Hey guys!
How are you doing?
I'm going to start of this post by saying that at one point of my life, I used to scroll through countless Instagrams, Youtube videos, blogs and just admire the way people seemed to live. I would spend endless amounts of time trying to fix myself, although the question of why never seemed to be answered. As I sat here right now scrolling through Instagrams, Youtube videos and blogs (for an entirely different reason), I had a sudden thought - why did it always seem to matter so much?
Being constantly surrounded by social, and other, media puts a whole lot of pressure on people, especially teenagers who still trying to identify themselves, to fit a certain mold. Whether this be by showing them unrealistic photos of what they should aim for, or presenting them with successful people who have had the opportunity to work; it is so easy for a person to watch, see or read something and have a misinterpretation of someone's life. Many people don't understand that what you see on all these various social platforms, is only what the publisher wants you to see.
While a picture, or an article, or a post may have a story hidden behind it, most of the time this hidden story is not exposed, much less explained. This story could be full of negativity, and bad happenings, but you just do not know because you aren't seeing the other half of what is going on. The person who publishes the photo, film or article is in complete control of what you see and what you have access to. This means that although you might think someone is living a perfect life, they are only showing you the parts of their life that are what might be perceived as perfect.
Which makes sense, right? I mean, when was the last time you posted a crying #selfie, or you wrote a whole blog post on how you didn't like your hair when you woke up on Monday morning?
In addition to this above mentioned misconception, about people having perfect lives, it is also important to remember that you should not be constantly comparing yourself to these people. We are all on our own journeys of confidence, and just because some people might view somebody or something as idyllic, it does not mean that subject matter of your admiration is comfortable themselves. On another hand in some similar perspective, you should never compare your beginning to someone else's middle. A lot of the influential people on social media have worked hard to live the life they life, and first and foremost, they have been given the opportunity to work for what they love.
For example, Blogilates has been working since she was 16 to make something of her devotion to Pilates. Due to Cassey's extreme enthusiasm and love of exercise, she has built something for herself that stems from her love of health, and has influenced so many people to develop a love for looking after themselves. You may admire her omg-amazing body, but you have to remember that her fitness and health is her life, and honestly, I'm so glad it is. Another example is the beautiful Michelle Phan who is devoted to beauty. Phan has worked so hard to build her own label, and to build the branch of the industry that she has for herself, and her love of beauty. For all my beauty lovers out there, I wouldn't doubt for a second you have heard of (or even admire) Michelle Phan, but it important to note that beauty is her life and she has slogged to get to where she is today.
It's for this reason that social media, in it's various forms, is such a powerful outlet for spreading a message, and could potentially be used for spreading positivity and energy to almost every body who has access to it. It's become an undeniable truth that we're going to be surrounded by social media, it's just our choice on what we use this as an outlet for.
I have worked very hard to surround myself with media influences that are positive and always make me laugh. Maybe it's time for everyone to do that too? We all know that we already have so many negative things weighing us down, so why would you make the choice to add some more on top of that? It's absolutely your choice on anything to do with social media.
In my personal experience, I tend to stay away from most social media (I write on a social media platform) as it often serves as a distraction, or is just filled with negativity which has a heavy impact on my life. When I do log on, however, I tend to just check up on my friends and plan things as, as I mentioned before, it's a very effective way to communicate with people.
What do you spend most of your time on, and why? Who are your favourite bloggers/Yotubers/Instagram-ers/Tumblr users?
Also wanted to apologise for the consecutive chatty videos, and my irregular (but getting back into the swing of things!) publishing routine. Stay with me, I'm almost there!
Much love,
Duchess
Thursday 22 October 2015
Tuesday 13 October 2015
Some Good Ol' Chatter
Hey all!
I'm baaaaaack! I've spent a good many hours contemplating, amongst other things, what my next blog post should be about. I came to the realisation that I haven't been talking to you guys (like a really good, nice jabber) as much as I used to, which is something I really liked to do. I found bits and pieces of the following in drafts that I had started but had never finished and didn't really seem to have a point to, so I thought I'd collab a few of my little thoughts to make a big one. There is probably no sequence, but I thought it'd still be nice.
I know I haven't been as consistent or reliable with my content and publishing as I promised myself I would be, but it's honestly the best I think I could do. As many as you know, my exams were really restricting me on the quality of the content I was able to have access to, and the time I had on my hands to fiddle with. However, my exams are over! And this consequently means that you should be able to expect more enjoyable things out of me in the weeks to come, especially as I'll be going up the coast for a family holiday and may be able to snap a couple of sneaky shots for you guys.
