I make others feel guilty for it – hence a mutual respect for however people wish to approach life. And many people I surround myself with are vegetarians, pescatarians, vegans etc, and I support their decision to follow that particular diet, because unlike me, they do not wish to have meat or other animal substances in their diet, and in return they respect that I do. Again, this does not just apply to non-meat eaters, but to any person with a different diet – and no-one should be made to feel guilty for what they choose to eat if it is done moderately and healthily (because a difference in ones diet can be due to many things, like culture, religious beliefs, allergens for example, and these are things we have been naturally brought up to respect). So, even though you do not believe in what others may believe, and you may not fully understand it, that is not reason to not respect it and no diet should be persecuted.
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2/23/2018 0 Comments Emma“IF YOU STAND FOR EQUALITY, THEN YOU’RE A FEMINIST. SORRY TO TELL YOU.” It looks like our Beauty won’t halt on tackling society’s Beast: inequality. And there is no wonder why. It’s no wonder actress and activist Emma Watson is a role model for many young women today. There’s no doubt that she’s the Belle in the celebrity ball, and her intelligence and intellect evidently hold no boundaries, from her straight A grades at GCSE to her bachelors degree in English Literature - and, by god, does she have stamina... From the moment she mastered her first spell fixing Potter’s glasses as gregarious Granger to the moment she baffled the ballroom as bookish Belle, she’s had no trouble battling society’s expectations on the role of a female. Until now. Until the moment a critic dared to question her feminist ideals after a flaunty image of the actress is shown in Vanity Fair magazine. But does that stop our Emma? Absolutely not. “I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it.” Watson states during her BBC interview with Beauty and the Beast co-actor Dan Stevens, “Feminism… it’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.” Emma is no ordinary female. She is a Watson Woman. And a Watson Woman believes no woman is ordinary. She makes intelligence more sexier than before, diligence endearing and independence thriving. She has no shame nor regret “I’m so thrilled about how interesting and beautiful the photographs were.” (she states, despite the blow to her beliefs and values by mischiefs of the media, she admires the work behind her latest shoot, whether breasts are in sight or breastsare in mind), she thrives on individuality “I truly truly believe that beauty is something that comes from within”, AND she waits for no-one. “If not me, who? If not now, when?” I really could not have said it better myself, Emma. In July 2014, Watson was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in honour of her passion for women’s rights and then her involvement in educational opportunities for females around the world after visiting countries such as Zambia and Bangladesh. Her motives, however, were clearly outlined in her ‘HeForShe’ speech to the UN headquarters in the Big Apple New York the following September, where she stated that “fighting for women’s rights has become too synonymous with man-hating” and she shows full confidence in her opinion that “this has to stop!" Watson speaks out to many individuals within society, and subconsciously heals the split between certain feminist ideologies—which is known the be between the pro-feminists and the anti-feminists, also known as those who type-cast feminists to the extremists who seek male redemption and women superiority. The Harry Potter actress… oh wait , Watson (sorry, Emma...) backhands this type-casting—almost to the point we forget that women were ever at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Because she enforces a new wave of feminism: one that appreciates how far women have come, one that embraces equality for both genders, and ultimately, one that changes the image of a feminist from being a repressed angry spinster with her top-button done up to, well, anyone that makes up our community. The sure-footed and sexy, the intellect, the illiterate, the power-hungry and the preacher, man or woman, witch or wizard—everyone and anyone can be involved in this wave of feminism. Like the new generations’ Carol Anne Duffy, Emma Watson is ‘the World’s Wife’ and she’s giving women a voice and questioning all obedience, sexual repression and dependency that historical gender ideologies had foreground for the female population. And women are becoming more confident in themselves and are beginning to embrace womanhood and all the natural amenities that come beside it—maternity, strength and passion combined. So, Emma, we support you and we have no doubt in your feminist motives, and no critic nor photo could ever change that—breasts or no breasts! 2/23/2018 0 Comments 2018As contradictory as I am to the purpose of this post to start on a somewhat morbid note, it is safe to say 2017 was not a good year for me for a numerous amount of reasons; to name a few, reoccurring phases of social anxiety that haven’t enabled me to build relations with others easily, unhappiness with my physical appearance which have often made me resort to unhealthy habits in order to obtain the desired figure, pressures of finding a happy and long-lasting relationship like others have who I surround myself with, losing people who I once considered close and reliable means of support, making mistakes and failing things that other people seemed to have had success in. And predominantly becoming someone I really did not aspire to be – insecure yet seemingly to be outwardly vain, cynical, selfish and unmotivated. So, long story short, in hindsight these are not the sort of memories I want to associate a year with. But then I look back on these things that seemed to sum up a bad year, and a majority, if not all, of these things involved other people, by this, I am not blaming others for what has gone wrong, but I have come to the realisation that a big part of my downfall this year was my desperation to compare and satisfy others, subsequently depending on others and waiting around for something to happen. And 2017 has proved to me that that is not the way to approach life, but merely something we should work on in order to find a happy medium – therefore, independence and self-driven motivation.
