Sunnyside Review: LUSH

Intergalactic | Sunnyside

So its been a while since I went into Lush and after searching through Instagram hash tags I decided that before my interview with the lovely owner of Florals and Corals for my dissertation I would quickly nip into Lush and have a quick browse and try not to buy everything in sight.

As soon as I began to ponder which bath bomb I would buy a lovely lady with beautiful red hair approached me and asked what I wanted from a bath bomb, and weirdly enough I didn't know what to reply. She asked me if I wanted something that looked good in the bath and I replied that I did and off we went on a magical mystery tour of all bath bombs to find the perfect one or two in this case.

So I absolutely adore the golden egg thats came out for easter but I have a very hormonal father and I can just imagine his face when he realises that the bath is now covered in gold glitter. However, the lovely red haired lady whom I didn't get her name, told me that the bubble bars were glittery but easily washed off the bath with shampoo or soap, so I opted for Sunny's De Bubble Bar and it did not disappoint! 

I used the bubble bar tonight and it has left my skin feeling silky smooth and smelling of sweetness and rainbows. I only used some of the bar tonight as the lady told me I would be able to use it up to five times - how economical - the bar only took a few minutes to start crumbling and leaving my bath bubbly and swimming and swirling with gold glitter, another victory for Lush!

I've yet to use intergalactic but I will post another review once I have!

The University Era is Coming to an End - Will I have to grow up?

So, the end of university is near, and by near I mean 44 days away. Now that is a scary thought.

Four years at university studying journalism has taught me a lot - more about life than actual journalism - but to be honest that is to be expected. I've learned a hell of a lot in those four years, here is a complied list of the everyday dramas that I encountered.

• Don't try and break the rules, they are there for a reason.

So this rule I have broken a few times, from my first year at uni until last week when I decided to park on the pavement because I couldn't find a parking space and was going to be late for a meeting. I did pay for my parking but because I wasn't actually in a designated parking space, I received a £30 parking fine. Even from trying to get my friends in the windows of my uni halls because it was after the 1am curfew to then arguing with the guy who stayed up all night making sure no one tried to get in that he phoned the police, my dad had to pick me up at 3am, I received a £90 fine for abusive behaviour, but i did apologise to the guy with the finest box of roses. So for anyone starting university this coming year DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT even try and break the rules, you may think you will get away with it, but honestly, I've learned the hard way and you never get away with it.

• That guy, who likes you? He's shagged the rest of the year.

Yes it is true. We've all been there haven't we? Thought you found someone you liked, but found out on a terrible night out that he's been having it off with everyone else in your class.. University is a breeding ground for sluts and STI's - so beware! Always use protection - I can safely say that I am not writing this from experience, although maybe from a friends, but its not worth it to be embarrassed over someone who is quite frankly disgusting in all manners of the word!

• Working at your local club? Just don't do it.

So at one point, I thought hey I know what would be a fantastic idea, if I worked until 3am every night for under minimum wage in the most disgusting conditions that my uni work was non existent. No don't ever jeopardise your work for a job/boy/friends - honestly they will all leave at some point but your education is crucial and determines the rest of your life - obviously to a certain extent - but you know what I'm getting at!

• If you're a home bird, don't move out!

Sometimes its not the right time for people to leave home and thats absolutely fine, but for me, i wanted to try and prove something to myself that I could do it. I stayed at uni for two years and regretted it, but I don't regret the people that I met and lessons that I learned such as tidying up and making my own dinner. Nevertheless, I would come home steaming at 3am and phone my mum and dad crying to come and pick me up because I missed them and my home comforts so much! So for the last two years I moved back in with my parents and drove to uni and I loved it!

• Group work? Hell fucking no.

So if you're anything like me, and you hate people - jokes kind of they can be very trying at times. You should not indulge in group work it will only make you cry honestly I know! 

• Board Games can actually be very fun

So in my first year of uni I met a lot of new people that I lived in with in halls I found out that board games such as monopoly and trivial pursuit while doing tequila shots can make for an extremely interesting night! Whilst dressing up as pirates and videoing and dancing to the Pussycat dolls.

• Sharing a flat with five boys is not easy!