Recently I've actually had a few days off, in which I spent lazing about and doing little somethings with friends, which was lovely. In and amongst this lazing, I have been able to discover a lot of things which really intrigue me. In addition to constantly having a tab open playing some sort of media (whether that be YouTube, movies, or the rare television show - I tend to watch them on proper television), I've been discovering and rediscovering blogs. I think one of the things that really sparked this was the relaunch of the Zoella blog. As many of you know, Zoe Sugg had a bit of a haitus from her blog, in which she took time to rest and think about what she wanted to do. I can happily say that she's back, better then ever, with a blog that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I am in awe of her design and her new blogging style.
Speaking of bloggers, in much excitement, I actually had a really quirky talk with the beautiful Velvetgh0st on Twitter about food (of all the wonderful things). It was so exciting and such a surreal moment to be able to talk to one of the people whom I spend hours watching on YouTube and read about on their blogs. She was such a lovely person and it was weird to know so many people had seen our conversation too (and to watch the amount of Favourites that kept rolling in from the people who had seen the Tweets).
I've also been doing a little bit (quite a bit more than I'm used to) of shopping to prepare myself for my families visit in the upcoming weeks. I love being able to spend time with my family, whether it be for a few days or four weeks, but I also like being able to feel nice (I know this sounds awfully weird) while doing it. Also considering I would be spending a week or so going up the sunny coast, and many of my clothes were there to help me during the Winter (colder) months, I thought buying some clothes to accommodate me for the next half a year or so was acceptable. The only problem I seem to run into when shopping is that I tend to be drawn towards the tops, and seem to completely neglect the bottom half of a potential outfit Aside from a couple of pairs of jeans (the only couple I own that actually fit...), a couple of pairs of shorts and a few skirts, I don't have that many bottoms to accompany outfits. I guess that'll be my next mission then - to find some bottoms (in concern to clothing, nothing else)!
I've also been exploring, with what free time I've had, into music. I love to stick with what I know, which is generally classified into 'indie rock' or 'soft rock', but I've recently been extending to exploring new artists on YouTube, listening to those albums that you've always had but never been inclined to listen to or rediscovering artists and albums that were once loved but have recently been neglected. I've come to realise that I love artists like Miguel, as well as The Killers and The Kooks. I love being able to love a variety of music, and I love that I sometimes now feel like jumping around my room again because I have something fresh to listen to.
Much to my surprise, I've been watching shows on my laptop when I can! I mean, I'm more of a person to wait till they come on my Aussie television and then record them, but unfortunately most of the shows that I want to watch, I do not have access to, and I'm trying not to succumb to the temptation of Netflix (which has just been recently introduced to Australia). My most recent guilty pleasure is The Vampire Diaries (oh, I know, I give myself enough confused looks), but I love to stick to my roots as well. Speaking of which, can we talk about How To Get Away With Murder and Empire. They both surprised me by coming out close to each other, and I got to enjoy them with my older cousin too. I've also recently started watching Quantico (with fellow Indian Priyanka Chopra) and although I've watched only one episode, I feel like it's going to be a good 'un.
I am meant to be focusing on school. Sigh. A bit of an exaggeration though, because I've been keeping up with school work for now. I just can't wait till I feel like my back's breaking with work that's expected of me.
My family friends just came over so I was playing with their little daughter, who was telling me a variation of Cinderella, which she told me had a big 'story twist' at the end which was to be a surprise. It made me so happy that the twist was that Cinderella said no to the Prince when the hat (we had to scavenge around my ten year old Barbie's and came up short) fit her head properly because Cinderella still had to finish studying and get a job before she wanted to get married to anyone. When I asked her why she put this twist in, she simply said "because Cinderella wasn't ready and that's okay." This genuinely made me have good butterflies, and a huge smile.
That's all for now, I hope you've had a brilliant past few days and continue to have a brilliant week.
Much love,
Duchess
I'm baaaaaack! I've spent a good many hours contemplating, amongst other things, what my next blog post should be about. I came to the realisation that I haven't been talking to you guys (like a really good, nice jabber) as much as I used to, which is something I really liked to do. I found bits and pieces of the following in drafts that I had started but had never finished and didn't really seem to have a point to, so I thought I'd collab a few of my little thoughts to make a big one. There is probably no sequence, but I thought it'd still be nice.
