INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Friday

This month is Women's History Month and Friday is International Women's Day. To celebrate this day I will be sharing with you some of the most iconic, influential women to me. As a woman who studies gender inequality, this day holds significance for me. These women are in no particular order.

1. Jo Kenny (my mum). The most iconic woman by far, who always enjoys life while drinking a glass of prosecco or G&T. She cooks the best lasagne and roast dinners. She also managed to still be an amazing mum by herself when my dad had to go away with work (My dad is also iconic and fab).

2. Frida Kahlo. A Mexican artist, well-known for her self-portraits and exploring questions of gender, postcolonialism, class and race in her art.

Frida Kahlo self portrait

3. Emmeline Pankhurst. She led the suffragette movement for the women's right to vote and she played a big role of winning the vote for women in the UK.

4. Emily Davison. A suffragette who fought for women's right to vote in the UK. She went on hunger strike seven times and was force fed on forty-nine occasions. She was also arrested over ten times for her dedication to winning the vote for women.

5. Dolly Parton. Her song 9 to 5 for the movie 9 to 5 (1980) exposes the inequality women have faced in the workplace being secretaries, while only men have had power.

6. Jameela Jamil. A British actress and activist. She promotes body positivity for women on social media. She has started the I Weigh movement on Instagram for body positivity.


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7. Michelle Obama. As first lady of America, she was, and still is a role model for women. She has also worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education and nutrition.

8. Cher. She has been an icon for females during her six decade career.

9. Reese Witherspoon. Not only did she play the iconic Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, a game changer for teenage girl movies, but she also won Glamour's woman of the year award in 2015. Her "What do we do now?" speech also changed the game for women in acting.

10. Beyoncé. One of the most influential female music artists for women to date.

11. Ariana Grande. God is a woman, and it is Ariana Grande. After everything that has happened to her in the last few years with the Manchester Attack and Mac Miller, she is still putting out chart-topping music and still continues to be one of the most influential women.

12. Malala Yousafzai. An activist from Pakistan. The Taliban stopped girls from going to school and after fighting against this she was shot in the side of the head. After a miraculous recovery, and telling her story, she is now studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the university of Oxford, UK.

Adoah Aboah from Gurls Talk podcast13. Rosa Parks. In the 1950s in America, it was a rule that seats on buses would be given up for white people if the bus was full. Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat. Well-behaved women are not the ones who make history.


14. Audrey Hepburn. An actress who used her platform to become a humanitarian.

15. Katherine G Johnson. Her mathematical calculations of orbital mechanics allowed the first subsequent US manned spaceflights. You have probably heard of Neil Armstrong instead, the first man on the moon.

16. Sandra Bullock. American actress and philanthropist.

17. Jane Fonda. An American actress, also an activist for feminism and she campaigned against the Vietnamese War.

18. Kehlani. Despite attempting suicide, she continues to make music and promotes being a strong woman.

19. Adwoa Aboah. Activist and model who founded GURLS TALK, a website, Instagram page, and podcast for women. At the moment, she is campaigning against period poverty which is a huge problem in the world today. Some women across the world cannot afford their necessary sanitary products.

20. Marie Curie. She changed the world by founding radioactive science and launched effective cures for cancer. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and first female professor at the University of Paris.

25 NETFLIX SHOWS YOU MUST WATCH

Monday

If you love sitting in and watching Netflix but you can't always decide what to watch then keep reading. I have made a list of all the shows I have liked and would recommend in no particular order. It is a real struggle not being able to choose what to watch on Netflix.

1. Gossip Girl a lot of people have seen this but it is a good one to re-watch when you think you have watched everything. I know I always go back to it when I have nothing else to watch.

2. Pretty Little Liars another teen girl classic that lots have people have also seen but every time you watch it you find out more and more stuff that you probably missed first time.

3. Forensic Files everyone loves a good true crime documentary and the episodes are only 20 minutes long.

4. You it really makes you think about how easy it is to be stalked from your social media accounts. Also its just interesting and dramatic.

5. Full House a feel good 80s/90s sitcom.

6. Fuller House a reboot of the original (Full House) with the kids as parents.

7. Atypical easy to watch high school drama that also creates more autism awareness.

8. Insatiable another teen girl drama but it gets very dark at times.

9. Blue Planet Sir David Attenborough. Need I say more?

10. Planet Earth same reason as number 9 and animals.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race no tea no shade hunty.

