Fashion comes in all shapes and sizes

I don’t have a reputation of being the most fashion forward person but I do have a reputation for wearing clothes that look good on me. As a “plus-size” girl and I use that term hesitantly because I’m a borderline size between “normal” and “plus size” I am appalled with the availability of fashion catering towards my body shape.

The fashion industry has a long history of catering to the tall, leggy, almost anorexic woman however in recent years I do give them credit for embracing the natural curves of a woman. As a young girl I would look at the models walking down the catwalks and posing in a magazine and I would aspire to be like them. I wanted to wear the pretty clothes and be beautiful. I developed a strong sense of fashion at an early age and I pride myself on keeping up to date with current trends. The biggest issue that I face today however, is that while I am aware of what is considered “fashion”, it is not readily available to me in my size. Apparently being over a size 14 means that I automatically lose my fashion sense.

It makes me wonder, how many times as a young girl, I looked at “larger” women and laughed at their frumpy fashion.  I automatically assumed that these women didn’t take pride in how they looked and were ugly- not because they were curvy, but because they didn’t wear pretty clothes. Upon growing up and becoming one of these curvier ladies I realised that the problem wasn’t that I didn’t care about fashion but rather fashion didn’t care about me.

Now I’m the first to admit that certain designs and styles of clothing aren’t going to look good me regardless of whether its available in extended sizes however just because I have more curves doesn’t mean that I want to wear a potato sack as a dress or wear an oversized t-shirt with elasticised  jeans. I want to wear the cute strapless cocktail dress, or the skinny/straight leg jeans with a cute blouse. I want to dress for my body shape but I also want my clothes to be a reflection of who I am and what I like, which is fashion!

Don’t get me wrong, not all  “plus-size” fashion is frumpy- if you step away from the Big W/Walmarts, Target’s and K-Marts of the world, you will actually find some really cute clothes. In Australia possibly the most fashion forward plus size clothing store is City Chic. When this store opened in Sydney I was beside myself with joy. Finally someone had heard my pleas and developed a fashion line that catered to my size. The joy that I felt however was only a fleeting feeling as I soon discovered many flaws with the plus-size fashion industry. For starters, plus size fashion is expensive. Now I realise that fashion in general is expensive, however I’m willing to pay good money for my designer labels but lets be realistic here- City Chic is a long way from being classified as “designer”. On average a dress in the store would cost you anywhere between $100-$180 and tops average anywhere from $50-90. Its affordable when your not buying copious amounts of clothing however when you’re a teenager or a young adult on shoestring budget, the clothes are quite expensive.

As someone on the “borderline” between normal and plus-size clothing I will also admit that I buy clothes from other Australian stores that cater for a size 6-16 such as Sportsgirl, Portmans, Bardot and Forever New. In these stores the prices of clothing are on par with the prices in City Chic- so I’m not criticizing City Chic for over-charging their customers. What I am frustrated with however is that “plus-size” girls only have City Chic as an option in regards to fashionable clothing for young adults. They have no choice but to pay the prices in this store because they can’t get clothes as stylish in another store in their size. Women who are a size 8-14 however have the option of shopping at expensive stores however they can also walk into stores like Temt, SES, Valley Girl and Ice and pick up a cocktail dress for $20 and a business suit for $40!  These clothes are replicas of the designer trends but come without the expensive label attached. One day I bought a dress in City Chic for $130 and I found a dress in the same material but slightly different style in Valley Girl for $30! That’s a $100 difference!

My sister, who’s a size 6, said to me one day whilst I was inflicting one of my rants upon her, that I should pay more for my clothes because I’m using twice as much material as her. To be fair, she has a point. I believe that a mark-up on plus size clothing is justifiable. Even double the price is fair, but in what universe is it fair for me, or some other curvier girl, to pay an extra $100 for a few more inches of material? One of the things that really bothers me with plus-size fashion in Australia is that it’s a lot more limited and expensive than in places such as the USA or the UK. I lived in the USA back in 2004 and I LOVED buying clothes over there because they were so cheap.  I often go online looking at stores such as Forever 21 with their extended sizes or Torrid and I find all of these cheap gorgeous clothes in my size. The only reason I hesitate about buying them is that they usually incur a $40-50 shipping fee. Now, even with the shipping costs, due to a strong exchange rate, the clothes still work out cheaper than buying them here in Australia however if for some reason I select the wrong size, and lets face it- size charts aren’t always reliable- then I have to spend another $50 shipping it back, which means I ultimately paid $100 for nothing. Also packages are delivered within 1-3 weeks, which is okay if you can wait, but not good if your looking to buy an outfit for an unexpected party on the weekend!

The other issue that I find really frustrating when it comes to buying clothes, and I’m sure many girls of all sizes will agree with me, is the automatic assumption that when you go up a size in clothing, you automatically become taller and increase your cup size.  I find that a lot of plus size clothing is often to long for my height and therefore needs alterations before I even wear the outfit. To put what I’m saying into perspective, I am 5 foot 6 inches tall. Average height- not what I would call tall but I can’t be considered short either.  Upon measuring myself against the size chart on the City Chic website I was amused to find that I had the bust size of an  XS (size 14), waist measurement of a S-M (size  16-18) and hip measurement of an XS.-S (size 14-16). From this I gathered that I should average a size 16 or a SMALL in that store. You can imagine my shock when I had to buy an XL in a top in order for it to fit me. I find it hard enough to buy clothes that cater to my abnormal measurements and I have enough self-esteem issues, than to be told that I am an XL in plus-size clothing. Now I know that I am not the only person to experience this problem. My sister who I mentioned is a size 6, is a fitness instructor who lives on a freakishly healthy diet. She is borderline OCD about being skinny and makes sure to avoid fats and sugars and exercise everyday. If she happens to gain 1kg she will double the amount of time she spends exercising in order to lose it straight away. She has gone up two sizes before for no apparent reason and it really screwed with her self-esteem and her confidence in her body.  Both of us are coming from two different angles and yet we are both experiencing the same problems. However at least when she goes up a few sizes because of the make of the dress she can still wear designer fashion-when I go up a few sizes the fashion industry tells me that they don’t make clothes in that size.

I will say that the availability of fashion in my size is improving- I’m sure my overflowing closet and dresser are testament to that fact, but we still have a long way to go before I’m satisfied.  I’m fortunate enough that being on the cusp of sizes between standard and plus-size that I do get to experience a bit of both worlds and I’m not strictly limited to one like some people, however perhaps this has made it even more frustrating for me, because I am neither one nor the other so I can’t just accept it. There are elements of the fashion world that I get to experience that make me crave for the parts that I can’t have and there are element of plus-size fashion that I get to experience that really allow me to identify the distance between the two fashion worlds.