So here I am, on January 1st 2018 at ten in the evening, slightly hungover and barely being able to keep my eyes open in order to write, writing this as a way to make this year a revelation of happiness and self-confidence, so by December 31st 2018, I can see myself as the person I then aspired to be. Scrap the “New Year, New Me” fad, as I have always been slightly cynical and moody and opinionated, and as someone who is also stubborn, my character is very unlikely to change but it is my motives this year that will be new. First step. Write yourself a list of everything you want to achieve this year. Then re-evaluate that list, but I put myself back in the mindset of eight-year-old me, who had very little interest in body image, relationships, money, fashion trends nor popularity, but did have ambitions and prospects larger than life (despite some being quite unrealistic and juvenile). Children tend to be naturally self-motivated as their pragmatic understanding of building and maintaining relationships is not fully formed nor is it important, and children also have this want to be independent and essentially be older than they are so they can do so – therefore, by being in this mindset, I ruled out anything in the list that involved others, for example being in a happy relationship and losing weight to look good in prom photos (trivial things like that), leaving me with the ultimate concern of succeeding in my A-Levels, getting my university offer and finding the independence I really want to have. But obviously life is not driven on success but happiness and health as well – this is what provides the motivation. And these things included making a scrapbook of memories for this year (which I genuinely will be the pinnacle year of my youth) involving my wonderful friends and family which I will be sad to distance myself from when September comes, “havin a crackin gals holiday” which will definitely be well-deserved after the hard work we endured during exam season, remaining healthy and fit by continuing my gym membership I had last year (not for the purpose of looking good for Instagram but to be healthy) and actually going to university which will put me in a good place to kickstart a career surrounding my love for writing which I have had from eight-years-old and beyond. So 2017, you have taught me, and hardship is a way of teaching that causes you to really open your eyes and appreciate not only what you have but also what you deserve. And I have been taught to not compare myself to other people, because despite whether you come from the same place, have the same interests or are the same age, everyone is different and everything plays out differently for different people - so to base what you do on what someone else has done is relatively pointless. I have also been taught that no matter what age I am or whatever situation I find myself in, I should never put myself in the position where I whole-heartedly depend on someone else to make me happy or succeed, and everyone should learn how to find happiness in themselves by themselves before they find happiness in anyone else. Please, do not wait around this year expecting things to be handed to you on a plate because life doesn’t owe anyone anything and certainly do not start the year with the mindset that it is going to be a bad year as it is what you make of it at the end of that day – motivate yourself and have an amazing 2018! So, besides all that, here are some happy memories from 2017 I will certainly cherish in the foreseeable future! Education for the past few generations of children and young adults has been considered to be “dumbed down” in order for it to be more accessible, as such, for a wider range of people to obtain substantial qualifications, to subsequently ensure them financial stability and to keep the unemployment rates down for our may-as-well-be laissez faire government. But, the past couple years has seen a slight “flip it and reverse it” now the government have decided it has become too easy for young adults to leave with worthy qualifications and it would be much better if we made it unbearable for them instead. Were they expecting a 5% decrease of university applicants (which once upon a simpler time was seen as a be all and end all) or a rise in college drop-outs?
