Everyone has a very different experience growing up and I think that this is a really important question which will affect the future of society.
It is debatable as to whether a) childhood is disappearing and b) is it a bad thing.
So, it is arguably true that childhood is disappearing.For example, the sexualisation of children. Nowadays you can buy baby bikinis, baby high heels etc, why are we trying to grow our children up so damn fast?!
Another example would be access to information. In the past children did not have access to news and adult information because the only way to gather this information would be through a newspaper for example. However in the modern age, children live in a television culture where they only have to watch and listen to understand a situation. They're getting exposed to our world much earlier than ever before.
Some would argue that 'childhood is a social construct' - Stephen Wagg. This means that childhood changes from place to place and from time to time. This is supposedly normal and makes complete sense if you really think about it. For example, in pre-industrial times, children were an economic asset to parents and would work just as an adult would. However soon the compulsory education act was introduced and child labour laws prevented children from working. Policies such as these have reformed childhood and what you experienced as a child will be extremely different to what your great great great grandchildren will experience, that's for sure!
Personally, I would argue that childhood is not disappearing, it is just developing and changing to fit in with society as human kind continues. People have to adapt to the situation which they are thrown into just to survive on this crazy planet.
Whether these changes in childhood are for the better or the worse, I guess that only time will tell.
Thank you very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed this post which was inspired by part of my sociology a-level course. Please let me know what you think and don't forget that you can get email updates every time this blog is updated by entering your email address into the box on the right hand side:)
How was your childhood different to your parents?
Thanks again.
Friday, 29 May 2015
Sunday, 17 May 2015
5 steps to surviving a chaotic lifestyle without breaking down!
Okay, so firstly I attend sixth form 5/7 days of the week. The other two days I decided to get a job in a very popular discount clothes shop. So this does not leave me with a single day of rest in a week, it's great I know.. I also go dancing 3 times a week for a total of 7 hours per week..
Anyway I'm not going to complain about that anymore as it was completely my choice to get the job and go dancing etc and that isn't what this post is supposed to be about.
But from spending my weekends working in this store, dancing and juggling college work it has taught me a couple of ways to cope with people and to handle a chaotic lifestyle:
1) First of all, it really helps to know that you ARE allowed a break.
It's not going to kill you if you take that evening off from doing the dishes or housework for example. You are allowed to have the occasional cheeky netflix binge. Personally I find when I begin to feel like I'm drowning in stress, going out with someone, taking a hot bath, watching You tube; anything can help as long you can turn your brain off for a bit. If you can take half an hour to relax, things will seem clearer. Okay yeah you may have just lost half an hour in which you could've been studying or whatever but at least now you'll be able to organise what you really need to do and when. Everything should just seem a bit clearer, if it's not maybe try writing it down. Sometimes I feel like my head is just juggling so much information I feel on the brink of explosion but if I can empty those thoughts slightly, it can help to relieve the pressure.
2) You can say no.
This one I really need to work on oops.. By this second point, I mean like saying no to going out with friends or doing that extra shift at work. If you've been working hard all week and then they ask you to go in super early on that Sunday morning, you do not have to do it. You are allowed to have that extra couple hours sleep which will really help you function. Of course it's important to be kind and helpful to others etc but you can't forget about yourself.
3) Stress will come in waves.
For me, this is a big one. I find that I can build up tension inside myself and it just keeps going until I feel like I'm drowning in pressure and stress and anxiety and bleuuuuuugh. No thanks! When you reach that point that's when you need to take 10 minutes out. Break away from the world and this might sound weird but think about how big the universe is and how insignificant whatever you're stressing about really is. Remembering that stress comes in waves helps me because it just reminds me that things will calm down. Things will get better, it's how life works. Life will throw you a challenge, you either take it on or you run, either way it will stretch you and your abilities.
4) Look after your physical necessities.
This kinda links in with number 2 but its very important that you look after yourself! Don't stay up all night watching TV if you've got work early in the morning. You're going to need that sleep so that tomorrow doesn't seem so bad. Eat healthily, exercise blah blah blah, yeah do it. That McDonald's is not going to fill you up for long enough, have some proper food and remember that you are literally what you eat. Say you eat junk food all week, and say some of it gets stored as fat. When you look at your body in the mirror and see that you've gained those couple of extra pounds, it's literally that cheeseburger but in a different form. You are made of whatever you put in your body. A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.
The exercise? I just do it because afterwards, its like 'fuck yeah' I'm doing something goooood.
5) It's worth it.
Always remember that your hard work will pay off, there is a reason as to why you do this with your life.