In conclusion I just want to point out that fashion is what you make it. Clothes that look good on you will always be more fashionable than clothes that you think you’re supposed to wear because some magazine said so. While the fashion industry may discriminate based on size, fashion sense and awareness of what looks good doesn’t. I just hope the fashion industry recognize more openly that there is a huge market that they could cater to in the plus-size world which is filled with fashion savvy girls with their credit cards ready just waiting to buy that gorgeous dress they saw on the catwalk at fashion week.

For all those curvy girls out there who think that the fashion industry is overlooking them, I leave you with the wise words of Coco Chanel :

 “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” 

XOXO

What is Luck?

What is Luck?

Not in the sense of the literal definition, but what does luck mean to you? Is it winning a million dollars? coming first in a race? getting a promotion? becoming a celebrity? or simply avoiding a horrible tragedy?

I have often equated luck to material objects. In my view I was lucky if I got to go on a holiday or if I won a competition. I was extremely lucky if I won the lottery (although the odds aren't in my favour on that one!) or if I was able to meet my favourite celebrity (it's true- having the chance to meet Adam Lambert made me feel like the luckiest girl alive) however lately I have begun to wonder if my perception of luck is all wrong.

True story (from my highly (in)accurate source-My dad): There was this guy who visited a psychic who told him that he would experience great luck in his near future. A few days later the guy got offered the opportunity to speak at a medical conference in Mexico. He felt like it was a huge honour and it was the LUCKIEST thing that had ever happened to him. He'd been waiting all of his life for this opportunity. However, on the day he was supposed to leave, bad weather prevented his flight from flying out and it got cancelled. The next available flight he could get on, would deliver him at his final destination a few hours too late. The guy was devastated. He went home from the airport and rang the psychic back. He was angry because he had been UNLUCKY which wasn't what the psychic had predicted for him. The next day he turned on the news to find out that the hotel in Mexico, where the conference was being held and he would've been had the flight left on time, had collapsed and most people had inside the building had died or were severely injured.

The point to the story: the guy's LUCK was that he avoided death. The LUCK he thought he'd received wasn't talking at this conference but instead he was LUCKY that not going to the conference saved his life.

This story was what made me change my perception of luck. Sometimes we forget to look at the big picture...instead of being thankful that we are lucky to have our health, our family, our friends, our partners, a steady income, a roof over our heads etc, we focus on all of things we don't have or we want- to win the lottery, a new car, winning a holiday, a bigger pay cheque.

They say that if you find the end of the rainbow, you'll find a pot of gold. Well I've found the end of my rainbow and what I've found is that I'm lucky for the life I have now. It may not be perfect but I've got my health, I've got the love of my friends and family and I've got financial security- and that makes me the luckiest girl on the planet.

So next time your sitting at a traffic light that's taking forever to change, or your flight gets cancelled- instead of getting upset- remember that things happen for a reason and by being exactly where you are in that moment it may make you the luckiest person in the world to be alive!

It's the end of the world as we know it...

So I've always been fascinated by psychic predictions and things like astrology and numerology. I like to believe that we have the power to predict certain things and that there are signs that lead us to a particular outcome.

The Mayans predict that in 2012 the world will end. Now I've seen the movie 2012 (mainly because Adam Lambert sang the title track of the film) and I've also seen movies like The Day After Tomorrow. Each of these "end of the world by natural disaster" movies have left me with questions and a lingering fear that this could be my future and my fate. However I have recently come across some new information that has made me rethink my belief towards how the world will end.

A few weeks ago my parents went on cruise. As they were sailing the seas, they attended a talk on their cruise by a special guest John Arthur Daley, who is well known in Australia for his work on radio and his understanding of numerology. Now according to my dad, who may or may not be a reliable source, John said that the Mayans are known to accurately predict events and that there is validity to their 2012 predictions. However, unlike in the movie 2012, John says that the world wont "end", instead it will be the end of the world as we know it.

Now what does this mean exactly. Well according to what he told my dad, he said that the world's political and economical stability is going to completely unravel. There are going to be changes in power, countries are going to experience major uprisings and the way we live now, in this world, will dramatically change- due to manmade and natural disasters. He said that we can see the warning signs now- the protests in Egypt, the earthquakes in Christchurch and Tokyo, the floods in Queensland, Climate change...All of these events are affecting the lives of the people in those countries and the economy of those countries. John said that over the next year, we will see an increase in these events, and that the magnitude of these events will be even greater than we have ever experienced in this lifetime.

Now, a part of me is a little sceptical, mainly because I don't want to believe that 2012 signifies the end of something, however you can't help but realise that what he says makes sense. It's crazy to imagine the world just ending however it's not out of the realm of possibility that an event will occur that will change our lives forever. It's a scary concept to someone who believes in the power of numerology.

But don't be alarmed- like I said, this information isn't proven or 100% accurate- it's only speculation at this point- but I do believe that we should prepare ourselves for the likelihood of something happening that will change the way we are living now. It's one thing to be sceptical, it's another thing to be ignorant. Don't ignore the signs.

She works hard for her money....

Hey everyone, sorry I've been MIA from this blog for over a week now! I had it all planned out that I would post a new blog entry that was funny and entertaining but unfortunately the issue that I've decided to blog about today is a controversial one that has been upsetting me for the past 4-5 years.

I graduated high school in 2006 and started full-time study at university in 2007. During that time I worked on average 10 hours a week in part time employment as well as taking on board "jobs" such as baby-sitting and research marketing in order to help offset the costs of being a full time student. Now during the time I attended university I lived at home with my parents and I relied on them to pay for my living expenses even at the age of 21 (my final year of study). I wasn't able to receive any government assistance such as youth allowance to help me during those four years because according to centrelink, my parents earned too much money. Fair enough, as a tax payer myself now, I understand that it was my decision to be a full-time student and I knew the costs associated with attending university before I even applied but what really used to fire me up was the unfairness of the youth allowance scheme.

Take for example my friend, she received $250 from centrelink every week because her parents didn't earn an above average income. I don't begrudge her the financial assistance in that regard but the $200 allowed her to move out of home and rent her own apartment and she only had to work 5 hours a week, just so she had some money on the side to go out with friends.

Example two is my other friend, who decided to take some time off from studying to work fulltime before heading back to university the following year. Because she earned a fair amount of money in that year, she was eligible for youth allowance upon returning to her studies. What irritates me in this situation, is not that she receives government payments, it's that she doesn't work at all because she doesn't need to since the government is paying her a steady income every week.

Now when I say I'm not eligible for centrelink because my parents earn too much money, I have to clarify my parents financial situation. My parents both work full time, in good jobs that give them each an income of around $60K a year. My sister and I have never gone with out, and have been spoilt our whole lives however at the end of the day my parents aren't earning a massively high income when you take into account the cost of living, a mortgage, the expenses of running two family cars and utility bills. They make enough to be comfortable but they work hard for every cent. So here I was at 21 years old, still studying and only working part time, and I was expecting my parents to spend hundreds of dollars every semester on textbooks, provide me with all of my living expenses and  also give me a travel allowance of $30 a week to get to and from uni.

