Showing posts with label The Low Down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Low Down. Show all posts

SOCIAL MEDIA DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEGATIVE: THE LOW DOWN

Saturday

Welcome to another post in my The Low Down series, where I give you the low down on important stuff.


When social media first became a thing, it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. Over the years, it has developed so much that there are so many different functions and reasons to use social media. I work as a social media coordinator, so I find that I am always using it as I use it for business, but also in my free time.


Iphone with social media apps on screen

Negativity in social media


As we know, as well as being a great marketing tool and a way to keep in touch with friends, or even stay up to date with your favourite celebrities, it can also be a toxic place.


It's so easy to let social media rule your life and compare your life to the perfect lives of others, or compare the way you look to the heavily edited Instagram pictures. We have all looked at pictures and thought I really wish I had their life, right? I get it so bad with travel photos or just any boujee photos in general, I'm like I wish I was doing that right now.


But we need to remember, people only tend to share their best moments on social media. It's so easy to take it as fact and think wow that person's life is so good - why isn't mine like that? The truth is, they are probably only sharing their highlights with you.


Tips for creators


If you are a creator, the best way to exude positivity in your posts is to sometimes be a bit negative - if that makes sense. The more real you are on your platform, the more people are going to relate to you. If you share real-life things that maybe aren't highlights, this will help remind your audience that social media creators are real people.

Related: Toxic positivity: the low down

My favourite creators on Instagram, are the ones who are just honest and real. Or, it's ones who use their platform to try and normalise things that the media usually tries to push out such as larger body types and disabilities.


Tips for social media users


For anyone using social media, even if you are just scrolling, you will need to take care of what you are doing. When you are mindlessly scrolling, you are not in control of what you are taking in. You may not think anything of it, but all that you are taking in while scrolling could subconsciously be damaging.


You need to set boundaries and remember that using social media is ok in moderation. Moderate what you are looking at and try to only look at things that make you happy.


Unfollow Unfollow Unfollow


If there are accounts that make you feel negative, even if they don't mean to, you are within your rights to unfollow these people. For example, if someone is posting positive highlights about their life and it starts making you feel bad about your own life, unfollow.


You don't owe these people, even if you know them personally, you are free to pick and choose who you follow to make using social media a positive experience for you.

Related: My journey to confidence: the low down

What measures do you put into place to ensure you have a better experience on social media?

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SOCIAL MEDIA DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEGATIVE: THE LOW DOWN

MY JOURNEY TO CONFIDENCE: THE LOW DOWN

Welcome to another post in my The Low Down series, where I basically just chat about important stuff and well, give you the low down.


In this blog post, I'm going to be talking about why confidence is so important, my journey and tips for you to become more confident. It's not easy and I wouldn't even say I'm a confident person, but I guess I just give less of a shit now what other people think of me.


This is so cliche and basically said all the time but life is too short! One day you might die (ok you will just trying not to be too morbid) and if you were to watch your life back at the end of it - you would wish that you just did the things you wanted to do, wore what you wanted to wear and were the person you wanted to be without caring what others think of you.


girl in bedroom with shein sunglasses


Why you need to work on your confidence


For me, I really think confidence would be the answer to all of my problems. You need it for job interviews, relationships, friendships, and loads of other reasons. I am someone who worries and gets nervous about absolutely everything so it comes a lot less naturally to me. This is why I have to work hard at stepping out of my comfort zone.


We feel comfortable around confident people and they are always easy to make friends with because they put themselves out there. However, if you're a worrier like me it can be really difficult, and you might be reading this like yeah right, like I could ever be confident? But you can, firstly you have to try and see what you can do about the things you worry about most.


It's easy for me to say stop caring what people think of you, but that would mean unlearning so many taught behaviours.


Why confidence doesn't come naturally to so many of us


The reason so many of us lack confidence and try to please others is because we are culturally taught that we need to. Through advertising, we are told we need new makeup to change the way we look and cover our "flaws". Have you ever thought, would I even notice this flaw if the media hadn't pointed it out to me? 