Anyway I'm not going to complain about that anymore as it was completely my choice to get the job and go dancing etc and that isn't what this post is supposed to be about.
But from spending my weekends working in this store, dancing and juggling college work it has taught me a couple of ways to cope with people and to handle a chaotic lifestyle:
1) First of all, it really helps to know that you ARE allowed a break.
It's not going to kill you if you take that evening off from doing the dishes or housework for example. You are allowed to have the occasional cheeky netflix binge. Personally I find when I begin to feel like I'm drowning in stress, going out with someone, taking a hot bath, watching You tube; anything can help as long you can turn your brain off for a bit. If you can take half an hour to relax, things will seem clearer. Okay yeah you may have just lost half an hour in which you could've been studying or whatever but at least now you'll be able to organise what you really need to do and when. Everything should just seem a bit clearer, if it's not maybe try writing it down. Sometimes I feel like my head is just juggling so much information I feel on the brink of explosion but if I can empty those thoughts slightly, it can help to relieve the pressure.
2) You can say no.
This one I really need to work on oops.. By this second point, I mean like saying no to going out with friends or doing that extra shift at work. If you've been working hard all week and then they ask you to go in super early on that Sunday morning, you do not have to do it. You are allowed to have that extra couple hours sleep which will really help you function. Of course it's important to be kind and helpful to others etc but you can't forget about yourself.
3) Stress will come in waves.
For me, this is a big one. I find that I can build up tension inside myself and it just keeps going until I feel like I'm drowning in pressure and stress and anxiety and bleuuuuuugh. No thanks! When you reach that point that's when you need to take 10 minutes out. Break away from the world and this might sound weird but think about how big the universe is and how insignificant whatever you're stressing about really is. Remembering that stress comes in waves helps me because it just reminds me that things will calm down. Things will get better, it's how life works. Life will throw you a challenge, you either take it on or you run, either way it will stretch you and your abilities.
4) Look after your physical necessities.
This kinda links in with number 2 but its very important that you look after yourself! Don't stay up all night watching TV if you've got work early in the morning. You're going to need that sleep so that tomorrow doesn't seem so bad. Eat healthily, exercise blah blah blah, yeah do it. That McDonald's is not going to fill you up for long enough, have some proper food and remember that you are literally what you eat. Say you eat junk food all week, and say some of it gets stored as fat. When you look at your body in the mirror and see that you've gained those couple of extra pounds, it's literally that cheeseburger but in a different form. You are made of whatever you put in your body. A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.
The exercise? I just do it because afterwards, its like 'fuck yeah' I'm doing something goooood.
5) It's worth it.
Always remember that your hard work will pay off, there is a reason as to why you do this with your life.
If it's not okay, it's not the end.
Thank you for readind, please share this if you found it interesting/ helpful! Goodnight:)
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Election day! A young person's perspective...
So, politics.
Today, if you weren't already aware, is election day in the UK. This is where anybody over the age of 18 can vote for who they want to run the country for the next few years basically.
As a British teen, I do not like the fact that my knowledge of politics and the parties, candidates etc is very very limited. All I know is that you can vote a polling station and the main parties are the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Green Party (I think).
Yes I have basic knowledge of what each party kind of wants but who I would vote for? No clue.
It's funny because you hear about lots of parties trying to get young people's votes because they usually don't bother voting etc. There is a reason for why we don't bother. Of course some people just don't really care and can't be bothered but I would say that its more down to the fact that we don't understand.
We hear rumours from newspapers, television, the internet, other people about some parties being very violent, corrupt, a bit wacky, all about upper class people/ lower class people and sometimes that it doesn't matter who you vote for, nothing will change.
This information can be very subjective and biased of course because whoever is telling you this information has got a purpose to get you to vote for a particular party otherwise they probably wouldn't be talking to you.
To solve the lack of knowledge of politics in young people, I would suggest having lessons in politics and just being able to learn about who's who, what they want for Britain and their history perhaps. Okay so yeah, some people may object which is fair enough but surely knowing about who will run the country is much more important that Pythagoras's theorem?!
Children ARE the future. They will one day be standing up against each other trying to rule the country, that's a fact.
However, I understand that It would be very hard to deliver this information objectively, as all teachers would have their own personal opinions and beliefs, which kinda throws the idea of being taught about politics in schools out of the window but how else can we learn about this stuff?
I once again, do not have the answer, it's just something that irritates me as I feel like I'm really missing out but I would not want to jeopardise this country with my lack of understanding.
Thank you for reading, what do you think?
