Long Time, No See...

...Hi...
I am very sorry for no posts in such a long, long time. I have in fact been manically revising for exams and then went on holiday and basically I have been incredibly busy.

Anyhow, I now intend on starting a blog post series about photography tips. The idea is that i will post tips which i have myself picked up over the years, or looked up and learnt recently myself. My aim of this is to encourage you all to take photos, and have a love for photography like me!

Furthermore as I am now FREE from high school I intend on posting a lot more often than usual and I am very excited to do so too!
Speak to you soon xx

Nursery Rhymes

As a child I loved nursery rhymes but of course not all nursery rhymes are the usual childish sort, many have deeper meanings. A few years ago I wrote a short story based on the true meaning of a nursey rhyme so here goes...

A ring a ring o’ roses. What’s wrong with me? Rashes all over my body, big red spots bulging out of my skin, atishoo, atishoo! I can’t stop sneezing. The doctor came in to examine me, but I screamed with terror! He had a huge cone shaped, bird like beak covering his face. He walked slowly to my bed and leant over me and I could smell the aroma of fresh thyme and lavender coming from his mask. The doctor asked me to lift my arms up and he had a look for something, then he turned to my mother and she gasped. I thought it was weird but when I looked down at my armpits, I could see a great big purple blotch erupting out of me. Then I could see bright yellow puss oozing out of the giant spot and the doctor wrapped a cloth around me. I started crying but then he took me outside and led me to a sewer! He told me to sit in it for an hour and then to go back to my bed and see if I feel better in the morning, and then he was gone!

In the morning I woke up and felt much better! The doctor came in, holding a chicken and asked how I was feeling. Then he placed the chicken’s bottom on my spots! I said nothing but squirmed the whole time. Later on the priest came in and I heard him talking to my mother downstairs. Then I could hear him coming up the stairs as the floorboards were creaking and he swung the door open. However when the priest entered, his jolly face turned into a red, scowled angry face. He ran straight down the stairs again and shouted to my mother “The wicked kid has caught the plague!” And I could hear my mother crying. When she came upstairs her eyes were swollen and her face was red. Mother gave me a pocket full of posies to sleep with to make me better. She rocked me to sleep…

I woke with a sudden thud at the door and I heard mother answer. I crept halfway down the stairs and saw some of the locals painting a red cross on the front of the door and the doctor talking to mother. The floorboards creaked, mother turned and came up to see me. She sent me to my bed straight away and when I asked what was happening she told me not to worry. Before I went to bed mother asked me how I was feeling and I explained I felt much, much better and that tomorrow I wanted to go outside and play with the other children. Mother replied “Maybe” and kissed me on the forehead…

The next day when she woke, the girl sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. Her feeling better had given false hope. Atishoo, atishoo we all fall down…………………………

  

She died…

Uniform: identity vs. belonging

Photo: Lois Mitchell

 

A different kind of post...

Seeing as my current English project is on uniform, I deemed it a possible blog post. Although it is slightly different to usual, it focuses on a similar topic to my truth about Disney post, which focused on women rights and their identity. This time, I am posting about how uniform prevents a person from presenting their creative personality.

 

Nowadays uniform is a continual debate. All schools in the UK enforce a dress code and the majority have adopted a school uniform. Even at a very young age, children have to wear it. But why do schools persist on students wearing uniform?

Most schools will explain that uniform is what makes the school a community. Undoubtedly it allows a student to have a sense of belonging, pride and dignity within their school. Additionally it makes the school look smart and professional which therefore in turn encourages discipline and promotes teamwork in the school.

Yet despite this, one of the main issues with uniform is the obliteration of a student’s personal identity because they are unable to express their personality. Especially at 16 years old, teenagers go through the stage where they need to express themselves and part of that is in what they wear in order for them to find out ‘who they truly are’. Uniform means students have a lack of freedom and it doesn’t allow them to make their own choices - specifically in high school as uniform is a burden to students because they are supposed to finally be treated as young adults. Surely that is not fair?