My parents supported my decision to go to university and were willing to cover these expenses however at what point are parents able to stop "paying" for their children. My issue with the clause on centrelink payments is that, at 21 I was an adult, legal in every country in the world and I made a decision to attend university for 4 years in the hope that I could graduate with a degree that would allow me to get a good job/career. At 21 I shouldn't have to be dependent on my parents for everything. At 21, my parent's income shouldn't be a factor as to whether I get government financial assistance. At 21, my parents shouldn't be forced to give me 'X' amount of money every week or month. It's their hard earned money and I'm not a 'child' that they legally need to support anymore.

I think the real problem that I have with centrelink is that it's sending young people the wrong message. Its discouraging us from transitioning straight from high school to university, because if we take a year off to work than we can get money every week off the government when we go back to studying. It's punishing youths who come from families who earn decent, but not ridiculously high income. My friend in example one was able to move into a place with her friends and be independent because he parents earned a low income, while I was forced to live at home because my parents didn't earn enough to pay for rent on a second place.

Here's the reality of the situation: I studied for 4 years while working permanent part time, graduated, and now I'm working as a teacher, paying my taxes to the Australian government and contributing to society. I have never received a cent off the government and probably never will. Meanwhile my friend, in example two, worked full time for 9 months straight after high school and has now been studying at university for 6 years, receiving centrelink payments every week for 6 years and hasn't worked a day in the past 4 years because she doesn't have to. Where is the fairness in that?


Please note: I fully support government payments to those people who truly need the assistance, however I am frustrated at the loopholes that are in our current system that allow people to take advantage of the system and use it as an excuse not to work. I'm genuinely sorry if I offend anyone.

The Saving Grace of Idol...

So i've been watching American Idol lately. After the tragedy that was Season 9 I was wary about how Idol could redeem itself. The addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez was a great idea- i love Steven's unfiltered comments and I find myself drooling over J-Lo's outfits- however I can't help but miss the snarky, tell it how it is, no bullshit nature of Simon Cowell. I'm not a big fan of Randy Jackson. If I had a dollar for every time he calls someone DAWG I could happily retire a millionaire at the grand old age of 22!  But the judges aside- the contestants this season actually showed some promise.

I have to admit that Adam Lambert kind of ruined idol for me. Never has a contestant amazed me and awed me as much as he did from the moment he walked into the audition room. Adam didn't just break the idol mould, he completely shattered it into tiny specks of glitter. However just because I'll never love someone as much as I do Adam, it doesn't mean that I'm not open to new talent. I approached season 10 with an open mind and a willingness to embrace the new contestants. I just prayed that there would be someone who grabbed my attention the way Adam did from day one.

My prayers were answered in the form of Colton Dixon, a 19 year old singer songwriter. He looked and sounded like a cross between Kris Allen and Cassidy Haley, but what grabbed my attention was his charisma on stage. Not only was he good looking- he had the talent to back it up. Finally American Idol was looking up again. I had a reason to watch the show. My world came crashing down however just as the judges were announcing the top 24. Colton didn't make it. I was stunned and apparently so were many people. Ellen even asked him to perform on her show because she couldn't believe the judges decision. What intrigued me about this turn of events is that the public seemed to be devastated by this news. This cut happened a week before, we the home viewers, got a chance to vote for who stays and who leaves. It made me question how much control we really have over the outcome of show. 

But like the real world, sometimes idol doesn't always work out the way you want it too and so I readjusted my view of the show and tried to transfer my support for Colton across to a few other contestants I liked. Upon hearing the results for the top 12 (or should I say 13), I was pleased with the outcome for the boys. I loved Casey, Paul and Jacob. James deserved to be there too, but he's still growing on me. I don't like the Adam Lambert 2.0 comparisons that he's getting but I respected him a little more after last week when he stopped trying to be Adam (like seriously- Adam owned A Change is Gonna Come on idol- why would you touch it?) and infused more of "James" the metal rock singer into his performance. I liked the originality of it! Scotty on the other hand is a contestant I'm still trying to get used too. I do think he deserves to be there, but as I'm not a huge country fan, I don't get the obsession everyone has with him...yet! There is still hope that he may win me over. I also didn't mind the addition of Stefano in the wildcard round. At least there is some eye-candy this season.

The result for the top 6 (or should I say 7) girls was a little disappointing though. I was ecstatic that Lauren and Pia got through...I've loved them both from the beginning, but I question the publics decision of choosing Karen over Kendra. I'm sorry Karen but you are no Mariah Carey- singing songs in another language will win you no points with me. There is something about Karen that to me screams Miss America contestant. It's a little fake and contrived. Kendra on the other hand was amazing. I loved the uniqueness in her voice and I only hope that America realises the mistake they made by sending her home and keeping Karen and Hailey instead. Thia is not my favourite contestant. I'm a little conflicted towards her because I think she has an amazing voice but her performances never excite me. Maybe as she grows more comfortable with the camera she'll improve her stage presence. Now the judges wildcard is something that i don't entirely agree with. I like the addition of Naima. She didn't wow me during the top 24 round but I loved her during the auditions because she was unique and original. But Ashthon (or however you spell her name) I don't think is as good as what the judges think she is. However what do I know? If it were up to me I would've crowned Colton Dixon the winner of American Idol 2011 the first week! 

So American Idol left me reeling in shock after the elimination of Kendra this week. I almost lost faith in the show once again. But luckily for Idol, the news that Adam Lambert would be performing his acoustic version of Aftermath on the show next week, gave me reason to keep tuning in. Once again, Adam Lambert is the saving grace of Idol. I can't wait for Adam to go on and show these contestants and these judges what it means to be a true musician and a true performer. 

Like Adam himself said, people need to stop with the comparisons. No one will ever be as good as Adam but it doesn't mean that they still can't blow us away. There is never going to be another Kradam- you can't re-enact a friendship between two contestants- instead lets focus on what is in front of us. A new group of 13 talented, unique performers who need to stand on their own two feet as original artists instead of living in the shadows of former idol contestants. We're not here to find a new Adam Lambert or a new Kelly Clarkson. We're here to find someone else, who's different, who's original and who will have the ability to take the world by storm, the same way contestants like Adam and Kelly have. 

Always look on the bright side of life!

So I know I've been MIA from this blog for nearly a week now, but I do have a good reason for it...i've been working...yes, ladies and gentlemen- I do have job (not that you'd be able to tell by the amount of time i spend social networking)...in fact I have two jobs- one being my career and the other being a blackhole of misery i've become caught in for the past 5 years (but it does help pay for shoe addiction.lol!)

So over the last few days, I've been contemplating what i could blog about. I mean the only thing I've done lately is work- and i didn't really think you'd like to hear all about my day teaching 4th graders or dealing with moody customers who have nothing better to do with their lives then complain about everything.