This society obsesses over thin bodies and marginalises curvy people. Body types, skin colour, who you love, the gender you identify as, nationalities, disabilities, age - these are all compartments of your identity yet some are more "accepted" than others.

Also, how often do you compare yourself to the people you see online or on TV? Do you ever wish you were them? We are so used to a certain way of looking and acting in our society that you kind of may not want to be any different at the risk of being too noticeable or worrying about how people will perceive you. This is all wrong! We should celebrate our differences and just not worry about what anyone else will think.

If there are people in your life who will change their opinion of you if you start being yourself then I'm sorry, but fuck them! It's time we start learning this at a young age I think. I am 22 and know I have a long way to go before feeling fully confident. But at school, I'd mostly just try to fit in and stay under the radar and pretend to like things I didn't so that people wouldn't think I'm weird. This is wrong again, and I do think younger generations are definitely getting better when it comes to accepting other people.

It's especially hard for marginalised people to be who they truly are. For example, in a society that's values are based on heteronormativity, it can be so difficult for LGBTQ+ people to come out, and be unapologetically themselves. In a world where they can be violently attacked for who they love. 

I could talk about so many things, but basically, the world we live in makes it really difficult for us to be confident in who we are. This is why we all have to actively step up and really try to take charge of our own identities. For the sake of our own mental health, but also encouraging others to do the same and looking out for their mental health too.

Steps to gaining more confidence


Now full disclaimer, I have already said I am not a particularly confident person and I'm not some sort of mental health professional who can really help you sort your life out. These are just tips that I have used to really become happier within myself and have made me more confident in social situations.

1. Stop focusing on the person you should be, and start focusing on the person you are - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.


It sounds obvious, but honestly when you let go of what people and society expect of you and just start doing you and what makes you happy, you will feel a lot better. This is quite a challenge, and as I said earlier, it will take a lot of unlearning of things you knew, but it is vital!

2. Fake it 'til you make it


If you really lack confidence but need it for things like job interviews etc... then really just practice acting confident. You have heard the term practice makes perfect? Just take your time trying to act like a confident person and eventually this will become habitual.

I have been in the process of this lately. one thing that terrifies me is talking on the phone. I will email, text, DM my way out of phone calls any day but as I am adulting, I need to pick up the phone for things more. It still scares me but before each call with someone I don't know, I have a little word with myself like come on you know what you're saying you can do it. 

I've had a similar thing with Imposter Syndrome a lot too, thinking I'm not good enough for things I do or don't have enough followers to be reaching out to a brand to work with them. For this, I just have to think twice and kind of give myself advice that other people would give me. Like, you wouldn't have this job if you weren't qualified for example.

3. Let go of your fear of rejection


Something that stops a lot of people feeling confident is a fear of rejection. This is a scary one because the way to get over a fear of rejection is to expose yourself to it more. Nobody likes rejection, it's human nature, but it shouldn't get in the way of our happiness.

I am watching Love Island at the moment and have seen so many people get rejected on live TV, which some people may think is tragic but it's really not. It's all about how they handle it. If they have been rejected and they take it with pride, like oh well I stayed true to myself that's ok, don't you have a lot more respect for them than if they were to go off on one? So reactions are key!

Another time we can face a lot of rejection is applying for jobs. Honestly, applying for grad jobs after just finishing university in a pandemic was the most I have ever been rejected in my life. Was this because I wasn't capable of doing the job? No. Is this how it made me feel at times? Of course! Then, I did secure a job and remembered how hard it is at the moment and that it is not to do with me.

4. There is only room for uplifting people in your life


In your life, if you put it simply, there are people who make you feel good when you spend time with them, and then there are people who don't. My advice is to only focus on the people who make you feel good. You may even find cutting toxic, negative people out of your life really beneficial and freeing. Each time I have done this, I have been so much happier!

