Lifestyle
For the lives that we love, and everything that comes with it.
The Wind Chimes
My mother was quite possibly the most eccentric woman you would ever meet. She had long, curly hair, the same color as the warm orange leaves during fall. She was a short woman, but she had the confidence of someone ten feet tall. When someone looked into her deep emerald eyes, they would immediately feel accepted and loved. She was feisty, and would be the first one to tell you where the door was should you have chosen to say some unwise words in her presence.
By Danielle Hintz7 years ago in Families
The State
The irony was evident: head drowning in a toilet, the burning of acid made its way up my throat and crawled out of my mouth, its bitter kiss lingered on my tongue. Of course, I would've longed to stay in bed. My intervals of heavy heaving came and went in quick succession. There was no time for reflection as the acid creeped its way back up, this time, wrenching last night's dinner from its imprisonment and straight to freedom where it layed dormant, floating on the surface of toilet water.
By Tabitha Odutayo7 years ago in Viva
In The End
As I opened the door to your house the smell inside hit me, forcing me to wrinkle my nose. What was once a welcoming scent of tobacco, coffee, and after shave had turned into sickness and the sweet sickly smell of death. We walked into see you struggle to get up and you quickly had to sit back down. You could barely stand, let alone walk up to greet us. We both tried hugging you but you said it hurt so I didn't touch you. I know you didn't want to go to the hospital with us...but Nanny made you.
By Bethany Winters7 years ago in Families
When Body Positivity Gets Ugly
I will start this piece in something of a matter-of-fact way. I am plus size. I always have been, and I likely always will be. This is not me resigning myself to some awful lifelong fate; this is me accepting my body for what it is – and loving it anyway. My height and my dress size have opened a lot of doors for me since I got on board the body positivity train when I was eighteen, including working with major plus size fashion retailers and model agencies. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing though, and despite my current dress size being a fairly consistent size 18, one phrase has stuck with me since I won the Simply Be Model Search in 2011.
By Abigail Hill7 years ago in Viva
Become Not What You Fight
Imagine something for a moment. Someone coming up to you, and saying they have been raped. What do you do?Seriously, think about it for a moment. Because the world is demanding you have an answer these days. Even though you weren't a party to this heinous act, you may very well be held accountable for your reaction. Especially if you are a man. You may have heard this reasoning quite often when women are asked about why they didn't do more, or why they didn't come forward. At some point, it seems to be one of the answers or reasons - other people didn't do enough. And it's a defense people will use quite often as well in discussions about destroying rape culture - other people have to do more. Do something. Do anything. So, what do you do? Or better yet - what CAN you do? Because that seems to be something nobody wants to bother answering, or addressing. It's simply a hive mind response much of the time - "Men should do more. Other people should do more. DO. MORE." As if the onus of bringing rapists to justice largely falls on the shoulders of anyone BUT the victim. Let me be clear here - rape is despicable. I personally believe that anyone who commits this act, should spend the rest of their days behind bars, because their victim is certainly going to have to live with the trauma of it until the day they die. But, and I know this is becoming rather a taboo thing to mention these days - the victim IS the one who has the most power to do something about it! And they SHOULD. Other people can certainly help, and they should too. But other people are limited in what we can do to actually help. We can't go to the police for you, we can't give statements on your behalf of what happened, we can't take rape kit tests for you, we can't go to trial on your behalf and stand up there and give your story to a jury. And ultimately - we cannot make you take back the power to be brave, and to stand up and say "I will NOT let this go."And most importantly - we cannot blindly believe you when you say someone has raped you, or sexually harassed you. I'm sorry, but we cannot. No more than we could blindly believe that someone robbed you, or stole your car, or took your lunch, or tripped you, or shoved you against a wall, or gave you a black eye, or shot you...literally ANYTHING that you could otherwise claim someone else did to you. This seems to be the crux of the problem - people seem to think we should believe accusers right off the bat, and condemn men accused because rape culture is a thing, and to hell with due process, fair trails, or a justice system. Because those have failed so many women in the past. So now you ABSOLUTELY must believe anyone who accuses someone of rape, sexual assault, harassment, and if you don't, you're part of the problem. This is asinine. Pure and simple. I agree, due process, trials, and the justice system, in general, has failed FAR too many women, and men, in the past when it comes to getting justice for their assaults, their rapes, their harassment. But we can't start lynching people for not "doing enough". You can't start blaming everyone else for what happened to you, or for the fact that you were too scared to come forward. If you weren't believed, you can't blame those who weren't part of whoever didn't believe you for that. And when I say believe, again, I do not mean they should automatically agree with you that what you say happened, happened. There has to be due process, there has to be fair trials. So...what can WE do, and what can YOU do if you've been a victim of rape?WE can be there to support you emotionally. WE can help your voice be heard if people refuse to take your allegations seriously. WE can demand answers for you if rape kits aren't being processed. WE can help you, if possible, gather evidence and build a case as best as possible. But please keep in mind we do not live in a fully fair and just world, I'm sorry to say. There are people who rob, cheat, steal, murder every day who get away with it. Many of them may ultimately be brought to justice, but that's not always the case. It may not be the case for you. But please - DO NOT let that stop you. YOU can report what has been done to you to proper authorities, YOU can hold them accountable if they refuse to listen to you or try and make it seem like it was your fault or that you didn't do enough, YOU can be brave, and stand up to someone who tried to take your life, your voice, your will away. It won't be easy. In fact, it will probably be hard, emotionally devastating, perhaps even soul-crushing. But if you don't do everything in your power, we can't help you. If you falter, everyone around you loses what power they have to assist you. Much of it is, unfortunately, on YOUR shoulders. Because YOU are the victim. And YOU are the one who has to take your life back. Take YOUR voice back. Take YOUR strength back. We can't believe you outright, but it doesn't mean we have to dismiss what you say either. It can, and SHOULD be taken seriously. But like any other accusation of crime, people are innocent until proven guilty. Please, PLEASE keep that in mind.
By Devin Cobalt7 years ago in Viva
How Do I Get My Child Into Reading?
How Do I Get My Child Into Reading? The recent changes to GCSE English Language and Literature require a very high level of reading ability. Not only is it important to be able to read very lengthy and detailed passages but they also demand a wide vocabulary and an ability to write creatively. This underlines, more than ever, the importance of reading. To put it simply, you cannot expect to answer comprehensions or write your own creative writing pieces if you do not have experience of reading a wide variety of texts. If you want to achieve the higher grades, then reading is the key to unlock potential in creative writing and language analysis.
By Elisabeth Basford7 years ago in Families