Then it came to me perhaps my life over the last few days has been entertaining if you put a positive spin on it. Take friday night for example- I got yelled at by a customer because the self-serve machine wasn't working properly (The customer failed to realise that the machine, was in fact working perfectly, it was just their own stupidity that was causing the problem...i mean using one of those machines isn't exactly rocket science! lol!) At first I was annoyed because I can't stand being blamed for things that I didn't do or have no control over, but then I realised that the situation was actually pretty funny. I mean you can't help but pity the poor person who is so blind to their own stupidity that they can't even admit that they were the one's making the mistake.

I taught a class of 4th graders today at a school I'd never worked at before. I was terrified and nervous but I instantly bonded with some of the staff over my quite substantial shoe collection. I love that I had the ability to dazzle people with that fact about me! Who knew Tony Bianco's were a conversation starter among a group of teachers! My 4th graders attended a Camp Quality Puppet show today- it was highly entertaining. We got told really bad jokes that I thought I'd share with you:

Q. How do you make Lady Gaga angry?
A. Poke-her (poker) face

Q. What do you call two peas after a fight?
A. Black Eyed Peas

Yes, i told you they were pretty bad, and yet the immature little kid inside of me still managed to laugh at them. The motto of Camp Quality is laughter is the best medicine. I agree with their philosophy. You have to have the ability to recognise the joys in your life. Take a moment to smile at someone and brighten their day, laugh at a joke, look at the glass half full. Its sounds cliche but when everything around you turns to shit, sometimes the only thing you can do is sit back and look at the humour in the situation or find something positive that can come out of it.

So there you have it, my life isn't all that interesting but it's real. By day I'm just an ordinary person, with a job, who acts like a mature, responsible, professional person....by night my alter-ego comes out to play- the crazy twitter addicted gossip queen turned blogger, who likes to party with a bottle of wine and have a good time.

Life is short...why waste a minute of it! DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE AND DON'T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN WHAT YOU DESERVE!

XOXO

SIx Degrees of Separation!

When I was in High School all those years ago (haha!) I read a book for English title Six Degrees of Separation. It was based on the concept that everyone in the world was connected through six or less people. Of course, I didn’t entirely buy into the theory back then, but I did find it entertaining to try and connect myself to my favourite celebrities in six degrees. Of course there are certain rules that apply when doing this. For example, meeting a celebrity doesn’t count as a degree, or knowing of someone doesn’t count either-the links between people have to established by friendship, relation or business. Also being “friends” on facebook/twitter doesn’t count either.

Just for a bit of fun I’ve decided to share with you three of my favourite celebrity connections:

Me-Adam Lambert (famous singer for those of you living in a cave)

Option 1= 4 degrees

-       Me- Rachel (my sister)

-       Rachel to Dave Welsh (the guitarist from the band, The Fray- they're friends)

-       Dave to Ryan Tedder (they are friends)

-       Ryan to Adam Lambert (they worked together on Adam’s album)

Option 2= 5 degrees

-       Me- My friend (who’s name shall remain anonymous)

-       My friend- Natalie Imbruglia (they are cousins)

-       Natalie- Kylie Minogue (they are friends)

-       Kylie- Kara DioGuardi (Kara wrote songs for Kylie’s albums)

-       Kara- Adam Lambert (American Idol)

Option 3= 2 degrees

-       Me-Trent (attended school together)

-       Trent - Adam Lambert (well Adam tongue-dived him at his concert and he met him at Mardi Gras earlier in the year…does that count?)

 Me- Lady Gaga (There aren't really enough words to describe her.lol!) = 5 degrees

-       Me- My friend (who’s name shall remain anonymous)

-       My friend- Natalie Imbruglia (they are cousins)

-       Natalie- Kylie Minogue (they are friends)

-       Kylie- Elton John (they’ve performed together)

-       Elton John- Lady Gaga (Do I even need to explain this one?haha!)

 Me- Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) = 3 degrees

Me- Lisa (my mum)

Lisa- Ed Kwanten (her boss)

Ed- Ryan Kwanten (Ed is Ryan's father)

Okay so I know it’s a bit of a stretch to say that I’m connected to these celebrities, but it’s nice to contemplate the idea that potentially through these connections I could be friends with them. Growing up in the area I live in, I’ve realized just how small the world is. At one point, when I was attending my local school, I had my sister, 2 first cousins and 2 third cousins there with me as students and my dance teacher was my 2nd cousin and my librarian was my 4th cousin. Try getting away with something in that school! Lol! Twitter and Facebook have only reinforced the idea that we are all connected. Just today I was talking to one of my twitter followers only to discover that her friend is on the same cruise ship as my parent’s right now.  Talk about a small world!

So maybe there is some truth to the theory, but just in case I need more convincing that this theory works and it’s not just me trying to convince myself of a connection, I want to know how you are connected to your favourite celebrity in six degrees or less! 

The Damsel in Distress Card!

So I'm sitting here watching Bondi Rescue (for those not in Australia it is a show about surf rescue at the infamous Bondi Beach in Sydney) and for those who have seen the show before, you'll know how ridiculously good-looking the lifeguards are.

Growing up only 10 minutes from a popular beach, I was taught at a young age surf awareness and the dangers of the beach. I know to swim between the flags, look out for rips, stay away from certain creatures and to avoid watercrafts and surfers. However, after seeing what the lifeguards look like (and they seem to get more attractive every year) I will admit to contemplating getting myself into a little bit of "trouble" so I can be rescued by one of these attractive boys. So it begs the question- does a show like Bondi rescue help to raise awareness of the dangers of the beach or does it encourage young women to play the damsel in distress card so they can get rescued by a gorgeous guy and potentially wind up on the television for their 15 minutes of fame?

Of course, despite the brief contemplation of my crazy idea, the rational side of me won in the end and I decided to settle for sunbathing on the beach instead and checking out the lifeguards from an advantageous viewpoint! Sometimes the fantasy is better than the reality!

I Know You're Shining Down On Me From Heaven

I woke up this morning to some horrible news- that my great grandmother had passed away. It was something that I had been expecting over the last month or so- after her health took a turn for the worse, but no matter how much you prepare yourself for the inevitable outcome, it doesn't make it hurt any less when it finally does happen. She was 95 years old, turning 96 in May. Many would say that I should be lucky that I've had my great grandmother in my life for so long. Not many people get to 22 years old and still have a great grandparent alive, and I know I should appreciate the gift that I've had for the past 22 years. I am one of the fortunate ones. However losing my great grandmother is still hard, especially when it was to cancer, because I found myself remembering my grandfather's death a few years ago and his struggle with cancer too. I saw both of them only a day or two before they died and I could sense that something was going to happen both times. I could see it on their faces that the end was near and they were saying their goodbyes.