On the other hand, the main advantage of uniform is to prepare children for the huge ‘world of work’; teaching them to take pride in their appearance. But what type of world are schools talking about? In fact, it seems that uniform is encouraging students to work in an environment where a uniform is obligatory such as clothes shops and even McDonald’s. Whereas successful businessmen actually choose what they wear each day, and they just have a dress code. Doesn’t a smart dress code make more sense than wearing a uniform?

Obviously uniform allows students to stay safe because there is no opportunity to get lost on school trips with their recognisable blazer, tie and school logo. It also means students can concentrate more on school, in that there are fewer distractions. Clearly, student attire also helps to identify any intruders who may enter the school and any student who may be skipping a day off school to go shopping for example.

Moreover uniform means no one would be bullied as a result of their clothing choice such as a lack of designer labels which therefore means it diminishes the economic barriers. Uniform also eliminates social grouping which may be due to individual dress code such as ‘chavs’ (who would typically wear fake designer gear) and ‘Goths’ (who stereotypically wear all black). Many parents would also agree school ‘is to learn’; it is not a ‘fashion parade’…

However it is a well known fact that students do not actually benefit from school uniforms. They do not encourage attendance, they do not make students better behaved and they certainly do not improve student’s grades. For example, 75% of schools without a uniform actually receive better or the same grades as schools which require uniform. In addition to this, as well as most uniforms being uncomfortable, there is also the difficulty of finding a size that actually fits, and nearly 90% of school uniforms are of bad quality material.

Although you may be thinking uniform is still the better option, I disagree. You may say that it is cheaper to buy a uniform than buying a whole wardrobe for a child; saving time and money. However the truth is uniform prices are continuously increasing, the average cost of uniforms for one child approximately £160 and in retrospect that is a lot of money to pay particularly on top of equipment costs. Furthermore, is it really fair that parents should pay the extra expenses for a school uniform, when they are already paying taxes for free public education? No, it isn’t right.

On the contrary, do you not think that schools should be focusing on their teaching rather than insisting on a student’s uniform? I do.

Of course, if you want your child to lack freedom, personality and creativity; which would be required for their future, then uniform is clearly the best option. Personally I believe there should not be uniform as it simply does not allow children to be who they really are. A local school child explains; “We all deserve to be unique and original. Who wants to look the same as every person in the same school? Not me. I only want to express myself – being like everyone else is just boring, boring, boring!”

The Truth about Disney

When I was younger I used to ADORE all of the exciting and thrilling Disney films. They were full of adventurous and entertaining stories about princesses, mermaids and other fantasies. The films were jam-packed with great sing-along songs which were mostly upbeat and catchy and to this day my sister still listens to them on her iPod. However is Disney everything you believed it to be?

My very favourite Disney film was and still is Peter Pan. In case you didn't know, it is a story about a boy, named Peter, and he never wanted to grow up. He lived in a fantasy land with the lost boys who were his friends and an evil pirate called Captain Hook. Mermaids, crocodiles and Captain Hooks crew are also important characters in the story. Nevertheless, the story involves three children, Wendy and her two brothers who meet Peter and are taken to the Lost land where they get up to mischief and at the end fight Captain Hook in order to return home and the ending is of course a happy one. The main moral of the story was that "time chases us up” and we all grow up eventually.

"To live would be an awfully big adventure."

Back to the point; there is more behind the surface of this film. Now, I mentioned the mermaids earlier. These creatures are portrayed as beautiful women who comb their hair on a rock and portray the stereotypical view of a mermaid that we still know of today. However, if you were to watch the clip below, is that the same idea you receive, or do you gather a different image Disney portrayed of the mermaids?

No? Watch it again.

From the video clip, what I see are the mermaids being portrayed in a way that Peter is superior and women are no way near as important. “Oh, Peter, Peter, look at me peter!”. This exclaims that Disney, not meaning to, portrays women in a wrong and unjust way.

And its not just in Peter Pan! Mulan is a story of a woman who has to dress up as a man to receive her rights! She takes her fathers place to fight in the war, but if found out that she was a women, she would be killed. This is because women were not allowed to be soldiers. Furthermore, it is obvious men have power and at the beginning of the film, you watch the females dressing up to make themselves presentable for the males. Therefore, although they are good films, Disney has portrayed females with no rights and presents signs of sexism.



