Small acts of kindness

Check out the YouTube video we created:

- we targeted random people on the grounds of Macquarie University and gave them positive messages and put a smile on their faces.

pink sugar, bitch.

Are YOU unhappy or down in the dumps?
Do YOU have something in the back of your mind that's been irking you for far too long now?

Well, my fellow sweet-tooth-ers, worry no more- it's back and it's better than ever- 


      *~~!fairy floss!~~*

The love of my life,
the apple of my eye,
the joy to my world.
Oh, fairy floss!
*sigh*




Fairy floss, or cotton candy, as my friendlings up North like to call it, is basically just sugar.
"Just sugar?" you say.
NO. Not JUST.
Pure sugar goodness on a stick, coated with a soft pink texture.

Sugar makes you happy. It's a fact.
Not really, but I'd love to think so.
Nearly as much as I'd love to pretend that it's good for me :(
if only, if only.
But hey, in all seriousness, there's a message here- you don't have to rely on your present activities and shebangabangs to amuse or entertain you in order to feel happy again.
It's always possible to take a step back into the future into the days of those carnivals and circuses when all we ever ate was popcorn and fairy floss. (Speaking of which- I highly recommend you visit a circus in the near future, NO MATTER YOUR AGE GROUP- I visited one last night and it was absolutely riveting)

Adios for now, my chums
lots of love and sugar!

-srisha

Attitude? Gurl you know it! 

Attitude is everything. It is how we are different. it is how we express ourselves in good and bad ways. It is every girl's similar trait but in very different ways 

If you have a bad attitude you’re more likely to be negative, rude, off-putting, unmotivated and have a bad outlook on life

Our attitude governs the way we perceive the world and the way the world perceives us.

Keith Harrell explains to us the loudest and most influential voice you hear is your inner voice, your independent critic. I absolutely agree with this statement. In life we should (even they we don't all the time) aim to achieve our aspirations whether they may be to be a successful business manger or become a professional soccer player. We should aim to better ourselves and the accomplish things along the way. No matter how many people are around you telling you how good you are, you will always be your toughest critic. This can work with you or against you depending on your attitude.

Your attitude can:

      Be pessimistic or optimistic

      Drag you down or cheer you on

      Make you give up or push forward

These 10 tips will hopefully turn that frown upside down and transform your attitude into a ray of sunshine.

1.      Talk positively to yourself.

2.      Find an activity you enjoy and that motivates you

3.      Visual things you want to achieve

4.      Don’t doubt yourself. Always believe you can do something

5.      Use the power of words

6.      Be friendly

7.      Be enthusiastic

8.      Laugh. Lighten up your life with humour

9.      Focus on the good things in your life

10.  When you feel down, talk to someone you trust. Don’t bottle it up

peace out xo

By Ruth Getachew

Antibiotics > bacteria

“I'm so fat”

“I'm so dumb”

“I'm so sick of this world”

“I don't know what to do with my life anymore”

“Everything sucks”

“That just dropped my self-esteem”

Admit it, at some stage in your life, you've used one or more of these sentences. But the real question is, how do we prevent ourselves from saying them again?

Negativity is contagious. But you must be that 'antibiotic' that works hard to stop the 'bacteria' from spreading around your body and causing harmful damage to it.

Being strong, being positive and optimistic is not hard and it's not easy as well. However, you may or may have not noticed, but the amount of energy negativeness takes away from you is much much more than actually putting the effort to be happy, strong and positive.

Now, once your content with your life, another will look at you and will be inspired and also motivated to accept themselves and also be happy. It's a domino effect. It's contagious.

When your ill, people want to stay away from you... or in some circumstances you want them to stay away. But when your healthy, people tend to surround themselves around you. Same goes when your positive.

Have a good day homies,

caroline

What's in a smile?

Validation: a short film that is sure to make you smile. An action that is so vital to our outlook and thought processes. Such a simple act, the slight upward curve of your mouth to a full frontal teeth-bearing grin. How could anything so effortless have such a positive impact?