This morning I had my alarm clock set for 9.30am. I had my mobile phone turned off and I was in a peaceful sleep. I woke up suddenly just before 9am and I felt weird. I had this sick feeling in my stomach like something bad had just happened. I wasn't sure what it was- all I knew was that I felt like I had lost something or someone. My parents are travelling overseas at the moment and so I thought that there might have been a small possibility that something had happened to them, but deep down I knew that they were okay and that something must have happened to my nan. About 2 minutes after I woke up, I heard the phone ring. My sister's boyfriend answered the phone and I couldn't hear the conversation because we were in separate parts of the house, but after he hung up he came over to me and he just looked at me and I knew what he was about to tell me. So I said it for him and he confirmed what I was thinking.

It sucked at that point because he left after that and I was left to deal with contacting my mum overseas and telling her the news in a text message. I mean how do you convey such a thought or such horrible news in an SMS? I was crying by this point and all I wanted was to hug my mum. I wanted to hug her to comfort her but I also wanted her to comfort me. The funny thing about the timing of all of this, is that her and my dad only left the country yesterday. Had this happened 24 hours earlier, I wouldn't have had to deal with it on my own.

My family, especially my sister and my cousins, and my friends have been great and have been sending me virtual hugs through the phone, facebook and twitter but it's not quite the same. My great grandmother was an extraordinary human being. She was generous, kind, caring, supportive and she loved her family very much. One of my favourite memories of her was only 2 weeks ago, when I was visiting her in hospital. One of my second cousins, who I hadn't seen in 10 years was there too and my nan turned to him, took my hand and said "did she tell you she graduated university? I'm so proud of her"...I always saw getting a degree as something to be proud of but I never thought about how much my success meant to my family. To hear my great grandmother say those words, when she could barely recognise half of her family, and had been in a coma only 24 hours earlier, made my heart swell with pride. That what I had achieved was something that made her happy and her proud of me.

So my final words for this entry is a message for my great grandmother from me, in the hopes that it may give me some closure:

"I am so proud to call you my nan. I love you so much and I'm going to miss your presence in my life, but I know you will be looking down at me from heaven and protecting me and guiding me in the right direction. I hope I can continue to make you proud and I know that someday I'll get to see you again, although hopefully not for awhile. Thank you for everything you have done for me and given me over the past 22 years. You will forever hold a place in my heart and I'll be thinking of you always.xoxo"

RIP Nan- WE LOVE YOU! <3

Musical Reflection

I was recently engaged in a discussion over how music can be a way for youths to break away from their traditional family values, and express themselves and give meaning to social issues. It made me start thinking about the power of music and how music has influenced me growing up. My favourite music artists when I was in pre-school were Bon Jovi, Lenny Kravitz, U2, 4 non blondes, ACDC.etc. from early on it was easy to tell that my musical influences were a direct result from my parents musical taste. As I grew up my music repertoire expanded to include the traditional “girl power” music of the 1990’s.eg. Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Alanis Morrisette. The music was uplifting, empowering and fun albeit sometimes angsty. It reflected me growing up and starting to understand relationships and that journey that I was about to undertake from a girl into a women. As I reached high school, my music taste changed again. The music I listened to became darker eg. My Chemical Romance, AFI, Incubus, Metallica, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional- I moved away from pop music into the alternative rock or “emo” rock, as some of it was called. I guess this reflected my loss of identity. I was struggling throughout high school to fit in and understand who I was. My music became moodier, more depressing, and angry. I don’t know how much of that was a direct reflection of my personality or whether I was caught up in what was expected of my generation. The music was current, all of my friends were listening to it and it was misunderstood, much like we all were.

Upon becoming an adult my musical taste underwent another shift into the Glam Rock/Pop Rock era. It includes artists like Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Pink, Semi Precious Weapons, Queen, Motley Crue, Kiss.etc I like the sexual empowerment that these artists explore and the fun and upbeat sound of their music. Some of these artists are pushing the boundaries of mainstream music and societies values and I appreciate the freedom that this music brings. They tell the youth of today that its okay to be yourself and you can express yourself freely without putting yourself in a box and sticking a label on it. In the case of Semi Precious Weapons, you can be a heterosexual male and walk around in dresses and high heels, in the case of Adam Lambert, you can be gay and a masculine rock-star at the same time, or in the case of Lady Gaga, you can be quirky and curious, without having to define yourself as one thing. As a youth or even an adult, this message is powerful because often we feel as if we are unable to find the confidence or words to express our true nature. We hide ourselves for fear of being unaccepted or stereotyped. Music breaks through these barriers and opens people’s minds to other perspectives. My current taste in music reflects my acceptance of who I am. I have found my identity and I am comfortable in my own skin. My musical influences are all over the place, no longer just defined as one category, an accumulation of music that I have been exposed to over the past two decades. I’ve come to realise that it reflects the real me. I do not conform to one label. I’m not a pop princess, goth, emo, rock chick. I am everything, and the power that comes with knowing that, is perhaps the most important thing I can have at my disposal. 

Stereotypes vs Sexual Identity

Stereotypes are a fixed, commonly held notion or image of a person or group, based on an oversimplification of some observed or imagined trait of behaviour or appearance. For adolescents, the development of their identity is based on many forces both internal and external. During these years of questioning, many are faced with the negative stereotypes of youth. They see the negative images of youth portrayed in the media and feel the effects of belonging to a group undervalued by society.

Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way in which society views them, and change society's expectations of them. With enough exposure to a stereotype, society may come to view it as a reality rather than a chosen representation. The media can be a powerful tool in creating or reinforcing stereotypes. Negative stereotypes not only affect how adults see teenagers, they influence how teenagers see themselves.

Discrimination occurs when social difference is used as the basis for differential treatment by people and institutions in ways that privilege dominant groups and disadvantage subordinates. In relation to stereotypes, where people are judged based on a particular behaviour that identifies them with a label, discrimination is where those groups are judged as a whole based on the value of their group in society.

One of the more common stereotypes of youths is of sexuality and discrimination based on sexual identity. Gender stereotypes state society’s expectations of male and female behaviour. If people don’t conform to these labels, we, as a society, feel the implicit need to categorise them as another group. eg. If a male shows emotion, which is considered a female trait, instead of just calling that male sensitive, we label him as gay. In this instance the sexual preference of the individual isn’t taken into consideration, only the behaviour which we attribute to a particular gender.

Being labelled as gay has a significant impact upon youth. Young people feel alienated because society stigmatises homosexuality and fails to recognise that there are substantial numbers of gay and lesbian young people. Schools are no exception. They also stigmatise homosexuality and render same-sex attraction invisible in the day-to-day practice of schooling. Schools go no further than addressing same-sex relationships as a special issue, limiting discussion to morality. By isolating same-sex relationships from the mainstream curriculum we are labelling gay and lesbian youth as different from the norm. The implications for this on youth are significant. Youth’s feel a loss of identity because they feel the need to hide an important part of their life, for fear of exclusion or slander. Students who are labelled as gay, whether they conform to the stereotype or not, are being boxed in by society and expected to either hide their sexuality or project their sexuality to society in a particular way. You either have to be openly gay and wear that label with pride or stay in the closet. Linking back to gender roles, it is interesting that society is more accepting of guys who identify with the female stereotype- shopping, gossip, love of fashion, as being gay than “macho” football playing, beer drinking males. It comes back to the socialised stereotype that men and women are supposed to act in particular way and that for a guy to be attracted to another guy he must share the same characteristics as a woman and vice versa.