I know I haven't been as consistent or reliable with my content and publishing as I promised myself I would be, but it's honestly the best I think I could do. As many as you know, my exams were really restricting me on the quality of the content I was able to have access to, and the time I had on my hands to fiddle with. However, my exams are over! And this consequently means that you should be able to expect more enjoyable things out of me in the weeks to come, especially as I'll be going up the coast for a family holiday and may be able to snap a couple of sneaky shots for you guys.
Recently I've actually had a few days off, in which I spent lazing about and doing little somethings with friends, which was lovely. In and amongst this lazing, I have been able to discover a lot of things which really intrigue me. In addition to constantly having a tab open playing some sort of media (whether that be YouTube, movies, or the rare television show - I tend to watch them on proper television), I've been discovering and rediscovering blogs. I think one of the things that really sparked this was the relaunch of the Zoella blog. As many of you know, Zoe Sugg had a bit of a haitus from her blog, in which she took time to rest and think about what she wanted to do. I can happily say that she's back, better then ever, with a blog that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I am in awe of her design and her new blogging style.
Speaking of bloggers, in much excitement, I actually had a really quirky talk with the beautiful Velvetgh0st on Twitter about food (of all the wonderful things). It was so exciting and such a surreal moment to be able to talk to one of the people whom I spend hours watching on YouTube and read about on their blogs. She was such a lovely person and it was weird to know so many people had seen our conversation too (and to watch the amount of Favourites that kept rolling in from the people who had seen the Tweets).
I've also been doing a little bit (quite a bit more than I'm used to) of shopping to prepare myself for my families visit in the upcoming weeks. I love being able to spend time with my family, whether it be for a few days or four weeks, but I also like being able to feel nice (I know this sounds awfully weird) while doing it. Also considering I would be spending a week or so going up the sunny coast, and many of my clothes were there to help me during the Winter (colder) months, I thought buying some clothes to accommodate me for the next half a year or so was acceptable. The only problem I seem to run into when shopping is that I tend to be drawn towards the tops, and seem to completely neglect the bottom half of a potential outfit Aside from a couple of pairs of jeans (the only couple I own that actually fit...), a couple of pairs of shorts and a few skirts, I don't have that many bottoms to accompany outfits. I guess that'll be my next mission then - to find some bottoms (in concern to clothing, nothing else)!
I've also been exploring, with what free time I've had, into music. I love to stick with what I know, which is generally classified into 'indie rock' or 'soft rock', but I've recently been extending to exploring new artists on YouTube, listening to those albums that you've always had but never been inclined to listen to or rediscovering artists and albums that were once loved but have recently been neglected. I've come to realise that I love artists like Miguel, as well as The Killers and The Kooks. I love being able to love a variety of music, and I love that I sometimes now feel like jumping around my room again because I have something fresh to listen to.
Much to my surprise, I've been watching shows on my laptop when I can! I mean, I'm more of a person to wait till they come on my Aussie television and then record them, but unfortunately most of the shows that I want to watch, I do not have access to, and I'm trying not to succumb to the temptation of Netflix (which has just been recently introduced to Australia). My most recent guilty pleasure is The Vampire Diaries (oh, I know, I give myself enough confused looks), but I love to stick to my roots as well. Speaking of which, can we talk about How To Get Away With Murder and Empire. They both surprised me by coming out close to each other, and I got to enjoy them with my older cousin too. I've also recently started watching Quantico (with fellow Indian Priyanka Chopra) and although I've watched only one episode, I feel like it's going to be a good 'un.
I am meant to be focusing on school. Sigh. A bit of an exaggeration though, because I've been keeping up with school work for now. I just can't wait till I feel like my back's breaking with work that's expected of me.
My family friends just came over so I was playing with their little daughter, who was telling me a variation of Cinderella, which she told me had a big 'story twist' at the end which was to be a surprise. It made me so happy that the twist was that Cinderella said no to the Prince when the hat (we had to scavenge around my ten year old Barbie's and came up short) fit her head properly because Cinderella still had to finish studying and get a job before she wanted to get married to anyone. When I asked her why she put this twist in, she simply said "because Cinderella wasn't ready and that's okay." This genuinely made me have good butterflies, and a huge smile.
That's all for now, I hope you've had a brilliant past few days and continue to have a brilliant week.
Much love,
Duchess
Saturday 3 October 2015
Absence Note
To whom it may concern,
I have an excuse! I know, I know. I can feel disapproving, disappointed eyes burning into the back of my head through the interwebs, but you have to understand why. "You were doing so well. You were being consistent too," I know, but I have a legitimate excuse and I hope you all understand.