Well, you may or may not be surprised to know that smiling actually has a significant effect over both your physical and mental well being. Yes, we smile when we are happy, but in reverse, smiling apparently makes us happy! The benefits that com from smiling can be compacted into a short list as presented on About.com's Top 10 Reasons to Smile, listed below (for information on why, visit the link!):

• Smiling makes us more attractive

• Smiling LIFTS our moods

• Smiling is contagious 

• Smiling relieves stress

• Smiling boosts our immune system

• Smiling lowers your blood pressure

• Smiling releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin

• Smiling lifts the face and make you look younger

• Smiling makes you seem successful

and most importantly;

• SMILING HELPS YOU STAY POSITIVE!

Besides; you never know what effect your smile will have on a friend, family member, loved one, colleague, or even stranger's day. It does you good, the people around you good, and it's so easy, so why not?

(even sharks can do it!)

- Emmalie

what makes me happy.

Cats.
You heard me.
Cats.

Majestic, wonderful cats.

why do i like cats?
because they are so soft and cuddly.
who needs a heater when you have a self warming cuddle machine?
cats are silly.
their curiousity allows them to do adorable and wonderful things
they are arrogant and are a constant reminder that most things only come when they need you.
but, they represent strength, courage and persistence.

for a long time, the thing that brightened my day every day was my loyal cat strotting half way down the road to greet me, meow, and say hello.
i think everyone with a pet can understand how much of an impact they can have on their lives
it can be a bond that nothing else can break.
nothing else would break
not that you would ever want it to.

Because you only live once..

 

 

follow our rules:

Oh-Em-Gee FEMINISM (yes, you read right, I WENT THERE)

There are 91 definitions for "feminism" in Urban Dictionary.
Not that the said website is somewhat reliable or accurate,
but does that statistic itself show how controversial and varied our opinions and ideas of ~FEMINISM~ are??
Such definitions vary from:

"Estrogen-induced sexism.

If she's got a vagina, she's better than you.

That's feminism."

to

"The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. These people can be either male or female human beings, although the ideology is commonly (and perhaps falsely) associated mainly with women."

I must admit, when I first heard of feminism (probably some time in my early tween years), I simply thought of rambling girls who complained about not being treated right in society. 
Over the years, my personal definition has substantially changed, and I attempted to educate myself by watching Youtube videos, reading articles (online mostly) and just chatting about it with my friends and family.



A few years ago, I would not have wanted to associate myself in any way with the word "feminism" because of how I defined it, and today I call myself a feminist.

I think much of my initial opinion stemmed from the views of outspoken feminists that had (what I now perceive to be) backward ideas about what they thought feminism was.
Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the issue only really became obvious to me when self-proclaimed feminists forced their own views onto others. 
Which ain't cool in my books, no matter what controversial topic is being discussed.

Now, I don't mean to say "OH MY GOSH GUYS ONLY MY OPINION IS CORRECT, ALL OTHER FEMINISTS THAT ARE OUTSPOKEN ARE WRONG!"
In fact, I mean quite the opposite; feminism is what you make of it- as with any issue- it's just a matter of how you choose to voice your opinion.


-srisha

frandshep

Chocolate has power over us!

Ever thought why you have an uncontrollable craving for chocolate?
Or why it leaves you with an underwhelming satisfaction?
Well look no further, here you would know! 

Chocolate leaves us with a feeling of extreme happiness, making the brain have feelings of bliss and giddiness. It increases our levels of serotonin, which in return gives us strong feelings of well-being and happiness.

The cravings may be linked to low blood sugar, stress or changing hormone levels prior to a female’s menstrual cycle. High stress levels can make you crave chocolate, because increased serotonin levels leads to decreased levels of anxiety.

Chocolate also contains trace minerals such as magnesium, to which women may be deficient with prior to their periods. Some women may use this excuse to eat chocolate, being more socially accepted to indulge during this time. Although, it may be just too delicious to turn down any reason to eat it!  

did you know?

chocolate comes from a fruit tree, it's made from a seed

did you know?

there is approximately 1.5 million cocoa farms in West Africa

did you know?

Casanova used to eat chocolate to heat things up in the bedroom!

did you know? 

Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his printshop in Philadelphia

well cracked.com has a different approach of it...

And there's a little bit of Switzerland in all of us..

So buy bon bons, truffles and candy hearts- all you need to brighten your own or someones day! 