12. Killer Kids the most messed up murder documentary there is. Each episode shows a different theme of killing and all the murders are done by children.

13. Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution because we should all be educated on the history of the holocaust, with Auschwitz being the most notorious concentration camp.

14. 13 Reasons Why very though provoking and controversial.

15. Gavin and Stacey a British comedy classic, a national treasure.

16. Luther Idris Elba is the protagonist and the crimes are more messed up than normal crime dramas which makes it more exciting and sometimes scary.

17. Friday Night Dinner another British comedy, Inbetweeners level funny (almost).

18. Skins good to watch and re-watch. Another classic British show but it is more of a drama.

19. Orange is the New Black comedic, dramatic and also represents many different types of women instead of a stereotype. It also gives us an insight to prison life that we wouldn't normally get.

20. Grace and Frankie highlights ageism as a social issue that people may not usually think about because it is typically young people that watch Netflix. Other than that it is easy to watch.

21. The Good Place this is like nothing I've ever watched before. Not only is it funny but it also contains lots of philosophical theory and the storyline is very fast-paced and exciting.

22. Big Mouth good to watch if you have a childish sense of humour like me.

23. Ted Bundy Tapes everyone is talking about this series and everyone likes murder documentaries for some odd reason. They are just so interesting.

24. Inside the World's Toughest Prisons this gives an insight into prisons around the world that is unlike that of Orange is the New Black as this is a non-fiction series.

25. Dogs a pure documentary about how dogs are the best and we don't deserve them. It might make you cry.

Thank you for reading! Let me know your favourite Netflix shows, especially if they aren't on here because I am always looking for new programmes to watch.

DORTMUND CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Tuesday

In December, I had the pleasure of visiting Dortmund, Germany just before Christmas. I went with my family, boyfriend and family friends. My dad drove us there and we caught the Euro tunnel which was exciting because I hadn't done that before (I am rather easily pleased).

FIRST YEAR AT UNI: COMPLETE

Sunday

Summer ball at Bournemouth University

Most of you will know that I started a degree in Communication and Media in September, and now my first year of university has come to an end. It's safe to say, it was nothing like I expected to be. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting but it was just an indescribable experience. From moving in university halls, to the last event which was the summer ball, everything just happened at a hundred miles per hour.

As soon as I'd moved in, there was a party at our flat for my flatmate Kitty, who has become one of my best friends, for her birthday. Straight away we were meeting so many new people and then after that we went clubbing as you do in fresher's week. My first year of university started as it meant to go on which was full on.

I have made so many new friends at university from all over the country, some from other countries and some friends that I didn't even expect to have. It's so different from being at home because I've lived in basically the same place my whole life where there isn't that many chances to make new friends as you kind of know everyone already. Obviously, I love my friends from home but it's nice to have made new ones as well.

Also, I got on with pretty much all of my flatmates in halls which was lucky and I know some people aren't that lucky, but no flat is perfect. There was sometimes fall outs about noise, the kitchen being messy, and food stealing but I think most flats have that. 90% of the time living there was such a laugh and I'll miss it but I'm looking forward to moving into a house with different people in September too because it will just be a different experience.

Living in university halls wasn't always easy, especially when you have to cook for yourself and are clueless in the kitchen like me. Even though a pasta sauce I made turned solid, I never got food poisoning so I see that as a success. All you need to know is how to cook noodles and pasta that is the ultimate student cuisine. My advice would just be to buy an already made pasta sauce that you just have to heat up or stir in.

Like any year, it has had lots of ups and downs. So many good things have happened like mainly getting the grades I want in my course. However, one very difficult thing to go through was one of my closest friends at university passing away. I have to say though, being surrounded by such good friends all the time made it a lot easier.

Overall, I would describe my experience of university so far as zero to a hundred. Not so much with coursework because I mainly did it before it was due and felt like I had all of my deadlines under control. However, with uni life, everything was just so full on which was a good thing for me because there was always something going on and something to do. That's probably why I didn't post on my blog as much.

I'd be interested to know about anyone else's experiences of university and I'm very happy with what I'm doing and can't wait for second year.

Bournemouth university students at Summer Ball