Just a disclaimer, of course this is my own personal experience, maybe you went to a school were they taught you this stuff? Let me know how you learnt about politics and who to vote for. Who influenced you?
Today, if you weren't already aware, is election day in the UK. This is where anybody over the age of 18 can vote for who they want to run the country for the next few years basically.
As a British teen, I do not like the fact that my knowledge of politics and the parties, candidates etc is very very limited. All I know is that you can vote a polling station and the main parties are the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Green Party (I think).
Yes I have basic knowledge of what each party kind of wants but who I would vote for? No clue.
It's funny because you hear about lots of parties trying to get young people's votes because they usually don't bother voting etc. There is a reason for why we don't bother. Of course some people just don't really care and can't be bothered but I would say that its more down to the fact that we don't understand.
We hear rumours from newspapers, television, the internet, other people about some parties being very violent, corrupt, a bit wacky, all about upper class people/ lower class people and sometimes that it doesn't matter who you vote for, nothing will change.
This information can be very subjective and biased of course because whoever is telling you this information has got a purpose to get you to vote for a particular party otherwise they probably wouldn't be talking to you.
To solve the lack of knowledge of politics in young people, I would suggest having lessons in politics and just being able to learn about who's who, what they want for Britain and their history perhaps. Okay so yeah, some people may object which is fair enough but surely knowing about who will run the country is much more important that Pythagoras's theorem?!
Children ARE the future. They will one day be standing up against each other trying to rule the country, that's a fact.
However, I understand that It would be very hard to deliver this information objectively, as all teachers would have their own personal opinions and beliefs, which kinda throws the idea of being taught about politics in schools out of the window but how else can we learn about this stuff?
I once again, do not have the answer, it's just something that irritates me as I feel like I'm really missing out but I would not want to jeopardise this country with my lack of understanding.
Thank you for reading, what do you think?
Just a disclaimer, of course this is my own personal experience, maybe you went to a school were they taught you this stuff? Let me know how you learnt about politics and who to vote for. Who influenced you?
What is the point?
Do you ever sit there at the brink of explosion wondering, what is the point?
I do this increasing amounts everyday, and its kind of getting scary now. It's like you've worked hard all day at work/college etc and then you come home, have to do the housework, look after siblings, go to the gym whatever it is. Then at the weekends you may have a part time job or you may have to dedicate your time to something else like seeing family for example.
Now, when do you get a break? When do you get to sit down and just relax?
I do this increasing amounts everyday, and its kind of getting scary now. It's like you've worked hard all day at work/college etc and then you come home, have to do the housework, look after siblings, go to the gym whatever it is. Then at the weekends you may have a part time job or you may have to dedicate your time to something else like seeing family for example.
Now, when do you get a break? When do you get to sit down and just relax?
There seems to never be a time to just be happy.
Personally, I feel like in this life, you don't ever get to relax and be content. You're always on the move for work, other people, anything. There is always something that's broken/wrong in life.
This could just be me who's having a bit of a shit time at the moment but maybe not. All this just makes me think; whats the point in living if you're not happy?
Why would anyone want to live 80 years complaining and having a miserable time?!?!?
I know I certainly wouldn't.
It's just that my life course ahead of me seems so depressing.
Age 5 = Start school. (this process refers to my life as a person in Britain).
Age 16 = Finish school and join a college/sixth form/apprenticeship.
Age 18 = Finish a-levels (etc) and go to uni.
Age 21 = Finish University and go into employment.
Work for the next 45 years approximately, just trying to earn enough money for my family etc.
Age 66 = Retire and enjoy living for a few years (about 4).
Age 70 = Get some sort of age-related disease.
Age 80+ = Probably die from some painful disease.
The End.
Personally this sounds utterly awful. Who would want to go from education, work, retirement and then practically death??
What is the point?
I just think that the society we live in is somehow broken and people can't enjoy themselves anymore, no wonder the depression rate is so high nowadays.
The thing is though, WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES.
In my situation, I am very privileged. I have a roof over my head, a loving family who will support me, food for every meal and many lovely luxuries which I take for granted. I know that this is very very wrong but unless you've not had those wonderful things then how can you develop appreciation for them?
So when you put it like that, suddenly our life course looks bright. We are lucky to have schools and an opportunity for an education. We are lucky to be able to go into employment and earn money. We are lucky that we can retire as many people across the world have to work till their dead.
Why does it look so bleak then?
And how can we start appreciating the things we take for granted because that needs to happen immediately if we ever want to be happy.
Honestly, I have no idea.
Okay so that was just something to think about, pretty damn deep but hey. Have a nice day, let me know what you think.
