Creative is one of my favourite words (alongside constellation— I LOVE that word). Not only due to the way it sounds, but also because of its meaning. 

If someone ever asks for me to give them some words that can aid in a description of myself, or a quality that I have that I take pride in, I’ll tell them that I’m creative. That’s the first quality that pops to mind when I think about myself, and I’m proud of that. I’m proud to be creative. Creativity means a lot to me.

I believe that everyone is creative. Some people may feel that they’re not, that they never have any ideas— but deep down, I believe we all behold creativity. It may take some unlocking, some finding. Because it’s there. We all have the ability to create something. To come up with a thrilling idea. Most things can be classed as creative, if you look at them that way. 

It’s important to exercise this ability. Pursue it. It can lead you to so much. A new idea, a new found passion, a new invention. A new way of thinking, a new way of feeling. It will increase your ability to be more open-minded, and aid you in coming up with different solutions to every problem. 

Creativity, itself, is a solution.

Hello! It's Jemima here, although you may expecting Anna today. She's currently in a great show so couldn't post this week. Instead, she asked me to guest post and I thought I'd post a post from my blog that I know she loves and hopefully you will too!

I often get asked (or hear/see other people getting asked) why feminism is relevant - or, at least, that’s implied. Here are 5 reasons why we need feminism. Believe me, there are many more.

Barbie dolls are targeted at girls while the boys are given cars. The girls get mini makeup sets and the boys get science sets. Boys get books on sports while girls are told how to look their best and what hairstyles they should be trying out.

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2. In some countries, young girls become child brides

3. We see blood, guts and gore in films but period blood is disgusting

4.  I don’t think there’s one girl I know who hasn’t been catcalled

I wrote recently on my individual blog, about my dislike for the phrase ‘new year, new me’, and why I feel the way that I do. Today, I want to discuss a little phrase I’ve thought of, and why I think that this could be a beneficial substitute. 

‘New year, no fear.’

This phrase centres around the idea of the new year be a daunting subject, with undue amounts of pressure. Sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be different as soon as the clock strikes twelve. And often, when we may not achieve our targets straight away, or we don’t keep to them like we hoped we would, we give up. 

We like to say that “2017 will be our year!”, but it doesn’t take long for our opinion on this to change. And then we give up, assuring ourselves that “2018 will be!”

But the thing is, any year can be your year— every year can! When it feels like you've missed too much, that you’re too late, don't give up and wait for the next year to roll around. You don’t have to wait to try again. You don’t have to wait for new year to be a better person, or a happier one. Stop making excuses and be happy now. Don't be afraid of trying again, it's a positive thing. You’ll thank yourself.

You can do what you want, whenever you want. Don’t worry if things haven't gone to plan, and don't be afraid. Just breathe, and try again.

Happy New Year. X

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you’re all having a lovely day, filled with family, friends, and festivities. Unfortunately this year I’m spending the day in hospital as my sister recovers. She’s okay, but sadly that’s where we’re spending our time. As long as she’s okay, I’m happy. 

Today I just wanted a quick little post on something special; the art of giving. At this time of year, there’s a lot of focus on giving, and generosity, as we race around the shops to purchase those perfect gifts. 

Giving is a beautiful concept. And in practice is gorgeous too. Selflessly giving to another person really is the embodiment of kindness. 

And it’s not just about giving presents. Oh, it doesn’t stop there. You can give kindness, smiles, love. You can give anything. And that’s wonderful.

This Christmas, do some beautiful giving. 

And don’t forget to indulge yourself as well. It is Christmas after all— treat yourself! 

At Christmas time, there’s a hint of something in the atmosphere. A sense of excitement. There’s an extraordinary anticipation, dancing on the pavement where the feet of pedestrians walk, skip, and run between shops, swinging their festive carrier bags. You have to dart between them, the teeming crowd— but it’s a pleasant movement. Although busy, the Christmas spirit blossoms around you, and you become immersed in festive cheer. It’s a wonderful time.

Decorations adorn the glassy fronts of stores, lights of every colour glowing from buildings, and hugging the trees in which they are wrapped around. Your reflection passes you in the windows of the shops, wrapped warm in a winter coat, scarf clutched tight. The colours are incredible. They are stars, cosmic explosions swirling across your vision. Festive jumpers, Christmas displays, tinsel! Everything is so alight with colour and expression; what a beautiful season.