Tolerance of sexuality is prevalent in schools. Homosexuality is seen as just a phase of adolescent development that many people go through and most people grow out of. Thus, gays are less mature than ‘straights’ and should be treated with the protectiveness and indulgence one uses with a child. This view is discriminatory and stereotypical. Tolerance isn’t about viewing homosexuality as a phase but rather recognising it as something that is different to your beliefs but accepting it as a norm anyway. To view gay and lesbian youth as immature and irresponsible because they are attracted to the same sex is disregarding their ability to know who they are and create a sense of identity. Perhaps it’s the opposite, and we should be giving them more credit, as they have the courage and the awareness to recognise that what they are feeling is different but not wrong, without the support of society. Gay and Lesbian youth have to develop a strong sense of self a lot earlier than heterosexual youth, because they have to constantly defend their identity to society to prove that they are just as worthy and capable as their peers.


The big question that exists in society is What is normal? and how do you define it? Normal is relative, it’s contextual and holds a different meaning for each individual. Discrimination is caused by ignorance. Educating youth to see disabilities, diverse cultural backgrounds, social class and sexuality as strengths rather than a weaknesses, has the ability to change people’s perceptions and develop an inclusive society, where diversity is valued rather than challenged. 

$2.95 for a message from God?

So I was sitting here watching the tv when I happened to stumble across an ad on tv advertising 'messages from God'. It gave a number you could call and state your problem and then you would receive an SMS from God in return with some words of wisdom. Now I don't know about to you, but I think that it's a little unrealistic to think that God is sitting up there with a mobile phone in his hand ready to send us back a message! I mean what's next? God will be tweeting us? maybe we could add him as a facebook friend! or perhaps we could even skype! Now there's an idea! (note: sarcasm)

Now despite being skeptical, I'm not going to rule out the possibility that somehow God has established a link us with us through SMS however I am concerned that the ad says that the message will cost you $2.95 to send and receive! Really? $2.95 for a real message from God...hmm maybe therapists should quit now! why spend $100 an hour talking about your problems to a trained professional when you can spend just $2.95 and receive advice from the man upstairs. I mean if anyone is going to know how to solve your problem, it's going to be the guy who created it in the first place.

Seriously wake up people! if you really buy into this scam, than consider this: If God is really trying to communicate with us through SMS then why do we have to pay for his advice. Shouldn't he love us enough to give it for free?

Social Media Junkie

Flashback to 2001: 1 email account
                            
Flash to 2011: 6 email accounts
                       1 facebook account
                       1 twitter account
                       1 myspace account    
                       1 linkedin page
                       1 livejournal
                       1 blog
                       1 flavor page
                       1 bebo account
                        

It's easy to see that over the past 10 years my life has become to revolve around social media. To be honest it's only really in the past 5 years that my life has been taken over by such things. I was the first of anyone in my high school to get a myspace account back in 2005. I had discovered the website while living in America and upon moving back to Australia I introduced my friends to the wonders of myspace. It became a cultural phenomenon and I was happy restricting my social media to the one website. However in 2008, my friend at university told me I should get a facebook account. At first I was a bit wary. I mean, half the fun of myspace was choosing the design and making it look pretty and facebook to me looked pretty boring and everyone's profile page looked the same. However I caved in to peer pressure and created an account and from that day on my life has never been the same!

With all my attention devoted to facebook- checking it every 5 minutes at all hours of the day- it was a surprise that I even heard of other social media outlets. But in 2009  I was curious as to what this "twitter" thing everyone was talking about was, and so I created an account. Word of advice- twitter is dangerous for people who have an obsession with Pop Culture and Celebrities (like me). Suddenly I went from reading a magazine article about my favourite celebrity and dreaming about meeting them, to having a direct link to them. Needless to say that tweeting soon became my favourite thing to do and facebook was pushed to the background.

Twitter has been an amazing experience- it has allowed me to create friendships with people that share common interests with me. It has allowed me to share things about my life with the world and my opinions on issues however at the same time, I feel like I may be neglecting my "real" friends in lieu of my "virtual" friends. I average at least 8 hours on twitter a day, but probably only an hour or so on facebook. I find myself checking twitter while I'm working, or while I'm out partying with my friends and tweeting my problems to my twitter followers for advice instead of contacting my "real-life" friends.

Perhaps the reason that I find twitter so fascinating is that there is a level of anonymity. Most of my facebook friends are people that I have grown up with, people who know my past, have pre-conceived ideas on how I should act or what I should like. I have family members on there who I perhaps don't want them to know every detail of my life. On twitter, most of my followers are people I've never met. They only know as much about me, as I am willing to share (which is quite a bit, because i love talking about myself.lol!) They don't know my family, or my teachers or my co-workers. They simply know me.   Twitter is a chance to create a virtual character that can say or do whatever they please. That's not to say that my twitter identity is fake. In actual fact it's probably more real and honest than my facebook persona because I don't feel the need to hide or filter aspects of my personality for fear of judgement.

One of the issues that I found with twitter though is that for someone who likes to talk as much as I do, 140 characters isn't really sufficient enough to get your point across. Sure you can use other sites like 'twitlonger' but it's not the same. That is how I came to the conclusion that I should create this blog. On here I have the same level of anonymity as i do on twitter however this time, I can write about anything that I want in more than 140 characters. I don't claim to be the best writer, and I don't claim to always have something interesting to write about, but what I can claim to be is a social media junkie who isn't afraid to put her feelings and ideas out there for everyone to see.

Born This Way!

Okay, so hands up if you are all sick to death of the controversy surrounding Lady Gaga's new song! I mean, I understand where it's all coming from but I think the song itself is bigger than the tune.
As a Lady Gaga fan, I spent weeks on twitter counting down the days until Born This Way was released...i even had it programmed in my phone and written in my planner so that I wouldn't forget it's release date. Upon first hearing it I was instantly drawn, like everyone else, to the similarities of the tune to Madonna's Express Yourself and Kelly's Rowland's When Love Takes Over. Born This Way sounds as though Lady Gaga took these two songs and mashed them together.

But while the tune itself is a little controversial, i can't help but feel sad the real genius of the song has been overlooked and I'm not talking about Lady Gaga, I'm talking about the message of the lyrics. Lady Gaga and critics predicted Born This Way would become an anthem for our generation. It's about accepting who you are never and not apologising for it. It's about not letting your differences overrun your life. The song speaks out to everyone- those of different ethnic backgrounds, those of different sexual orientation, those of us with a disability and those of us who have been bullied before based on a characteristic of our personality or looks. The lyrics are honest and thought provoking but have been pushed to the background in light of the discussion that people are having over the tune.

