the saddest people in the world club

This post is going to have a bit of a sadder undertone because I've been thinking about this a lot recently and just really want to express my thoughts on this new 'fashion' of being sad.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about all that's going on in the world and my position within it all. I mean this in the sense that my emotions are sometimes so disconnected to what's going on in other countries and vice versa. It's when I'm thinking about this that I tend to completely disregard my own feelings about boys or school or money as being stupid because there are people all over the world who don't have the luxury of going to school or are forced into marriage with someone abusive and while I'm complaining about having no money to pay for my clothing addiction, millions around the world don't have enough money for food. But this complete disregard of my feelings as being stupid can be just as toxic as disregarding the reality of the world because you're so trapped in your own world. I mean this in terms of, if your melodramatic problems are problem enough to make you sad then you should work to make yourself happy and not downplaying your emotions as stupid. 

At the same time though, my dad died in 2010 and I spent a solid year disregarding everyone around me's 'issues' because they hadn't suffered the heartbreak of losing a parent to the point where they didn't deserve to be sad. This supposed right to be sad is this stupid thing manifested by angsty people to further exile themselves from the world they're physically part of. It's almost turned into this elitist club of the saddest people in the world, and for a while I actually craved acceptance into this club. It seems so romantic to be sitting in a cafe with your sad friends, drinking coffee and smoking non stop whilst listening to 70's punk and dwelling on how sad you are and how the regular society really just don't 'get you.'

It's this idea that sadness pervades mystery and boys love mysterious girls who need rescuing. But in reality the only one who can do the rescuing is the victim themselves. Once we establish what our feelings actually are it's a lot easier to accept who we are and what we're worth. The problem is once people lose their self worth they're on a path leading to loss of oneself entirely, which is the point in which in your own eyes at least, you can become president of the saddest people in the world club.

It's a this point where I need to make a particular comment, nobody can be the judge of how someone feels or reacts to a particular event or situation. Even when, in your own eyes you've felt all the sadness in the world and know what it's like you still don't have the right to comment on how petty it is for someone to be crying over a boy who doesn't like them. I've been in both situations and I can tell you they both suck and so if they want to cry over boys or girls for that matter they are allowed to.  

I'll conclude with the following points

• You don't have the right to judge ANYONE on their emotions
• Being sad and losing all self worth is not fun and it needs to stop being romanticised
• Smoking causes lung cancer: not romantic when you're dead.
• Coffee is delightful but to excess can cause many issues
• Feel sad if you want, feel happy if you want, but feel how you really feel, don't do anything because it's cool.

So after this very serious post I'll be writing a post on fashion very shortly.

Liv xo 

School is cool (?)

As I'm nearing graduation the prospect of going into the 'real world' and getting a 'real job' is becoming a very real and scary thing. Yet what's got me most concerned is what I'm going to wear every day without the school uniform. You see, from the ages of about 5 to 14 I absolutely hated the concept of a school uniform, I hated how you couldn't express yourself, I hated how it fit, I hated everything. But then I had a realisation; school uniform enables one to express themselves in a far safer environment then anywhere else I'll go. I mean this in the sense that, you can experiment with makeup at school in readiness for a party on the weekend, you can break in black shoes that you want to wear out but don't have time to break in, you can experiment with different variations of the uniform. And really, you're surrounded by people you've known for ages so who's going to care. I know most schools probably aren't as lenient as mine when it comes to uniform, but school has really allowed me to test out how I want to be perceived. 

One day I can be Blair Waldorf and wear my hair and uniform in a more sophisticated manner.

The next day I can be more of a Serena Van Der Woodsen and be casual and relaxed.

Or if I'm feeling really adventurous I can go for a Jenny Humphrey inspired look, but I'm still yet to try that.

And I think now, 13 years after starting school I've really become aware of the convenience of school uniform and all the possibilities it holds. The other day I went to my friend's really glamourous 18th birthday breakfast at the Glass Brasserie (definitely go there, I would thoroughly recommend) and was the only one in uniform as I had an exam. I dressed for the occasion and wore a ribbon tied around my hair, a high necked jumper and the rest of my uniform as is. It probably didn't seem like much but I didn't even feel as though I was wearing uniform and people told me I looked like I was just wearing a cute outfit.

Cute outfit and school uniform??? I never thought I'd see the day.

But that's the thing, people are so confined in their belief that school uniforms are stupid and boring that they wait for the weekend to express themselves through fashion. They make use of only 2/7 of the days (or 28.47% of the time) to really reveal who they are, and to me that's a waste of the remaining 5 days or 72.63% of the time. I know to some they don't have a choice when it comes to uniform, but even just wearing funky socks, different school shoes or even in stationary or school bags - one can really make a name for themselves in how they wear the uniform. Of course that's not to say I make a special effort in my uniform every day because let's be real here there are days where I put my hair up and wear no makeup whatsoever and don't really give a remote interest in my uniform (which are becoming more frequent as school becomes less fun.) But I like having the freedom to manipulate the uniform in a way that suits me and it scares me that next year I'm 100% going to run out of clothes to wear and so my aimed image for uni (it's the hot indie fashionista if anyone's wondering) might not come into fruition. Despite all the negatives of uniform, the convenience and ease is something I'll honestly miss.

So when you're sitting at home in January of 2014 and crying about having to wear a uniform for the next 4 terms, just think of all the possibilities and start saving so that you can have enough clothes to fulfil your uni image dreams of hot indie fashionista. 

Liv xo