-Laura

be thankful; think positive; be happy

LIVING LIFE

Who are we? Do we know ourselves yet? Do we follow the crowd or make our own path?

We all have friends who are MOSTLY negative. They are pessimistic, cynical, and gloomy. They are the “cup is half empty” kind of people. Living life is all about taking chances, being happy, and living each day to the fullest unless of course it’s a lazy day.

This quote provided by searchquotes.com is a great example of what kind of people live in this world. We all have to get back up and dust ourselves off when someone knocks us down because there are many types of people in this world. In this world, negativity is all around us. People will say bad things about you, lie to you, cheat on you and make you feel bad about yourself.

No matter what happens in your life, never let bad people stop you from living your life. For all the people that leave and betray you, there will still be a handful that will be there to the end. We have all experienced the notion of “conformity”. We change ourselves to better suit a particular group, appease particular people and essentially “follow the crowd”.

Life is a gift! We should be thankful for what we have and appreciate the fact we are able  to do so many things. Don’t focus on the negative in life. They will constantly always be there, but you have a choice on whether to live life thinking the glass is “half-full” or “half-empty”?

No matter how much we deny this, we are influenced by the people surrounding us. Having good people around you will help you get rid of a negative headspace. However, don’t forget we are humans and make mistakes.  I have composed a way to eliminate negative people from your life to help in the process of seeing the world from a negative perspective.

1.   Get rid of people who are constantly complaining and expressing negative thoughts from Facebook, Twitter etc.

2.   Be honest to other people and tell them to stop if they are beginning to act negative

3.   Ignore negativity. Walk away if people start having a discussion about how bad work is or school

4.   If someone is being negativity around you, remember you don’t have to be negative as well.

5.   Acknowledge the positives in your life not always the negatives

JUST BE YOU BOO!! J 

Ruth Getachew

Optimism will always combat over negativity

Are we equal?

Celebrities are doing great things for violence-against-women campaigning. Actors/actresses, musicians, politicians and sports people hold a prominent position in the media and as role models for today’s youth, and this issue is both very serious, and (in some cases) very much disregarded as an issue. 

The Pixel Project's "16 For 16" Campaign, “16 days of activism against gender violence while raising funds for the cause to end violence against women”, offered examples of celebrities who have supported, and helped raise awareness of the cause. The big names included the likes of powerful female superstars; Oprah Winfrey, Reece Witherspoon, and Australia’s own Nicole Kidman. However, some of the most impacting campaigners were prominent male figures. 

It is so important for men and even young boys to have positive role models who can express the issues present in society, including those which are sometimes hard to talk about. In this case, Daniel Craig, notably recognised as the renowned character, James Bond, advises the male population that it is okay to be an advocate of female rights; to be against violent acts towards women; and that it is possible to do so whilst maintaining that 'masculine' persona they most desperately must upkeep. The video mentioned below was produced by Daniel Craig for free, reminding viewers of the gender inequality that is still present today. It invokes the powerful message that although many believe that women are now equal, perhaps there is still a lot of work to be done in order for society to become completely balanced;

“Famed for his role as James Bond, Daniel Craig showed his support for women’s human rights and equality on March 11^th of this year, International Women’s Day, by featuring in a short film, Are we equal? created by Equality Now. Beginning the short film as James Bond, ‘the great lover of women’, he finishes the film in drag. Stepping into a woman’s shoes, he demonstrates the realities of being a woman in today’s world.”

So, are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking.
- Emmalie

You know what's funny about life?

The fact that one moment you can be happy, living a life that is so joyful, then all of a sudden one text, one call, one PARTICULAR thing can change you. It can be for a minute, an hour, a day or your whole life.

You go from happy to sad.

Your mood changes.

Everything crumbles down.

You hate everything.

I get it, life can be shit sometimes. But you cannot let the negativeness consume you. If it's a mistake you did, take it as a lesson. You will learn from it and you won't do it again.

If it's something that you did not deserve, ignore it. I know its hard, but trust me, you don't want it to take control of your life.

I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. 

Here are some questions for you...

Are you doing something you don't love? 
Are you working in the wrong field?
Are you studying the wrong course? 
Are you waiting for Mr or Mrs Right?