So the last couple of week or so of my life have been a loud whirlwind of headaches, outings and unusual meetings. This also has an explanation - my mothers astoundingly large and loud family. Now to be expected to an extent, this large family took up a lot of the time that I had been permitted, due to the fact that I have been on vacation. I can say, however, that the last couple of weeks have provided a few of the most memorable days of my entire life.
Due to the fact that I have always been the youngest in my extended family, on both sides, I had always been somewhat restricted on what I could and couldn't be involved in. This always used to bother me because, as to be expected, I wanted to spend as much of the limited time I had with my cousins whenever I could. This time, however, it felt like I had finally matured to the stage of accepting the fact that there was always going to be that division, irrespective of whether it was in concern with my family, between me and older people, and that was something I was going to have to live with. This made my time spent with my family even that much more enjoyable.
My family has always been very close. We make an effort to all come together, from our various sides of the world, at least once in two or three years. Even my fathers side and my mothers side are very close, to the point where my aunt from my mothers side will visit a part of the world just to stay with my fathers mother. We're all entangled together and this was established to me last year during one of my cousins wedding. Every family member, from which ever side of which ever family, at least attempted to come together to celebrate the first legal, loving addition to our family. It's because of this bond that I consider family very important.
Of course, when everyone made the decision to come to Australia and spend time with our family acting as the host, my first thought was "How on earth are we going to fit that many people into our house?!" As it happens, however, as soon as everyone came and settled, sleeping and other positions soon became comfortably established, with minor conflict. With so many working, active and many young people, it was hard to set a time where everyone arrived and departed and so we had family coming and going as the weeks passed us by. The time I did spend with my family this year, I will never forget.
So yeah guys - call me lame - but I had to devote this time to my family. Not only because I love them very much, but because they mean a whole lot to me. I hope some of you share this relationship, and if not, you have someone which you can share this kind of relationship with. We also did a little bit of road tripping along the way, in which we stopped at many beautiful places (so expect a few things coming your way). I did miss talking to you guys, and you should expect me back soon.
Much love,
Duchess
I have an excuse! I know, I know. I can feel disapproving, disappointed eyes burning into the back of my head through the interwebs, but you have to understand why. "You were doing so well. You were being consistent too," I know, but I have a legitimate excuse and I hope you all understand.
So the last couple of week or so of my life have been a loud whirlwind of headaches, outings and unusual meetings. This also has an explanation - my mothers astoundingly large and loud family. Now to be expected to an extent, this large family took up a lot of the time that I had been permitted, due to the fact that I have been on vacation. I can say, however, that the last couple of weeks have provided a few of the most memorable days of my entire life.
Due to the fact that I have always been the youngest in my extended family, on both sides, I had always been somewhat restricted on what I could and couldn't be involved in. This always used to bother me because, as to be expected, I wanted to spend as much of the limited time I had with my cousins whenever I could. This time, however, it felt like I had finally matured to the stage of accepting the fact that there was always going to be that division, irrespective of whether it was in concern with my family, between me and older people, and that was something I was going to have to live with. This made my time spent with my family even that much more enjoyable.
My family has always been very close. We make an effort to all come together, from our various sides of the world, at least once in two or three years. Even my fathers side and my mothers side are very close, to the point where my aunt from my mothers side will visit a part of the world just to stay with my fathers mother. We're all entangled together and this was established to me last year during one of my cousins wedding. Every family member, from which ever side of which ever family, at least attempted to come together to celebrate the first legal, loving addition to our family. It's because of this bond that I consider family very important.
Of course, when everyone made the decision to come to Australia and spend time with our family acting as the host, my first thought was "How on earth are we going to fit that many people into our house?!" As it happens, however, as soon as everyone came and settled, sleeping and other positions soon became comfortably established, with minor conflict. With so many working, active and many young people, it was hard to set a time where everyone arrived and departed and so we had family coming and going as the weeks passed us by. The time I did spend with my family this year, I will never forget.
So yeah guys - call me lame - but I had to devote this time to my family. Not only because I love them very much, but because they mean a whole lot to me. I hope some of you share this relationship, and if not, you have someone which you can share this kind of relationship with. We also did a little bit of road tripping along the way, in which we stopped at many beautiful places (so expect a few things coming your way). I did miss talking to you guys, and you should expect me back soon.
Much love,
Duchess
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)