Who you spend your time with is SO important for your mental health, I can't even tell you. There is no room in your life for people who want to put you down or don't want to see you shine. Bin them off. Obviously if possible, some toxic people might be in your workplace or even in your family - tea.

Good friendships are ones with people who want to see you grow. They are happy for your successes, not jealous or trying to put you down. They celebrate you and whatever differences you may have from them and you leave them feeling refreshed, rather than drained.
How has your journey to confidence been going? What advice would you give to your younger self? Also think, what advice would your future self give you right now? Think about your idols and what makes them have the confidence that they do.
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MY JOURNEY TO CONFIDENCE: THE LOW DOWN

BEING A NICE PERSON: THE LOW DOWN

Welcome to another post in my The Low Down series, where I get a bit more serious and give you the low down on things. For this one, I am just going to be sharing ways to genuinely just be a nice person which I feel like is pretty obvious, but a lot of people seem to need it?


Now, you might be bored of hearing about kindness now, especially as it has been heavily emphasised since the start of the pandemic, and a few years back we had the #BeKind movement. But have you ever stopped to think how we only have movements like that after someone has taken their own life? And afterwards, it doesn't take long for people to forget about the detrimental, and even fatal effects that nastiness has on our mental health.


be kind green tiles on pink backrgound

Related: Toxic positivity: The low down

A lot of people reading this will be thinking, being kind is so obvious, like why would you not be? But you'd be surprised by the amount of people who sadly are not. Every day, I hear about influencers and creators getting hate on a daily basis. Just look at the boys in the England team getting racial abuse for not scoring penalties, rather than getting praised for coming so far at a young age. Racism is a complete other topic and it is never OK in any situation. But it just goes to show how quickly people can turn nasty as these were supposedly England 'fans'.


Take Love Island as another example, sadly a few people have taken their own lives as a result of the hate they had received from being on the show. But this year, people are still giving them hate and tweeting awful things about them. OK, we all judge people on TV a little bit sometimes and maybe don't always agree with their decisions, but they are just ordinary humans on the TV with feelings. If you really have to say something nasty about someone on the TV or someone online, it's so easy to just send something privately to a friend rather than broadcasting it so that they can see.

Related: Friendships: the low down

These are just a few recent examples, but I'm sure if I ask you about a time someone has been nasty to you personally, you could tell me straight away. And being online, does make it easier for people to be unkind, but it's not always online.


We are all just getting through life and enough shit has gone on with things like Covid, climate change and just general other bad stuff for anyone to have to put up with people being dicks on top of that. So I am going to give you some of my own personal advice on how to just be a nice person generally, and just to live life in more of a happy way. 


I'm not saying I'm an amazingly nice person, no one is perfect and it's hard to be kind all the time - especially because there are some real arseholes out there. Most of my blog readers are lovely too! I am just using my platform for important topics.


How to be a nice person


1. Try to find happiness within yourself

The first step in this is really working on you. In my experience, most of the people who feel the need to put others down are insecure in themselves. This isn't easy and this could be a whole other blog post - but once you accept things about yourself and don't compare yourself to others, you will be much more happy for them and won't feel the need to put them down anymore.


2. Keep your mouth shut

As humans, it's natural to think things about people that sometimes aren't the nicest but do they need to hear these thoughts? Probably not. Again, it's all about accepting differences. 


3. Compliment people

Kindness is something that becomes habitual and once you start practising it more, it will come more easily and naturally. Try and compliment people and say positive things to them, this could make them feel so much better and will also make you feel better about yourself too.


4. Surround yourself with positivity

In this blog post, I'm not saying go out of your way to make friends with people who aren't your usual type of person. To become a happier and kinder person, it will actually be a lot better for you to cut toxic and negative people out of your life. Toxic people make other people toxic, so try to surround yourself with kind people and people who make you feel good about yourself. 