Well what are you doing with your life?


Get up, make a plan, and go change your life for the good.
It is your life, and your happiness which is the most important.

I know it sounds extremely cliche, but life is short.




...yes,


we live in a life where we have to face obstacles. THAT IS LIFE. I mean, how boring and dead would your life be if everything was to run smoooothly, and perfectly.
Look at it this way, you will have stories to tell about your life and you will learn.


I know you know all the things i've mentioned, but sometimes they need to be re-told.


caroline 

Is what you're living for worth dying for?

Today, I have a story to tell.

There was once a boy who felt ill.

No, he wasn't down with the fever and no, he hadn't eaten something slightly off the night before.

He felt like there wasn't much to look forward to in life, and he felt

helpless.

So I asked him, "Why not do something to make you feel better?"

He replied, "There's nothing to do."

And so I compiled a list of absolutely exhilarating-ly invigorating and sensational activities (and I do hope that you, dear reader, will hopefully accomplish most of these things in your lifetime):

1. Send flowers anonymously.

2. Complete a 1000-piece puzzle.

3. Build a fort.

4. Have a tea-party in it.

5. Volunteer at a soup kitchen to help those that are less fortunate than you.

6. Make a time capsule.

7. Ask an old person at the bus stop to tell you a story.

8. Hope they don't think you're a creep.

9. Meditate.

10. Frown until your mouth hurts (then see how much easier it is to smile).

11. Start a sock collection.

12. Sit down and complete the crossword in tomorrow's newspaper.

13. Paint a mural.

14. Drive until you reach the ocean. 

15. Write.

16. Chop onions until you cry (or if this is too easy, chop onions until you stop crying).

17. Make a snow angel without ruining it when you step out.

18. Say hello to everyone you pass in one day.

19. Complete a triathlon.

20. Bake. 

lots of love

-srisha

Think Positive!

Positivity = Happiness

Say NO to Negativity!

Hey, you! … 

… Has anyone ever given you a compliment which you have bashfully brushed off like a fly hovering over that delicious cupcake you’re holding, thinking they must have only said it to ‘be nice’?…

… Have you looked at a celebrity, [whose makeup is being retouched 24/7 and hair ever so slightly curled to perfection by her very own stylist], and thought, oh boy, what I would do to look like that!...

… Are you the person who sits in a lecture next to the girl wearing a $400 pair of jeans, so anxiously comparing the way you look next to them, that you forget to listen to the very detailed description of applied statistics you now have no idea about? …

… Do you look at yourself under a much harsher light than others most likely have towards you? …

If so, it seems you may have a serious case of negative self-perception, otherwise known as THE NEGS.

Today, so many women (and guys, you too) feel the pressure to be perfect. They have it set in their minds that they aren’t beautiful, or handsome, and therefore aren’t worthy of the compliments that people give them. This attitude needs to change. We need to start saying NO to negativity.

It IS difficult to feel attractive and positive about yourself in a society where image is so highly regarded, but look at all those beautiful people around you; in your train carriage, at your school, being served at work, sitting across from you at a cafe, in your very own home! YOU are one of those beautiful people. And it isn’t just because of your ravishing smile or perfectly aligned eyes or the fact that you have adorable dimples, it is because you are you!

Comedian, Parks and Recreation superstar, and all-round super lady, Amy Poehler, is doing wonders for young women and girls who are suffering from the negs. Her hit YouTube channel and website, Smart Girls ( http://sgatp.net/ ), offers advice and entertainment, in order for you to, according to their motto, "CHANGE THE WORLD BY BEING YOURSELF!"

Sometimes we all need a bit of encouragement to get us going in the right direction towards confidence and loving yourself. Check out Amy’s video giving advice about how to get rid of those self-negativity weeds riddling inside you, and letting that positive plant grow! http://youtu.be/AkgB4KHzJTc   

[PS: Another cure for the negs is laughter, and I would highly recommend Amy’s sitcom Parks and Recreation in which Amy plays female politician and positive female empowerment activist, Leslie Knope. Or, if you’re short on time, there’s this hilarious American Best Buy ad, http://youtu.be/61fXa9hTowY]
- Emmalie