A little update.
Hello everybody, I just wanted to say I'm reaaaaaally sorry that I haven't posted on here for a little while. My life has suddenly become crazy and I'm starting to feel like I'm going to explode numerous time of the day. Due to pressure and stress I mean, not because I'm angry:3
My a-level exams are starting next week, I've got another dance show coming up in July and work is kinda very shit at the moment. Please bare with me as when I have a bit more time I'm hoping to update this blog daily!!
Thank you for your patience and for actually taking an interest in this little blog haha:)
I will write a post tonight but will probably be absent for a little while until my exams are over, don't worry I'll still be checking any notifications and all that!
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely couple of weeks, keep your eyes peeled for a couple of posts tonight which will make up for the lack in the next couple of weeks,
See you in a bit, love from Laura x
My a-level exams are starting next week, I've got another dance show coming up in July and work is kinda very shit at the moment. Please bare with me as when I have a bit more time I'm hoping to update this blog daily!!
Thank you for your patience and for actually taking an interest in this little blog haha:)
I will write a post tonight but will probably be absent for a little while until my exams are over, don't worry I'll still be checking any notifications and all that!
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely couple of weeks, keep your eyes peeled for a couple of posts tonight which will make up for the lack in the next couple of weeks,
See you in a bit, love from Laura x
Sunday, 26 April 2015
What is love?
This is a intertesting, complex topic; but lets just dive straight in...
I believe that there are 3 types of love;
1. The first type is all about loving an object or something that you own. For example I love my Iphone, I would probably be lost without it as I heavily rely on it to my disappointment...(see my last post for more information!) Yes I love it, but I'm not attracted to it and the love is not unconditional. If the phone breaks or whatever, I'm not going to love it anymore, I'll probably go and buy a Samsung, if you get the picture.
You can love this inanimate object but its not love that you could feel with a person because it has no ability to love you back.
2. So, the second type of love is the kind of love you feel for family and friends. It is unconditional and you love these people because you've spent alot of time with them and they've sculpted who you are as a person. You provide emotional support for eachother and you have the capability to forgive eachother if you make a mistake. Not like an Iphone, you're much more likely to forgive a person for their mistakes if you love them because you care about them and don't want to lose them. However this desn't mean that you're in any way attracted to them or in love with them. You love them for who they are and for everything they've done for you and they should appreciate everything you've done for them as well.
3. This third type is waaaay different to the other two. This is true love. The kind you see in Disney films between Princes and Princesses. This, obviously, can be a very nice thing, especially if the person loves you back. It can be absoluteley wonderful.
Now, I'm still pretty young and as you would expect I do not have much experience with this kind of love because of my age etc. Hopefully I've still got quite a bit of life to go where I will gain these experiences and memories. I reckon this third kind can be very beautiful. Personally, I'm only just beginning to get a taste of this.
This love originally develops as lust. Some people may call it 'love at first sight' but in my opinion its just attraction at first sight. It's not deep love because you need to spend your precious time with that person for deep love to really develop.
So it starts with attraction, like a little crush you would get in the playground as a kid. And then you get to know them, instead of just loving the way they look you start loving who they are as a person. You fall in love with the little details, and the attraction is no longer just to those sparkiling blue eyes, or those ripped abs for example. You're seeing past the outer shell of that person.
I mentioned earlier that this kind can be very beautiful but I believe that it can also be very destructive and damaging as well because it's so powerful. There are negatives to everything, nothing is perfect, life is not a movie. Some might argue that this destructive side is very painful and can ruin your life as you're in a very vunerable position which is totally understandable.
However the power and strength of the third kind, I think, can almost be seen in a positive way. For example, you're worried about what they're doing, who they're hanging out with etc and obviously that hurts because you're scared of losing that person. BUT without that slight fear, would you really love that person?
For me, I like to see it as proof, yes its okay to be jealous because it means that I'm not fooling myself. I'm not making this love up through rose tinted glasses, it's really there.
Just something that popped into my head on a walk to Sixth Form one morning. Have a good evening, thank you for reading!
What do you think? Have I got it all wrong or does this make sense?
I believe that there are 3 types of love;
1. The first type is all about loving an object or something that you own. For example I love my Iphone, I would probably be lost without it as I heavily rely on it to my disappointment...(see my last post for more information!) Yes I love it, but I'm not attracted to it and the love is not unconditional. If the phone breaks or whatever, I'm not going to love it anymore, I'll probably go and buy a Samsung, if you get the picture.
You can love this inanimate object but its not love that you could feel with a person because it has no ability to love you back.