5. Do's and don'ts


Do 

  • Work on your happiness
  • Compliment people and promote kindness
  • Spend your time with nice people
Don't 

  • Put others down to make yourself feel better
  • Be rude and say nasty things

Sorry about the moody blog post - I am just so fed up of seeing nastiness everywhere I turn at the moment. I try to keep myself away from it as much as possible now that I am not forced to spend my time with unkind people at uni or anything but it still seems to be a little bit everywhere online etc.


And I feel like it's never going to go away but that's why we all have to try and work together in looking after our own mental health and the mental health of others. Also, sorry this post was a bit of a brain dump.


What are your thoughts on this? Let's start a discussion.
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BEING A NICE PERSON: THE LOW DOWN

TOXIC POSITIVITY: THE LOW DOWN

I am continuing on my blog series called The Low Down. I haven't done a post in this series for a while so if you are new to reading my posts, I basically just write my opinion on things in this post. I've written about things like student housing, friendships and being a fussy eater before, and this time I'm going to be writing about toxic positivity.

long grass by the sea
Image by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.

What is Toxic Positivity?


Before looking into toxic positivity, and hearing a few things about it on social media, I didn't know anything about it. 

"Toxic positivity is the assumption, either by one's self or others, that despite a person's emotional pain or difficult mindset" - Dr Jaime Zuckerman, clinical psychologist in Pennsylvania. Read the full toxic positivity article on healthline.

Toxic positivity has become even more prevalent in the pandemic. How often have you told someone you are having a tough time to be faced with responses like "it could be worse" or "everyone has that" or even "you should feel lucky?" You may have even responded in this way to people.

It supports the rhetoric that we are not allowed to feel sad or in a bad mood and we must try to feel positive and think positively. It's not possible to think positively 24/7 so why, as a society, do we try to push this?

What can we do about Toxic Positivity?


I think it's definitely important first and foremost to recognise toxic positivity. Before reading about it, I wouldn't have even known that it can be harmful to people and a lot of the time, people believe they are helping by trying to make other people think positively.

Obviously, it is great to have a positive mindset and, I'm just saying that it's impossible to expect this from people all the time and if you or your friends are feeling down, it's important to look after yourself and recognise that you are down so you can deal with the emotions, rather than just pushing them away while trying to be positive.

Change your approach


Start with yourself. If you're feeling down then remember that's ok and hopefully you will feel more positive another day - remember to go easy on yourself and treat yourself with kindness. 

As for being there for others, if someone is coming to you with a problem or they are feeling sad, think about how to approach this. Instead of trying to get them to think positively, just tell them you are there for them and it's ok to feel sad now and again. Ultimately, if someone is coming to you with an issue, they will be reassured that you are there for them, there is no need for saying things like "it's ok, you have nothing to be upset about," as we spoke about earlier.

Just to reiterate - positive mindsets are GOOD and it's great if you are mostly positive. However, not everyone has that mindset all the time and it can do more harm than good to try and force people to look on the bright side when they are feeling low.

What are your thoughts on toxic positivity?
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TOXIC POSITIVITY: THE LOW DOWN

FRIENDSHIPS: THE LOW DOWN

Tuesday

This week, I just wanted to talk about friendships because I have seen a lot of people posting about friendships. As the lockdown restrictions ease in the UK and other countries, we are able to see our friends more.

Group of girls on Amsterdam canal boat

Advice on friendships

Lately, I have seen a few people on Twitter saying that they don't have friends which saddens me. I don't know these people, so I'm not sure that's actually the case, but sometimes you can feel like you have no friends, or that you have no one in your corner.

My advice for these people would be to value the people that you actually have in your life, whether that be family or colleagues that you like. I would also say it is never too late to try and make friends! It is a common misconception that you can't make friends as an adult, as it isn't as easy as when you're in school, but this is not the case! If anything, making friends later on is actually easier.