In addition to this, recently in the news, Meryl Streep made a speech about Disney. According to newspaper articles “Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that task is performed entirely by young men.” Therefore, could this be the reason for sexist portrayals in the films?! Who knows.

Seeing as it is international woman's day this seemed an appropriate blog post. What does today mean to you? Personally today should encourage equality and remind us all that women still do not get treated fairly and do not have the same chances as men. I hope you found the post interesting and you feel inspired to share your opinions.

Revision Survival Kit

Seeing as exams are coming up for many of you (and myself), you may be wondering about revision. Therefore, although i can’t do revision for you, i can help make it more exciting! Despite sounding tedious, here are a few things I find handy and helpful when it comes to revision at the same time as making it a little fun!

1) Notebooks!

For me, one way of making revision more exciting or at least a bit more bearable, i use different and pretty designed notebooks. I use these to write lists, fill in my revision timetable or even do work in. Nevertheless, i believe that having nice coloured notebooks helps with revision.

2) Revision Timetable

No revision can be done without a basic plan. A revision timetable is of course, personal to you, however i think its essential to have one in order to know the basis of what you are supposed to be doing; what topic and subject and when. There are many online websites to help you with these and even a few apps, but its definitely a must have!

3) Highlighters

My lifesavers. Highlighters are the best things you can have in your life because they are helpful with everything. Whether you are mind mapping, making notes or just writing a list, highlighters are amazing. The ones i have are really cool as they are double sided, therefore i can underline too and for neat organised people like me, they would be great to use.

4) Coloured Pens

These are great mainly for mind maps because they are ‘brain-friendly’ as a famous teacher of mine once said. The use of different colours and pictures really does stimulate the mind and therefore i definitely recommend investing in some!

5) Sticky tack

No other reason has sticky tack been mentioned except for the use of sticking mind maps and helpful revision posters on the wall. Many people learn well from this because being surrounded in a few key notes can sometimes catch your eye and jog your memory.

6) Paper clips

What would i do without paper clips? I have no idea because i would be nothing without the organisation of paperclips. These are just great for collecting work and pilling up sheets of paper into sections. I grabbed some of my paperclips from Ikea, accessorize and staples.

7) Tipp-ex

This is genuinely handy when writing notes up in neat. Personally i get bothered when not all of my work is neat, so the use of tipp-ex ensures my work looks nice and presentable. Furthermore, i prefer using these tape type tipp-ex because it doesn't smell as much.

8) Ring-binders

Ring binder folders are great for revision, work and organisation in general. For me i have a huge ring binder just for current revision which is great because everything is therefore kept in one place.

9) Food and Drink

No revision survival kit would be a good one without nice treats like food and drink. I love buying milkshakes and little chocolaty snacks, however it is important to eat lots of fruit too, because its good for you! 

10) Music

Of course, music is a great technique for revision. Actually, it has been proven music helps with revision because a tune helps you to remember facts. However this does not work for everyone and side note; music with lyrics does not work!

 

I hope my little tips helped, feel free to comment and other tips, techniques and items that you find great for revision!

Bucket List

So, I just thought it might be nice for me to share my bucket list with you guys! Perhaps when i complete something i can make a post to celebrate!

• Learn to speak a language fluently
• Go skydiving
• Go Parascending
• Go to university
• See the Northern lights
• Go on an African safari
• Go skiing
• Go backpacking around Europe
• Get another piercing
• Visit the largest aquarium in the world
• Kayak with dolphins
• Go whale watching
• See Blink-182 live
• Help a charity in Africa
• Visit New York
• Go up the shard in London

In the comment, let me know of some of your bucket list items!

Hello, Bonjour, Hola and Ciao!

Hey everyone and welcome to my blog!

I have wanted to write my own blog for a long time now, so here goes! 
Back to basics; my name is Liberty and I am (currently) 15 years old.  Seeing as this is my first post to my blog, I just thought that I would let you know what it will be about. As a self confessed shopaholic, I will include my favourite clothing and styles and as a HUGE lover of music I will ensure I post regular music recommendations too. However my posts will also be broadly lifestyle based about everything and anything and most of all, its all about the adventure!
I’m excited about this and I really hope you like it!

“To live would be an awfully big adventure” – Peter Pan

Me