Weighing up the issues

The reoccurring trends in the debate of using "real models" have always sparked much controversy throughout the fashion world and has also become a repeat theme for women's magazines when they grow weary of taunting famous people for any imperfections they may have. The magazines sudden ethical argument are that models are not "realistic" and normal women cannot relate to them seems to become more and more prevalent. I agree that unhealthily underweight models are certainly not good role models to girls and are completely unrealistic. However, I also found their sudden concern over accepting people for who they are to be disgustingly ironic due to the fact that these are the same  magazines that pad their dull as dishwater Jeremy Kyle reject stories with "scandalous" pictures of stars that they have either deemed too fat or too thin and sometimes to shake things up add in the cellulite factor. On top of this they add smug and catty slogans to these expose pictures. Sure they probably argue that they are reassuring women that even stars are human, but in reality are they not just creating new problems to worry about?

So called fighters for real women

How can the fashion world be expected to show what is dubbed real women when all these women's magazines do is critique and almost take glee in pointing out any little imperfection those in the lime light have?My issue is that  these magazines have been developing unhealthy obsessions with weight within the masses. Their quotes such as "real women have curves" are putting down women who have naturally boyish or athletic figures. So if they don't have what is deemed the right feminine form are they not real women? what are they then, Unicorns? Sometimes even in the same magazine they will push the newest super effective diet techniques that promise to "shed that ugly flab". Again, if a woman is over a certain weight are they ugly? Why can't they be attractive? These magazines are not selling stories anymore but fear. Fear that if one does not fit into what the media deem perfect at that point in time that they are just not good enough. It truly disgusts me. They cannot even seem to make up their mind as to what in their opinion  is the epitome of perfection, they constantly change it just like fashion trends. It seems the ideal body form correlates with which ever new female star is the darling of the press at that moment. This puts us plebs under too much pressure.

Peddlers of fear. 

In my opinion a real woman is not a certain size or shape. She is happy and confident in her own body. She does not bend to conformity or pressure. She is sure of who she is and does not care of what anyone thinks of her. That is the difference between being a woman and a girl, of being a real woman and not just a fad.

But what if I forget my house keys??

To use the famous and vastly used quote "When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did." As of late I have been taking this completely on board in many aspects of my life that I have previously been too scared to even attempt. Certain things like even trying out modelling which I used to scoff at when people suggested it to me and not because I thought it stupid or a vapid activity to take part in but because I guess I didn't take myself seriously and was really too much of a chicken to take a risk and be judged.



Now before anyone thinks I'm about to go on a big long ramble about how great I am now that I'm taking chances on myself I will tackle the main issue at hand: While I'm certainly trying more things than ever before and woo hoo for that - this year has got me slightly petrified. It's not the final year workload, which is almost a full time job in itself, but the fact that not only do I have to do that but I also have to plan the rest of my life (well next year at the very least) while I'm at it!

More and more Curious as to what lies ahead 

Which is ridiculous as I have been looking forward to independence and freedom for as long as I can remember. Nothing excited me more than the prospect that in a short few years I could be working and living in one of the many exciting and vibrant cities in the world! I spent hours day dreaming about all the new things I would experience. However, now that I have mountains of lots of little yet significant decisions pending and applications to fill in I find myself suddenly appreciating how jammy I have it living at home as a college student.



Before anyone thinks I am some sort of spoiled over-mothered brat, I am extremely self sufficient and have dreamed about my own place since I was little: Call it middle child syndrome if you will! However, more and more as of late irrational fears about moving away are randomly creeping into my mind. Over dramatic thoughts such as what if I forget my keys and end up being locked out of my house forever?? What if the neighbours cat sneaks into my place and smothers me??

My hypothetical neighbour's cat is clearly out to get me

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I've drawn the conclusion that this part of my brain must be a close cousin to the one that like to play tricks on me when I'm either home alone or after watching a scary movie, and about as much good to myself and my big plans as a chocolate tea pot: Very amusing but in no way helps me achieve my goal.

A Kick in the Faith.