Since I have started blogging regularly, I have interacted with other bloggers online who have similar interests to me. Making online friends is also a good way to connect with people if you are shy in person. Of course, you do need to be careful when making online friends - we have all seen the TV show Catfish.

I also think it is important to remember that you different things out of friendships with different people. For example, you may have a friend that you have a good time with but you can't trust them. If you have friends like this, it's important to know where you stand. If you know they aren't the most trustworthy, then you shouldn't expect them to be trustworthy. There are also the friends that you have a good time with, and you could trust them with your life. I tend to find myself gravitating towards these people and wanting to spend less time with the people who are only fun for a short time.

Group of friends in Leicester Square

Friends getting ready for night out

My friendships

As I get older, I tend to be pickier with who I call my friend. Just because I really believe that no company is better than bad company. I have individual friends who I will meet up with as well as groups of friends and the majority of my friends now are from university. I do still have some amazing friends from home but as I left school and college, I seemed to leave friendships behind there. The same thing could happen after uni too, but I do think most of them will become my friends for life.

One of the main qualities I look for in friendships is when they are happy for my successes and when they build me up. I am always reading posts about how women should empower women and this is definitely true! I'm always looking out for those who do that for me. 

I am really grateful for the friendships I have at the moment. For the friends I see often and the friends who I don't see as much.

What sort of friendships do you have? Mainly close individual friends or do you have a friendship group? Let me know in the comments.

Friends in Dublin

Two friends at a party

More from The Low Down Series:

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Wool of the King

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FRIENDSHIPS: THE LOW DOWN

BEING A FUSSY EATER: THE LOW DOWN

Saturday

A while ago I started a series called, The Low Down, where I will just talk about certain topics, giving you 'The Low Down'.


Mussels in garlic sauce with caption

Since I can remember, I have always been a really fussy eater. Quite a lot of kids can be but I never seemed to grow out of it. It would probably be easier to tell you the foods I do like than listing the ones I don't. I basically don't like ANYTHING spicy, I also don't like tea or coffee (big shock alert).

People regularly laugh at my 'boring' taste in food, and I do too, but it is the bane of my life. Something that stands out to me is that I used to avoid going to Nando's because I got plain when everyone else got medium and someone always had something to say about it. "Sorry guys, I can't come tonight, um, I need to wash my hair." I don't really care about things like that anymore it just seems bizarre to me that people have such opinions on food tastes. Incidentally, I have recently graduated to lemon and herb!

I really wish I liked a lot more foods than I do because then I wouldn't have to worry about what we're having for dinner if I go to someone's house, or worry that I'm being really annoying if I say I don't like something. Luckily now, everyone I know knows that I'm a fussy eater so if I go to theirs for dinner, they will make sure it's something I like (love those kinds of people). 

It wasn't always that easy when I was growing up though. It was the absolute WORST when I would go to friends houses for dinner and their mum had made something I didn't like. Because I felt so bad, I would try my hardest to eat it even if I didn't like it. But when it's spicy food, I literally can't even force myself to eat it! Once I remember going to someone's and their parents had made a chilli con carne (one of my top WORST dishes) and I did try to eat it. In the end, I just had to say I'm so sorry, this is too spicy for me. Then, I remember the parents kind of getting slightly annoyed even though they tried not to show it.

I still love food though. Even though I'm quite fussy, I do love the foods that I will eat and I do try new foods to see if I'll like them. What kind of eater are you? Are you fussy or will you eat most things? Everyone has their own preferences, I just wish I liked more things but it's probably good that I don't because I love food too much now anyway.

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LinkedIn: Lauren Kenny
 Pinterest: @laurenken1

Wool of the King



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BEING A FUSSY EATER: THE LOW DOWN

STUDENT HOUSING: THE LOW DOWN


Following on from my Contraception: The Low Down post, in this post I will also be giving you The Low Down about my experience with student housing.

I must begin by saying I am not talking about all student housing, I will be talking about my experience and experiences I have heard from friends in particular. 