I recognise the similarities to other songs and for those of you who don't, here's a video by the legendary Cheeks  that compares the song to Madonna, Kelly Rowland, Pink, Kelly Clarkson and even Adam Lambert!

Born This Way MEGAMIX- Cheeks

However, artist's songs sounding similar to other artist's songs isn't a new concept. It's been done before, many times, by music artists of the same calibre as Lady Gaga. For those who don't believe me here is a link to a video, originally designed for a comedy act (which explains the vocals.lol!) that explores the 4 chord notion that most pop songs follow.

4 chords- Axis of Awesome

So I think people should get over arguing about the tune and instead appreciate the song for what it is. An inspirational anthem with a catchy beat that makes me want to get up and dance all of my problems away!
 

69 is the magic number!

Judging from the title of this entry I suspect you all think that I'm about to write something dirty (don't deny it- I know how your mind works!)...I hate to disappoint you but I am actually talking about my shoes...or in better terms- my collection of shoes!

You know how some people are addicted to alcohol, chocolate, sex, smoking...well I'm addicted to shoes! 69 pairs may sound like a lot but in actual fact, it is a third of my original collection. I used to buy at least one pair of new shoes every week however these days I've cut it back to a new pair of shoes every 2-3 weeks. I honestly don't know why I love shoes so much but everytime I walk into a shoe store- it doesn't matter how bad my day has been- i instantly feel this feeling of pure, un-adulturated bliss!

I have often gotten myself into a lot of debt due to my shoe addiction. Up until recently I was a full time university student, so therefore my income wasn't that high. My inner Shoe Queen was screaming at me to buy the $2000 pair of louboutin's or jimmy choo's that i saw in the store but the realist in me bought a $200 pair instead. This may seem like a smart move-like I'm in control of my habit- but unfortunately the $200 pair of shoes was also 80% of my weekly income.

I realised my addiction was out of control when I had all of these gorgeous shoes to wear but nowhere to wear them to because I couldn't afford to go out with my friends. The $200 pair of Tony Bianco heels that I just had to have because they went with the dress I wanted to wear to my friends party were no use to me anymore because I couldn't afford to go to the party since I blew my "social" budget on shoes!

The problem was that I had the ability to justify ever purchase in my mind. "They went perfectly with my new dress" "my other shoes were falling apart" "they are too cheap not to buy" "ooh 50% off- well i wanted them when they were full price so technically i'm saving money now" "they will be an investment" "I can wear them with anything" "they are so comfy" "OMG that is the cutest pair of shoes I have ever seen in my entire life!" The excuses rolled off my tongue, the same way gossip does.  My parents would often yell at me when I would ask them for a loan so I could pay my bills, when I was coming home with a new pair of shoes every week.

Over the past few months I have started to gain some control over my addiction after an intervention from some of my friends and family. I cleaned out my closet and threw over 100 pairs of shoes that I no longer needed, or wore, away. I set myself rules- I am only allowed to buy myself 2 pairs of shoes a month and my monthly budget is $200. It might seem crazy that I'm still spending that much money a month on shoes  (I think that's how much my mum spends in a year) but I'm smart enough to realise that i can't just stop buying shoes altogether. I can't go cold turkey because I know that i will never be able to keep it up! However the thing that I've realised is that my addiction was controlling me and for the first time in 5 years, I'm now controlling it! I think it's okay to still allow myself the luxury of new shoes- as long as though at the end of the week or month I still have enough money to go out with my friends and pay my bills!

My wish list on many online shopping/shoe websites may contain on average a $2000 total but as long as my shopping cart maintains a balance of $0 i have something to be proud about!

M.G + A.L= G.L.A.M

"before you break you have to shed your armour, take a trip and fall into the glitter, tell a stranger that they're beautiful, so all you feel is love"- Adam Lambert Aftermath


Adam Lambert...what can I say? the man is a genius, a god, a rockstar and possibly one of the nicest human beings on the planet! As you may have noticed, I am huge fan of Adam, and I wanted to share with you the impact Adam has had on me!

Fact: Adam Lambert is gorgeous, fierce and has a great sense of style

I love his looks and I'm not just talking about his gorgeous smokey blue eyes or his perfect smile. I'm not even talking about his hair (which is a topic for discussion all on it's own! for the record I'm on team emo-hair!) What I love about Adam is that he is fearless. He wears what he wants to wear. He's campy and over the top. He's casual and natural. He's brave enough to wear THAT poncho out in public (and i know you all know what I am talking about!) and most of all he doesn't apologise for any of it! He's comfortable in his own skin and I often envy his courage to make a (silent) statement that says "This is me...deal with it!" So often we get caught up in society and the media telling us to dress and act a certain way that often we don't show our real personality to people. We are so worried about pleasing other people that often we sacrifice our own happiness to achieve it! Adam shows us through his actions and his music that it's okay to be yourself and you should love yourself for being different and not hide away in fear.

Fact: Adam Lambert is the sweetest person EVER!

Whether it be through raising money for charities or interacting with fans, it is easy to tell that Adam is a genuinely nice person. When i first met him, I was awestruck by how sweet he was. When i had the chance to talk to him, I was so nervous that when he flashed that million dollar smile at me, I thought I was going to faint. (I mean who wouldn't. That smile has the power to make any person go weak at the knees) Adam however put me at ease straight away, told me I looked gorgeous and I had a great smile and he thanked me for being such an awesome fan! I have loved Adam lambert ever since he walked into the audition room and said 'i'm not skerd' however I think I fell in love with him all over again that day. It was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life!

Fact: Adam's music is an anthem for the new generation

When Adam sings, he wants the music to mean something. Whether he writes the song himself or sings someone else's, he has the ability to relate to a situation in his life or something that is happening in society. Take a look at some of the songs on his debut album 'For Your Entertainment':

Whataya Want from Me: the most successful song on his album, was released not long after the infamous AMA performance. Despite not writing the lyrics himself, Adam made the song his own and used it to speak out to all of the people criticising his actions. Whether he intended for the song to make a statement or not, the reality is that it did.  Coming off a reality show like American Idol, people already had these opinions formed of him and expectations of him. Adam was being pulled in so many different directions that it was impossible to please everyone. WWFM has become an anthem for those who have made a mistake in the past but are trying to figure out how to move on from it. The song encourages to not give up on that person and give them time to work it out. Its powerful and meaningful and most importantly it is a song that all of us can relate to!

Fever: Perhaps one of the most controversial songs on the album due to the use of the word 'HE'. This song doesn't have the powerful emotive lyrics like WWFM, but it still makes a statement. The song pushes boundaries and explores the acceptance of same-sex couples on popular culture. I love that Adam was given the opportunity to change the lyrics so that he was singing about a girl but he chose to keep the song in it's original state. I respect him for not trying to hide who he is or compromise his beliefs.

