Summer is on its WAY! However it’s going to look in terms of restrictions, no one can hold back the force of British Summer Time, characterised as it is with mini speakers playing Clubland, tinnies from Tesco Express and sunburn - pandemic or not.
Along with summer comes a yearly reminder, shared in various forms across social media. I’m surprised it hasn’t arrived as a pastel infographic, because we all know how useful they are at sharing the key takeaways of hugely important topics (!!). Here’s this year’s offering:
As I wrote for LAPP magazine in 2020, years of high school bullying left me with a warped sense of what I actually look like, what I am worth if not my looks and a burning desire to always be liked, wanted. Despite therapy, antidepressants and even some surgeries to ‘fix’ what I had been repeatedly told was broken, I’m still dealing with the effects of words years later.
In a feat of something magical that I never thought I'd be strong enough for, far from my experience turning me into a quiet shell of myself, in more recent years I’ve been completely open with my healing journey. I’m happy to shout about the damaging effects that cruel jibes and ‘jokes’ can have on an individual’s psyche, even deep into their adulthood.
It might sound like complete common sense, but some people just don’t get it: if you tell someone something often enough, they will start to believe it.
To me, the answer is clear. You can easily compliment someone without even hinting at their appearance. You can comment on someone’s vivacity, their funniness, their unmatched wit. You can tell someone how much you appreciate then, how much you love them and how they make you smile. You can also tell someone they’re being a massive prick, call them out on their shitty behaviour - and still, you don’t need to mention their looks.
It boggles my mind that someone feels they have the right to comment on the way someone else looks, especially - as the image above states - it’s not something they can easily sort out. What is there to gain or to achieve, apart from sending a jolt of hurt through the person on the receiving end? A tiny crack will appear in their soul, which if hacked at enough will turn into a canyon, splitting that person in two: the person they were before, and the person they are after. I often wonder what kind of person I’d be if my school experience had been different.
Far be it from me to lecture the masses, we’ve had enough of that from the government. I would simply ask you to carefully think about your words, said without care, suddenly out in the world to land on others like gold dust, or like fleas.
You may think they will slide away like water off a duck’s back, but more often than not, they stick like feathers to tar.
Restrictions are beginning to rise, but those with wedding on the horizon are still unsure what their days are going to look like. I wrote this for Loverly to help those still in the stages of planning a pandemic wedding.
From One COVID Bride to Another: How To Deal With the Uncertainty of Pandemic Wedding Planning
I used to work my arse off for placements at Insider for my clients when I worked in PR, now I’m writing for Insider myself! I interviewed three productivity experts on the best calendar methods to get the most out of your days.
Productivity experts break down how these 6 calendar hacks, from scheduling focused work to 'time boxing', help them work smarter
The things I learn along the way aren’t going to encapsulate all that life can teach you. I want to hear from you! To share something important you’ve learnt while giving life a good go, submit it to the form below and see it featured in the newsletter.
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