Tag: quotes

Deeds not words.

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Happy International Women’s Day to all!

In 2018 I wrote about a badass woman Princess Sophia Duleep Singh who led an incredible life. If you don’t know who she is please give it a read!

This IWD I want to pay homage to one of the original suffragettes – Emmeline Pankhurst.

Emmeline Pankhurst statue in Manchester.

Seen by many as a radical and a threat, Emmeline was a woman who refused to back down and allow women to be mistreated after seeing the dire conditions that many worked in in Manchester’s workhouses. Her methods may have been extreme, and their effectiveness has been disputed, but there is no denying that her work was crucial and seminal in leading the movement and gaining votes for women.

Born and raised in Manchester, it’s amazing to see this statue everytime I make my way into the city centre. It genuinely brings a smile to my face watching and seeing people young and old surrounding the statue. It gives people, especially young boys and girls, a chance and an opportunity to discover a part of Manchester’s history that went on to change the entire UK.

Feminists don’t wear pink

“Feminists Don’t Wear Pink” is a collection of short stories and essays from women across Hollywood from actresses to teenage activists. They l tell their story of their personal relationship with feminism and what it means to be a woman. For me, it shows is how far we have come as women and a society, but still how far we have yet to go.

There are still 31 million girls in the world not in school and 17 million of them probably never will. 1 in 5 women in the UK have experienced sexual assault – but these are just from the brave women who have come forward to report it. And at the rate the word is going it will take over 100 years just to close the gender parity gap.

Emmeline Pankhurt fought over 100 years ago for the rights for women, but in order to make the world a fairer and just place we must all come together to create it.

Let us all incite this meeting to rebellion.

xo.

I have no idea what I’m doing.

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Hey guys😊

Hope you’re all having a glorious Saturday.

Combined with the below image, the quote “not all those who wander are lost,” has been playing on my mind a lot recently. A cliche quote it’s become I know, but that is what makes a cliche – relevancy to many and overuse.

Manchester wall art

I took this image over a year ago, whilst wandering the streets of Manchester, and the simple message has really hit home recently. I have no clue what I’m doing in life😅, but does anyone? We all give the impression of having our lives together and maintaining control, but how much control do we actually have over the events in out lives? To a degree yes of course we do, but there is so much uncertainty and things out of our control that can influence the decisions we undertake. Saying “I have no idea what I’m doing” isn’t a bad thing, though the connotations people take from it are negative. It is okay to take a step back from, whatever and where ever you find yourself in life, and to just take a moment to breathe.

As Tolkein says, just because I’m wandering without a clear purpose with what I want from life right now does not mean that I am lost. If there is one thing I’ve realised, it’s that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing or where your life is taking you right now. Not every single aspect of life has to be though out or planned. Where would be the fun in that?

Literature has become a massive source of comfort and escapism for me over these past couple of weeks, really helping to ground and re-focus on what I know I want to achieve in the future and how I can attain it. So yes, I don’t know what I’m doing right now, or even how I’m going to get to where I want to be, but focussing on myself and taking the time to figure out is going to worth it in the long run.

Enjoy the unknown. It might take you somewhere you never would have gone.

xo

HAM-IL-TON

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Hello everyone😊

I went to see the child birthed and concocted from Lin Manuel’s amazing and genius brain and it was UH-MAZING!

Hamilton!

For those who don’t know the story about Alexander Hamilton or the musical (where have you been?!) you can check out Ron Chernow’s book that inspired Lin Manuel to write a play about one of America’s founding fathers, turning it into a cultural phenomenon. If that’s not your thing, Hamilton follows the dramatic life of America’s first Treasury Secretary from the his childood, the American Civil War, to his marriage, his rise to political power, all leading to his untimely death, all set to the rhythm and beat of hip-hop.

Hamilton was everything that I knew it would be and so much more. From the staging to the casting to the lyrics and music, everything about the show was sublime. For a musical set in 1700’s and early 1800’s, the themes that run throughout – from immigrants to politics to family – still resonate deeply within the society that we live in especially in the current political climate.

Having the play set against the backdrop of vibrant and relatable music provides an originality that is spawning hundreds of imitations. It is not just a story about one man’s rise and fall, it’s more than that. It represents that this man, Alexander Hamilton, and everyone in his story can and could be anyone, which is seen through the casting choices. Born a bastard and being an immigrant, Hamilton refused to let this hinder the route he was adamant to taking in life. His ambition was ultimately his downfall, but his passion and hunger is something we should all embody.

Our stories and routes in life are not limited to race and creed. This can be any person’s story if we’re willing to put in the hard work and go the extra mile we can achieve the world.

If you can manage to grab tickets make sure you go and watch it. If not, download the soundtrack. I promise you, it will change you.

“My name is Alexander Hamilton and there’s a million things I havent done, but just you wait.”

xo

New year, new…?

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ah 2017. What a year.

I’ve decided that heading into 2018 I’m not going to go with the‘new year, new me’ mantra. It’s far too much effort for one, and secondly, i’m kinda happy with who I am right now, so why change myself completely right? Instead this year i’m going to build on who I am and what I want out of my life, personally and career wise. Not that 2017 was a terrible year for me, but it could have been so much more. There were low points and hardships as always, but there was so much to be grateful for and happy about.

This poem from Milk and Honey really enforces and encapsulates what 2017 was all about, for me anyway. In 2017 we saw the power of the people✊ From women’s rights to LGBTQ rights, to speaking out against sexual harassment and assault to the BLM movement, 2017 was all about the power of saying no. No more to staying quiet. No more to being walked all over. No more to hiding in the shadows. Refusing to quench the fire of injustice and sitting idly by. I would like to thank Donald Trump in that respect. His outright and blatant racism, homophobia, sexism and general idiocy has brought about an outpouring of defiance from us as a society, as communities and as human beings.

Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur

We’re tired of all the bullshit that’s been fed to us over decades. Our opinions do matter no matter what anyone else tells us otherwise. Do our opinions make us less beautiful? Hell no. It’s our opinions that make us who we are.

So I’m going to carry the momentum and mantra of 2017 into 2018, I refuse to let the fire burn out. I’m going to build on it, re-enforce it and use it. Use it to take risks and not allow people to put me in a box.

xo

One of my favourite quotes!

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Ah quotes, quotes, quotes. All the quotes. Quotes for daaaaays.

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” – William Shakespeare [A Midsummers Nights Dream]

This is one of my all time favourite quotes and one of the things I live by and try to embody. In fact, before I knew of this quote I introduced myself at university as “small yet mighty.”

For me, this quote shows that there is nothing to be afraid of from being labelled as ‘fierce’. I may be little in height (or perceived as’smaller’ as a woc, poc, or just because I’m a woman), but those insignificant details won’t stop me from being fierce. It won’t stop me from standing up for what is fair, what is right and what is just.

It’s also (for me) a nod to all the women in the world, who’ve come before me and paved the way for the world we now live in. Things aren’t perfect, we can definitely attest to that, but we’re on the way to making the world a more inclusive place. There’s just a few blocks ahead of us.

I may be little, but oh man can I roar.

xo