If I Had You: One of my favourite songs of all time lyrically. Adam's message in this song is that all we really need in the world to be happy is love. This song puts everything into perspective. The dangerous line we walk everyday- drinking, partying, risk-taking- the hang-ups we have over our social status- money, success, material things. Money can't necessarily buy you happiness and ultimately at the end of the day happiness comes down to one basic thing- LOVE. Love isn't restricted to a partner (although it is implied in the song). It is the love of your friends, your family and the love that you have for yourself.

Aftermath: My favourite song on the album. I loved it from the moment I heard it cause I'm a sucker for cheesy ballads (yes, i'll admit- I was one of the few who loved No boundaries!)  but the song has taken on so much more meaning over the last year or so. It has become an anthem for people everywhere who aren't sure about themselves, who feel insecure or lost, who have been hurt and have put up walls, who are hiding from themselves. The song tells us to let go of the walls we've built around ourselves and remember that we're not alone. That someone will be there to catch us when we fall.

FACT: Adam Lambert= Social Change

Many of my family and friends question my love for Adam. Some of them often make negative remarks towards him saying things like 'How could you like him? he's so gay!' 'he's a fag' 'he's ugly' and often i find myself caught in a conflict between wanting to shout from the top of the highest building 'I LOVE ADAM LAMBERT' and hiding my love for him by not mentioning Adam to my family and friends. Of course when I do consider hiding my love for him I am overcome with a wave of guilt and I am ashamed that the thought even crossed my mind for a split second. I have never had a problem with people being gay. In fact I knew quite a few of my close friends were gay long before I had even heard of Adam Lambert. However since becoming a fan of Adam's I have found myself becoming interested in the LGBT community. Not because I am gay or even bisexual, but because I finally started understanding the social injustice that was occurring everyday towards those who chose to love someone of the same sex. Despite not being homophobic and being accepting of my friends, I realised that I was still just as bad as my family and friends who made homophobic remarks. Maybe I didn't agree with what they said but I never stood up for them either. I figured that it was easier to not get involved in that argument because I was scared that people would label me as 'gay' if they saw me defending the LGBT community. Listening to Adam's interviews and music however has made me realise that not only is it time for a change, it's also my responsibility as a human being to help change society's attitude. Adam has given me the courage to speak out against homophobia and quit being scared of what other people think of me. I'm not ashamed to be a fan of an openly gay music artist- in fact i couldn't be more proud of him! Sexual preference is not more important than personality and talent and i think that both Adam's personality and talent speak for themselves!

FACT: I LOVE ADAM LAMBERT AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO SHARE IT WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD!

Adam has given me courage to stand up for my beliefs, he's given me hope that it gets better,  he's taught me to be myself, he's given me my glamily (the most amazing friends anyone could ask for!) and he has definitely glammed up my life!

PS: RANDOM FACT: you take my initials MG and you mix them with Adam's AL & you get GLAM! how cool is that? XOXO

Reality Show has lost the Reality of the Situation

I found myself tuning into the Biggest Loser Australia Season 5 premiere the other week. I have to admit that this show is a guilty addiction of mine. When it first started I found it inspiring to see these overweight and obese people, make a decision to change their lives for the better. The aim of the show was to not only change the lives of the contestants but to make the public see the harsh reality of what being overweight is doing to their body and life expectancy and motivate them to change their lifestyle as well.

As an overweight person myself (although too small to be considered for the show! Go me!) I began to believe that I too could lose the weight after watching these contestants slug it out in the Biggest Loser house. If a contestant over 150 kg can get up off the couch and run a marathon then surely I can survive a few hours at the gym! I felt invincible, I felt inspired and I felt confident that I had the ability to do something about my weight.

Unfortunately over the past few years, the show no longer motivates me to change my unhealthy habits. It has now become a numbers game, where your best friend will stab you in the back to win the cash and the person who needs to be there the most gets sent home because of one bad week of results. Don’t get me wrong, I realise this is a reality show and a competition that thrives on drama and emotional conflicts, however when did reality stop being about the person and become about the number?

I was appalled after watching the weigh in to see some of the women being disappointed in their weight loss after pulling figures on average of 5 kg (11 pounds). Dieticians and even Wii fit will tell you that a healthy weekly weightloss is on average 2 kg (4.5 pounds). So keeping that in my mind, I compared it to the conditions these contestants were under in the house and figured that perhaps their weekly figure will be slightly higher due to the fact that they are solely focusing on their diet and exercise in isolation from their careers, commitments and most of their temptations So taking those factors into consideration I came up with a figure of about 4-5 kgs. Sounds pretty good to me right? Losing 2 kgs a week in the real world would make me happy, losing 5 kgs in a week would make me over the moon. I’d be so excited I’d probably celebrate with a glass of champagne (low cal of course)! But on the Biggest Loser 5 kgs is like the equivalent of a C on a Maths test. It says to you- yes you’ve passed but you could’ve done a lot better. 5 kgs is enough to get you sent to the elimination room because at Camp Biggest Loser the figure we’re aiming for it 10+ kgs (22 pounds) a week. I would love it if this was attainable while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If it were possible I could be in a bikini by next month! How great would that be? The cold hard truth of it is that losing that much weight in a week is dangerous, especially if it’s a repetitive cycle.

For the contestants in the house maybe it is an attainable figure. It’s easy to find time to exercise when you don’t have to make your kids lunches, or write a report or drive your kids to soccer practice. But for the viewers watching, it’s setting an unrealistic goal for us. It’s defeating us before we start because we’re not satisfied now with a 3 kg a week weight loss. We expect at least double and then criticise ourself when we don’t achieve it.

The Biggest Loser is now a reality competition with the sole purpose of putting its contestants through the ringer and creating emotional dramas that score ratings.  So has the show lost it’s purpose? I believe that it has. The moment that a reality show stops sending a positive message to its audience, is the moment is loses all credibility with me!

I'm here for your entertainment

Pop Culture Enthusiast, Shopaholic, Teacher, Glambert, Drama Queen...these are just some of the names used to describe me. My name is Missie and some of you may have met my twitter alter-ego @missiexox! I am often told by my friends and family that I have too much to say and that I am far too opinionated. I don't see this as a bad thing...everyone is entitled to opinion, although i've learned the hard way that not everyone is as accepting of my opinions as I think they are. The aim of this blog is to offer me an outlet to express my views on everything. I will broadcast my thoughts on celebrities, music, social media, tv shows, political issues, body image issues and of course my own personal life! I don't expect you to always agree but i expect that you will be considerate of my views. So stay tuned to find out what makes me tick...and maybe learn a few things about my life along the way!

PS: If you are easily offended, I suggest that you don't read my future posts. I don't believe in being Politically Correct!