The silhouettes of tree branches frame the canvas of winter's sky; an artist's brush is poised to paint the markets that will grow to be the skyline. The scent of sizzling meals is cultivated as drinks are poured into tankards. Music intertwines itself with your ears, encouraging an extra skip in your step, a glimmering smile in your eyes.

At Christmas time.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you're all having a lovely month. What's your favourite part about this time of year?

See you in two weeks! (Christmas day!)

Anna. X

Ever since I learnt that blog posts can be scheduled, my organisational skills have grown. I often wrote my posts in advance anyway, but actually being able to schedule them is so useful, and it encourages me to get my posts written, edited and ready in good time. I’m not always particularly early in having my posts ready, but there have been some days where I’ve had quite a few posts scheduled, and I’ve been pretty impressed. This skill hasn't stopped there, though. Organisational skills are so transferable! I feel more encouraged to get other things done in advance now too as I know how good it feels— and that’s incredibly useful, especially with my college workload. I won’t lie though, I’m still a top notch procrastinator. 

To Write More

Blogging has definitely taught me to write more. It encourages it. By setting myself a schedule (a post on my personal blog Mondays & Fridays at 17.00, and a post on here 12.00 every other Sunday) it means I have to write enough for this to work. And so, I set myself aside time to write, and therefore end up writing more! This is so great, as I love writing— which you may know from my post 2 weeks ago— and the fact that writing pushes my creativity. 

To Educate Myself

Often when writing a blog post, you may feel it necessary to look something up, to check a fact, or research something new. I have collected various pieces of knowledge form doing as such, learning things that I find useful, and things that I find interesting. Whether it be a fact or the definition of some au courant word or phrase, blogging has taught me that a great way to learn is to go out there and find out myself. By reading the posts of other bloggers too, I’ve been inspired to do as such as well.

To Push Myself

Also through blogging, I’ve been taught to push myself. In writing, in time management, in work. Writing blog posts has inspired me to push myself to write better, take better photos. To improve my craft, hone it, work on it. 

And enjoy it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading some things that blogging has taught me. What has blogging taught you? Let me know below!

See you in a fortnight— or in tomorrow’s post over on a fabulous feminist!

X

(Thank you Jemima for the photo, unfortunately I was unable to post mine!)

Why do we write?

Is it to see our thoughts collect together in ways we’ve never experienced, or to set them out, in order to think through them clearly? Do we write for clarity, or with no intention insight— simply to enjoy and explore language? 

Why do we write? 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this. What is it that makes me put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, mind to the written word? 

I knew that of course, the answer will differ between different writers— we’re all different people and will have our own, personal reasons for why we write. I thought that here, today, I might explore some of them! Here we go…

To Express Ourselves

This is a big one, and I’m sure likely rings true to all, or at least a large portion of us writers. Writing is a way of expressing yourself, your feelings, and the thoughts inside of you. A way of getting your thoughts onto paper. This is an example of how writing can help you to gain clarity, and also help you to look at things in ways you may not have yet thought. Writing is a brilliant way to get things off your chest. I’ve written over on my personal blog about my love for my journal and how amazing it is for ranting and alike, which you can read here.

To Communicate with an Audience

One of the reasons in which we may write is to communicate our thoughts with an audience. That’s definitely a reason for why we blog. We, or at least I, enjoy putting my thoughts out there, discussing various topics, and learning as I go! Connecting with others and engaging in discourse about important topics is something I find incredibly important. We can all teach each other so much, and by writing, communicate that. 

To Experience Emotions

Because writing can be incredibly enjoyable— and that’s such a great thing. Writing is also a release— a therapy maybe? You can be wholly and completely yourself, or take on the character of someone else. In this role, every emotion can flourish through you, push you to the extremities of humanity, and you can put that into words— how amazing is that?

Because we Have to

I can’t speak for anyone else, of course, but I can speak for myself. One of the reasons that I write is because I have to. Not in the sense that I am told to, or encouraged to, or feel obligated to— not at all. No, there is this sensation deeply rooted inside of my bones and organs, which urges me to write. There is a fire that pushes the words out of me and onto the page. There is some innate part of me that must perpetually write, continuously create art. 

So why do we write? For many, many reasons— some which I haven't even mentioned here today. 

But, for me, most importantly, it’s because writing is a part of who I am. Not writing is not me.

Why do you write?