I lived with five boys in my second year - the banter was brilliant but the state of the flat on the other hand was unreal. So i became a part-time cleaner and full-time mum but it was worth the giggles!

• Sometimes you just need to pee in the sink

So I used to have a sink in my uni room but no toilet, and when a girl has to go a girl has to go! So I couldn't be bothered to walk all the way down the hallway to go for a piddle, so knickers down and I pee'd in the sink! 

So this is my list of all that I learned at university, I feel I've learned more through experience rather than reading books or doing interviews with politicians. I must say thank you to everyone who ever made my uni experience what it was - It was worth it! 

Are dissertations mentally destroying students?

If you're like me and writing a dissertation as your final year project then the answer to the question posed in the title of this article would be yes, dissertations are mentally destroying students.

What I find most ironic about dissertations is the lack of enthusiasm, creativity and freedom that this large chunk of data presses upon students. We choose a topic that we are passionate about and decide to write thousands of words on it, therefore, after all, we now hate it.

I've also found that by writing a dissertation you can become increasingly isolated from your peers and family. It's hard to find someone who knows exactly how you're feeling or someone who can emphasise with the misery that these mammoth essays present.

I've often found myself dreaming about writing my dissertation (this is how mentally upsetting it can be) therefore I feel like I actually never get away from it.

Additionally, writing a literature review is an impossible task. State the relevant literature on a subject. How hilarious this is, considering all of the people who have written on millions of subjects in the world. Where does it all end?

I'm just posing this questions because as a student I don't feel like I'm getting much out of this, except a headache. I'm that stressed about what I'm writing that I don't have time or energy to learn or engage with what I'm reading. With under two months to go, I must admit that I feel like giving up.

SKINNY PEOPLE HAVE FEELINGS TOO!

So as I am starting to write my project/dissertation on body dysmorphia in women in relation to Instagram, I have been challenging a lot of assumptions based on body image and I have been speaking to a lot of my peers in relation to this concept.

It has always played on my mind and I have been a victim of it myself, that there is an assumption that 'skinny' people do not have feelings or do not take offence to being called skinny or for people to comment on their weight. Well, if you are slim and have ever been judged or made to feel insecure or bad about your body, you will know exactly where I am coming from.

On numerous occasions in my life, I have been made to feel dreadful about my body, whereas it is pretty evident that this has been the object of comment of someone jealous or just down right ignorant. It seems that the trends which have followed on social media such as #thinspiration #loveyourbody etc are only for those who carry a bit more weight that everyone else. I am not pointing the finger at anyone nor am I stereotyping that it is only fat people who call down skinny people (although it is in my personal experience.) I am simply stating that I do not think that people who are slim are treated in the same manner than a person who is fat is.

For example, if I were to call someone 'fat' out of the blue or to comment on their weight for no reason at all just to point out the obvious, there would be an up roar and this would be regarded as a terrible and horrible thing to say. Yet daily experiences have highlighted that it is in fact okay for other people to comment on my own weight and friends of mine who are slim, and call them 'skinny.'

This is not acceptable.

I do believe that if a person comments on your weight they are saying this for a reason not just because they have an uncontrollable urge to comment on your appearance. We don't go about stating 'you have eyes' yet people think it is okay to state 'you are skinny' or my personal favourite 'you're a skinny minnie' by laughing or adding 'minnie' into the comment apparently this is now a laughable and lighthearted comment' if I responded with 'well shamu jump back into the ocean and shove your comments up your arse' I don't think the person would still be laughing, do you?

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK & TREAT PEOPLE HOW YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.

The Great Bridge of Allan Bake Off

Elena Menchetti, Bake off Organiser

A charity bake off will be held in Bridge of Allan next week to raise money for Speur-Ghlan, a local charity dedicated to helping young children experiencing development delays.

The annual charity event hosted by cafe owner Elena Menechetti will take place on Sunday the 18^th of October at 12pm at the Hideaway Cafe in Bridge of Allan. The tickets for the bake off are £5 and can be bought on the day of the competition at the Cafe.

Participants can enter as a baker or a judge in the competition and all proceeds will go to Speur-Ghlan, to support young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Members of the public and the local shop owners in the Bridge of Allan area can raise money for the event by donating prizes, selling raffle tickets and the cakes after the bake off. 