After many weeks of the Occupy Cork group sitting at the periphery of our lives I think it is time to address something. However, it is not to do with whether or not I think it is an effective form of protest or whether they are lacking in a clear outcome they are suppose to strive for. To be honest I'm still in shock that a group of our own not only are trying to make a point and educate the masses on why we are in trouble economically but also and what is more heartwarming have stuck at it. Sure they do not seam to be making a dramatic difference and are surely not disrupting our daily lives in any way but they care enough, they have some bit of passion inside of themselves that has driven them to stop and ask our so called "democratic" country and elected government, why? Why are we still bailing out and covering up for these banks? We are still spiraling into further debt and unemployment even more so than when the recession was first announced! Somebody has finally turned around and say "Hey, wait a second..." Even though they still need to make their demands clear and possibly even educate some of the people speaking on their behalf it's still something. Frankly I found it refreshing, a bit of humanity was to be to be found among-st our so called society. That we were not all just robots working without question trying to thread water and keep ourselves out of debt. (That is a very strange metaphor I know but then again these are very strange times.)

Occupy Cork

Now onto my point, while I watched in awe at these people camping by the lee thinking isn't it great  there is finally something of substance happening, a little ripple against the tide, my thoughts were interrupted by a passerby who scorned "Typical crusty's have nothing better to do. They clearly are unemployed!" and then my delusional self came crashing back to earth. Trust us Irish to try drag down such a peaceful protest, to try avoid having to get involved in a conflict by making such excuses as:" Well I'm much to busy working. Wouldn't it be grand if I had such leisure time to spend it camping by Electric!"
 Should we not all stop what we are doing and demand that our government DO their job and attempt to try fix this mess?Maybe actually have the people who are responsible for this mess pay for what they have done? Fraud is a prison worthy crime the last time I checked, maybe I just didn't read the fine print that stated only if one does not have a large wallet and friends in high places. I mean we are a democratic country are we not? So why aren't we voicing our concerns? After all the government is suppose to only be the voice of the people. Sadly the evidence is pilling up that they're only the voice of the already rich and certainly not of the young or elderly.

Enjoy some Banksy instead of graphic protest images

However, I have slightly veered off point with my rambling. It is not just about the government it is about our attitude as a nation. No one can doubt that the french certainly have ways of standing up for themselves en mass, especially the students, and while I'm in no way condoning any sort of violence they actually come together and make themselves heard. Not only do we need to find our voice once again but also find pride in ourselves. We need to stop making excuses and dodging our responsibility as citizens. I'm not saying that we should rebel by any means but really I guess what I am trying to say is that if we don't have the bravery to take a public stand and risk any financial stability of our own by taking the time to prostest against what we all have been bitching about on Joe Duffy  then we should at least applaud those who do and not use what ever stereotype "they belong to" to to discredit them.

Is the Spooky Halloween spirit still alive?! Of corpse it is!

As a child nothing was quite as exciting as the anticipation of Halloween night. There is a certain point toward the end of September when the night time becomes more gloomy and the moon seems much more eerie. From the moment you spot that first pile of golden leaves get violently swooped up by the sharp wind and rattle through the air a foreboding thrill would be cast among the child version of ourselves as we were once again reminded it was that time of year again where ghosts and goblins lurked in every corner. Nothing could compete with that sort of exhilaration.

Even through that brief  point in my early teens where I thought I was too cool to dress up (I now cringe at what I deemed "cool" at this period.) I still had a little thrill in picking out the perfect pumpkin,gutting it and carving a ghastly face into it.While the fun of dressing up was always there the spine chilling magic of the night itself seemed to have waned a little as each year nothing brought back or came close to satisfying the fiendish thrills of  those Halloween nights long lost. That was until this year.

This years Pumpkins Fester N. Rot (Left) & Roger Spookyball (Right)

Nothing seems to bring terror to people (including myself) than the prospect of a zombie invasion. Sure many scorn (and yes this is also me) "that it could never happen" but there's always that tiny voice in the back of everyone's  mind that asks "what if?". This is the same part of the brain that turns a coat in the wardrobe into a murderous creature and any squeak into your immanent and undoubtedly violent death when alone in the house at night. Combing this with my unhealthy obsession with the series "The Walking Dead" the news that the Cork Zombie walk was to return this Halloween weekend made for a very excitable self!  I have to say the event lived up to every expectation I had of it, and believe me there was a lot!Not only did I recover the spookiness and wickedness of this time of year I feared was long gone but I also found a new tradition to add alongside pumpkin carving. There's a wicked glee to be found dressing up as the un-dead and wandering around in swarms through Cork city trying to and happily succeeding in terrorizing onlookers.

Getting our scare on at Cork Zombie Walk 2011

Even though Halloween has been put to rest for another year at least I can feel reassured that I will still be able to get my hair raising fix with my favourite zombie show,  for the next few weeks anyway, right up until the Christmas count down...Upon reading that last sentence I think I may have a slight obsession with celebrating certain public holidays...Oh dear.