University image

At Bournemouth University, where I've been studying, the majority of students tend to live in halls for the first year, and then will move into a house for second year. This may no longer be the case for the majority as they are building more and more halls in and around Bournemouth for second and third years.

In September, me and five other people moved into a student house. Before moving in, we were asked to pay a booking fee in December of £250 followed by a deposit in August of £500 along with the first month's rent which was £420, equalling £920 at once each and £5,520 all together.

After paying the fees, we went to pick up our keys from the estate agents, by whom we were given an attitude that was not the most friendly. We each had individual bedroom keys but we weren't assigned our own, we were told to "work it out for yourselves". 

Arriving at the house, everyone was very eager to pick bedrooms. Before I knew it, I ended up with my bedroom choice, however, in my bedroom was a broken bed.

I called up the letting agency to ask why I was not given a functioning bed and their reply was "it is not our fault" without any apology. We had moved in on the Thursday and they said the bed wouldn't come until the following week. Their reply to me about this was "it's ok, you have a mattress". Yes, I did have a mattress but I wasn't expecting to pay the same deposit and rent money as everyone else to find a broken bed in my room.

Most of my friends have complained about mould in their houses. I've heard about leaky roofs, bedrooms being declared too small to live in by the council, slug infestations (gross). You name it.

We finally moved out of our student house in August after countless things going wrong and we got our deposit back 2 days ago, 2 months later. It's a good job I wasn't counting on that money because I got less than half of it back, and I got the most back out of everybody. Our reports back said that things were broken that hadn't been broken and "routine cleaning" that we were never made aware of.

I'd like to reiterate that not all student houses are bad and not all housing companies treat you without respect. This is more of a warning to be careful and to raise awareness of how you can be treated sometimes because of age or because you're a student.

Thank you for reading, sorry this was a bit more angry than normal, I just don't agree with how unfair it can be at times. Let me know if you have any student housing horror stories in the comments.

Over and out x

Social Media

Personal Instagram: @_laurenken
Wool of the King Instagram: @wooloftheking1
Twitter: @_laurenken



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STUDENT HOUSING: THE LOW DOWN

CONTRACEPTION: THE LOW DOWN

Tuesday

I asked on Instagram and Twitter for people's experiences with different types of contraception and I got more responses than expected. The amount of responses I got shows me that it is something a lot of people, mainly women do want to talk about as it affects people so differently and these affects can often be quite negative.

The contraceptive pill

Here are some examples of the responses I received from women currently using contraception, I won't be using names:

"The implant gave me a month long period."
"Mood swings on the first pill now I have changed I feel fine."
"Rigevidon made me feel really down and angry."
"The pill made me put on sooo much weight and became so spotty until I came off it."
"The pill made me feel depressed."
"The pill made me feel like I was so down and alone, I also gained weight, skin was horrible."
"The injection f*cked me up, I got super depressed. I stopped doing things and stopped going into college. Never again"
"I've had a bad experience on so many pills including Yasmin, Microgynon, Cerelle. Problems included weight gain, nausea, the worst skin and pain. I hate the pill."
"The pill is amazing for me but I had the worst mental health and doctors wouldn't take me off it because it was 'too soon', they told me to give it a chance."

The main purpose of this post is to make people think about how important it is to find the right contraception for you or your partner because there are so many horrible side affects as you can see from the responses above.

Firstly, I need to emphasise that everyone is affected differently by different forms of contraception and by no means should anyone be scared off it by this post. I am just trying to educate people on possible side affects so that people make sure they get what is right for them. There are so many different types of contraception that I didn't even know about. Researching this has been a learning curve for me too.

I didn't really have sex education at my school after the age of 12, and then it was about periods and stuff rather than being safe with sex. When we did learn about it at school we just learnt about condoms which are obviously a good form of contraception as they also protect against STI's but they are not the only form of contraception out there.