Elena Menechetti, the organiser of the bake off states, “People aren’t aware that the charity is down the lane, as it started off small. It is such a good charity because it is for such a good cause. Its spread quite well now because it’s local and everyone loves a bit of local charity instead of donating to somewhere else.”

Speur-Ghlan is a local charity based in the heart of Bridge of Allan which provides therapy for children up to five years old with development delays including autism. The founder of the charity, Dr. Ruth Glynne-Owen uses verbal only approaches such as pivotal response therapy and one to one session’s to improve the language skills of children who find communication challenging. Recent research shows that 95% of children who experience pivotal response therapy before the age of three develop functional speech.

Dr. Ruth Glynne-Owen, the founder and CEO of Speur-Ghlan says, “The hideaway is an excellent supporter of the charity and as they are so close, by many of our families enjoy spending time there. They find the staff team to be so friendly and welcoming of their children no matter what their challenges might be. Elena first ran this event for us last year and as well as raising us much needed funds, the event helped raise our profile in the local area and make bridge of Allan residents more aware of what we do.”

Self-Respect Relay

Self-respect is one of the most positive attributes any person can own. However, through my own personal experience self-respect is something that can be knocked down and shattered into a million pieces in one instance by the most minuscule of occurrences. Self-respect is defined as, 'a proper sense of one's own dignity and integrity,' although I believe that self-respect manifests itself not only through an internal measure but also an external.

For example, it is the norm for people to aspire to act like others, to look like other people or to adopt similar lifestyle or traits of another individual, this is an external act of lowering our self-respect. An extreme example of this act is the lip challenge, in which many young adults indulged in to get voluminous lips like Kylie Jenner. This painful trend exploited youngsters to sucking on a glass to increase the swelling of their lips to gain a puffy pout, similar to that of Kylie Jenner's, 'completely real' perfect mouth. By aspiring to be like Kylie, individuals believed it was acceptable to go through this much preparation and pain that the swelling lasted for days, no one should need to go through that much agony to look like anyone. It is apparent that young adults do not feel good enough in their own skin, and this is not only a female trend.

 The Only Way is Essex has become a major trend recently, especially in relation to young males. The quiff exploited by Joey Essex has became increasingly popular this year with young men who want to incorporate the quiff and the lad like identity. Its evident that it is not just young ladies who are not comfortable in their own skin and aspire to look like someone else.

However, it is clear to see that those who we aspire to act or look similar to have common attributes, they are either famous at this point in time, have a lot of money or are aesthetically pleasing. These common attributes do not lead the path to happiness, this is a common misconception. By following these celebrities, as individuals we are diminishing our own self-respect and happiness by aspiring to be like someone, which is an impossible task. We are our own person and we should celebrate ourselves as unique individuals not as robots trying to incorporate someone else's trends.

The Toxic Comparison

"Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is." 

- MANDY HALE

Recently this quote has become some what of a blessing to my clouded mind. I am just about to start my last year at university, therefore, I am yet another dreary step closer to becoming what society would represent as a 'mature adult.' Although for those who know me will agree this is untrue.

I have noticed a lot of my friends/acquaintances on social media such as Facebook/Instagram/Twitter posting regular exciting and positive updates about their lives. From people I have known since nursery, high-school, university and work people are moving house, being promoted to their dream job, meeting the love of their lives and even giving birth, and basically these posts put me under tremendous pressure that my life is not going how it should be.

It is difficult enough when you are unsure of which direction that your own life is heading, never mind when everyone else seems to own a one way ticket to the perfect life plastered all over my timeline.  However, I have learned that although these exciting and positive outcomes of my friends lives are all very well, it would not suit for everyone to be the same. I have came to understand that worrying will not solve anything or show me the path to my own happiness and to compare your own life to that lived by others is probably the most toxic way of thinking that an individual can indulge in. By comparing our lives to others it is essentially undermining your own and creating a negative energy that 'you're not good enough because you're not the same.' 

We must accept ourselves to become truly content and happy, it would not do to be the same as everyone else. Life has a journey for each and everyone of us and it doesn't all come together at the same time.