Education has this stigma, primarily created by children, of being boring, or “pointless”, and this is probably due to the fact that it is compulsory up to a certain age – like the cynical arrogant British citizens we are, we have an immediate distaste to anything we are forced to do. But education is a very beautiful thing, and I can not be the only one who takes pride in being the most knowledgeable one in a group or being able to apply your newfound knowledge just get out of a much harder situation. But also, the accessibility we have to learn in the UK shouldn’t be condemned, it should be admired because although it is compulsory, it later on gives us a freedom to wider opportunities. In a sense, the government are depriving some of us this freedom – not necessarily directly. But in this scheme to make school harder, children and younger adults build this greater resentment towards it and begin to lose faith in their abilities. Don’t get me wrong – education should not be too easy as challenges make it more stimulating and enjoyable, yet not challenging to the point it is causing a loss of passion and emotional distress for the child who really wants to achieve a certain thing but can’t because they don’t adhere to what enables them to do so. With particular reference to myself, this hardened education system tampered with my interest in education during Sixth Form when studying my A Levels – I had entered Sixth Form with the mindset that A Levels were not walk in the park like GCSE’s were in comparison, however I did not quite prepare myself for such an experience. An experience which, due to the uncontrollable amount of work load (which despite how much free time I sacrificed for I never found myself on top of it all) and a continuous “Oh, that exam went surprisingly well!” – gets back results – “Where the hell did I go wrong?” scenario, I lost an interest for a topic I had built on since I was a young child. And that was a result of knowledge for the subject just being thrown at me, and it being expected for me to learn so I can put my skills of remembering and writing fast to task in the exam. That’s not how it should be – we should be taught knowledge, how to use to it and be opened to a variety of ways we can use it. Luckily for me, although weakened and becoming lazy with my education, I still obtain my ambitions to further on my education in university, I can not say the same for the disheartened children who loss interest in what they loved doing the most and craved the easy way out. I would not say, however, the ones who actually tolerate this hardened education system and still do remain to do well are “the lucky ones” because although intelligent, it does not make them more intelligent to those who do not do so well. Like Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” and it is completely and utterly true – intelligence comes in many forms and abilities. An artist paints his intelligence, a writer writes her, and a fish can’t write an essay – but it all means nothing to what else he can. I know what you are thinking, and yes it is all good for me to sit here and write away with my complaints on something I cannot single-handedly change, but hopefully it will act as comfort for someone in a similar situation who is worried about their lack of interest in education and how that will then inflict their future prospects. But it is nothing to worry about, being disheartened with the education system does not equal to a crumbling intelligence, but just the fact that you are human and not invincible and not expected to abide with the rash changes the government are making. Because no individual is the same or has the same abilities, as otherwise we wouldn’t be individuals, and the government should cater for this and encourage a want among children and young adults the further their education (because it is no lie in saying qualifications is better than no qualifications) however they choose to do so, but in an enjoyable and stimulating way. 2/23/2018 0 Comments Tragedy of the Modern ManTragedy is a much-anticipated genre of fiction, as well has it become a major feature in real life. It is something that has adapted to suit those of “high prosperity” and “worthy status” in addition to the “common man” – yet it is believed that the biggest tragedies come of those who have more to lose, but I strongly believe that it is not about what you lose, it’s about the fact you have lost. Well, I am a very big believer of fate and the common idea that everything happens for a reason – whether that’s through a genuine belief or the comforting thought that these mistakes we make throughout our life are merely minor stepping stones of failures that will lead to much greater success. However, many tragedies thrive on the idea that their protagonist had no other option to escape their fate. It is this idea I find fault in, for I believe there is always another path that we can take and that our destiny is just the most obvious path so we choose to take it. The most common flaws among our tragic heroes and heroines is naivety and impulsiveness; therefore, we choose this most obvious path because we are either too rash to consider the other paths or too inexperienced and fearful to go an alternate route. That is why the biggest tragedy is accepting your tragedy.
Or in other words, giving up. One of the most prominent tragedies of the modern man is illness, a tragedy that has always been common but not always well-known. All illness is misfortune, but it is the most critical ones that do a significant amount of damage – not just to one’s health, but to one’s faith. It is saddening to hear that people who have been diagnosed with these critical, or terminal, illnesses lose hope and, well, give up. When they put solemn faith in what the doctor says. When they give up on their former values. When they just wait to succumb to their tragedy. Unfortunately, yes – illness is not a tragic path we can always escape, but that certainly does not mean the chance is gone. Take Stephen Hawking for an example: an exceptional man famously known for not only managing to outlive motor-neurone disease (a disease known to defeat the modern man within a few years), but also for his outstanding work as a theoretical physicist despite his condition. So, this proves that a little perseverance has the ability to get you back on your feet, as well as a little ignorance to what people tell you is going to happen with your life, as no amount of certainty can ensure something is set in stone. It is unfortunate that the greatest fear and dismay in our society is inflicted on us by our own media. The news and new digital media has not just become something informative and entertaining, but it seems to be a kind of mind-numbing injection that exploits our passivity and controls the way we approach life. Take terrorism for example – a topic that is deemed to have a greater importance in our world than ever before. But has it? Or has it ALWAYS been there? I believe it is the media that has had a greater importance in our world than ever before – the more it advances, the more we rely on it. Therefore, through the news informing us of latest acts in terrorism is scaremongering us in a way that our fear compels us to want to not even set a foot outside our door. It’s stopping people from travelling, attending big events and visiting popular cities. This media fear has brought to our modern lives another tragedy. Because I cannot think of anything more tragic and miserable than reaching an admirable old age but looking back on your life and the things you stopped yourself from doing. So don’t let fear brought by our own media stop you from doing something courageous, something memorable, something daring. At the end of the day, a life wasted is just as bad as a life lost. The tragedy of the modern man. Giving up and giving in. |
Jem DuttonStudent Blogger. Archives
April 2018
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