If you are like me and the thought of an injection, implant or coil really cringes you out then there are lots of different types of pills that do different things to your hormones and have different amounts of hormones in them.

Due to the amount of negative responses about contraception side affects, it seems to me like women have to go through a trial and error process before they find a good contraceptive that suits them. In my opinion, doctors should be doing more to make sure pills and other contraceptives aren't harming people.

In my experience, they gave me 3 months worth of pills to start with before checking my blood pressure again and prescribing me another 3 months worth of pills at the end. Now, they give me 6 months worth at a time and will only give me a pill check every 12 months where they will check my blood pressure again. They have never once asked me about my mental health and the pill and other contraceptives have seemed to have affected the mental health of a number of women.

One of the responses above, refers to the implant and mental health. She said she had told the doctors she didn't want the implant anymore as she knew it affected her mental health in a negative way. The doctors thought it was too soon, seemingly ignoring her request and disregarding the severity of the effect it was having on her mental health.

People using words such as "depression" when it comes to contraception just goes to show the severity of the effect it can have on mental health. In extreme cases, it could possibly make girls and women feel suicidal. If there is a chance that this could happen, isn't asking how your mental health is in on a pill check the least doctors could do? I am not saying no doctors ask, I am just basing this on my own experience and those of my followers.

It is also important that men understand the possible side affects women could be facing just to sleep with them. It's important to spot differences in women's mental health and attitudes in case they are being affected by contraception. It's also important to support them through the decisions they make about contraception as these decisions often concern men too.

My advice would be make sure you research contraception before you decide what would be best for you. If you do hear bad things about certain types, remember that it might not be the same for you as all types of contraception affects people differently. It is all about what suits you. Finally, don't put sex before your mental health.

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CONTRACEPTION: THE LOW DOWN

TERROR ATTACK ON ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT

Wednesday


After hearing about Monday night's terror attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, I was truly devastated. A venue holding around 21,000 people including many children and teenagers was thought to be the "perfect" place to commit an act of pure evil. Among the 22 people that have passed away so far, approximately 12 of them were children. An 8 year old girl was killed, ruining the lives of people close to her and for what? An 18 year old girl, the same age as me, doing A levels, just as I am, was killed in this brutal terror attack; and what had these innocent people done except go and see one of their favourite artists in concert? For a lot of people, this was their first concert and many had been looking forward to it for months. A concert should be remembered for the music and pleasure you feel from watching and listening to your artists, not for fear and tragedy. 

Ariana Grande singing live

Despite the horrendous actions of Monday night in Manchester, there are a handful of people who are not showing sympathy for the people affected by the incident. For example, The Daily Mail has attempted to blame Ariana's choice of clothing for the terrorism. Other than being the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, it is also disrespectful to the 23 year old artist who is traumatised by the terror attack upon her concert on Monday. The star tweeted "broken. from the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words", apologising for what had happened even though none of it was her fault, it was the fault of an extremist, sadistic group motivated by evil and ignorance. No one deserves to go to a concert to not come back, end up severely injured or fear for their lives. This was nothing other than a brutal attack on innocent people. Ariana Grande has offered to pay for the funerals of those who lost their lives to this tragic incident. How can anyone blame somebody who is willing to show this generosity?

However, this radical attempt at dividing Britain has failed because Manchester, and the United Kingdom are stronger than ever and there is so much support being spread through the communities. Support has been shown not just by the British people but from people all over the world. Unfortunately, I have never been to Manchester but the sense of community there that I have seen on the news is unreal, especially at yesterday's vigil. This just goes to show that nothing is going to break Britain no matter how many attempts of terror there are and the support in Manchester recently such as taxi drivers taking people home, hotels giving those targeted a place to stay and even homeless people helping the wounded makes me amongst many others, proud to be British.

Thank you so much for reading. RIP to the beautiful 22 whose lives were taken from them too soon. 

Manchester vigil for Ariana Grande terrorist attack


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TERROR ATTACK ON ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT
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