2. So, the second type of love is the kind of love you feel for family and friends. It is unconditional and you love these people because you've spent alot of time with them and they've sculpted who you are as a person. You provide emotional support for eachother and you have the capability to forgive eachother if you make a mistake. Not like an Iphone, you're much more likely to forgive a person for their mistakes if you love them because you care about them and don't want to lose them. However this desn't mean that you're in any way attracted to them or in love with them. You love them for who they are and for everything they've done for you and they should appreciate everything you've done for them as well.
3. This third type is waaaay different to the other two. This is true love. The kind you see in Disney films between Princes and Princesses. This, obviously, can be a very nice thing, especially if the person loves you back. It can be absoluteley wonderful.
Now, I'm still pretty young and as you would expect I do not have much experience with this kind of love because of my age etc. Hopefully I've still got quite a bit of life to go where I will gain these experiences and memories. I reckon this third kind can be very beautiful. Personally, I'm only just beginning to get a taste of this.
This love originally develops as lust. Some people may call it 'love at first sight' but in my opinion its just attraction at first sight. It's not deep love because you need to spend your precious time with that person for deep love to really develop.
So it starts with attraction, like a little crush you would get in the playground as a kid. And then you get to know them, instead of just loving the way they look you start loving who they are as a person. You fall in love with the little details, and the attraction is no longer just to those sparkiling blue eyes, or those ripped abs for example. You're seeing past the outer shell of that person.
I mentioned earlier that this kind can be very beautiful but I believe that it can also be very destructive and damaging as well because it's so powerful. There are negatives to everything, nothing is perfect, life is not a movie. Some might argue that this destructive side is very painful and can ruin your life as you're in a very vunerable position which is totally understandable.
However the power and strength of the third kind, I think, can almost be seen in a positive way. For example, you're worried about what they're doing, who they're hanging out with etc and obviously that hurts because you're scared of losing that person. BUT without that slight fear, would you really love that person?
For me, I like to see it as proof, yes its okay to be jealous because it means that I'm not fooling myself. I'm not making this love up through rose tinted glasses, it's really there.
Just something that popped into my head on a walk to Sixth Form one morning. Have a good evening, thank you for reading!
What do you think? Have I got it all wrong or does this make sense?
Monday, 20 April 2015
The dependency culture of technology
Okay so this post is a bit different to my other stuff. It's also the second time that I've attempted at posting this as the stupid blogger app deleted the whole post before actually posting it. Fucking brilliant.
Anyway.. So as a society I think we're becoming more and more dependent on technology to live. We are permanently attached to our mobile phones, listening to our iPods or scrolling through facebook on a computer.
For example;
'75% of Americans admit to taking their mobile phone to the toilet'
I'm sorry whaaaat?
Some people argue that they like having their phones with them at all times to feel safe. Yes I completely understand that and there are many benefits to having a phone. GPs, entertainment, safety, capturing memories etc...
But, who's going to magically appear in your bathroom and attack you whilst you're on the loo?!?!
This would suggest that maybe it isn't just for safety as to why we crave our phones.
Nowadays we like having constant attention, constant entertainment, constant conversations.
This then leads me to think about the future (and the title of this post). As a society we greatly depend on technology. Of course there are major benefits to having these things in our lives and we are very lucky to live in a world such as this.
As time goes on, we're becoming more and more dependent. This also links to why the obesity rate is so high nowadays, we don't do things for ourselves. We don't have to, so why bother?
Need to get somewhere? Take the car.
Need to wash the dishes? Use a dishwasher.
Need to buy groceries? Do some online shopping.
So does this mean that future generations are going to be completely reliant on these technologies just to live?
Can you imagine the day when people don't know how to read a clock because they don't need to know. All they have to do is press a button on their smartphone.
Personally this worries me.
Say this trend continues, how can our children learn to survive when we don't really live ourselves?
Children are like sponges. They'll soak information up, ask questions, want to know more. They have endless amounts of creativity.
But if we just shove them in front of an iPad with a game of Angry Birds, how can they make memories, gain experiences and learn from their mistake? All the things that have to happen for you to live your life.
I'd like to say 'oh well, it's not my problem'. But actually it is. My children, your children, the future generations who will rule the world have to be considered.
I have no idea what can be done about these problems, but we can't just think about ourselves anymore.
Hope you've had a nice week, it's been lovely weather here in England for a change!;) thank you for reading this.
Don't forget to enter your email address (centre right of the homepage) to be notified whenever I post something new! Feel free to leave a comment or tweet me:) @laurahayley129
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