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

Women in the media

Ellen Page, a well-known actress... (you may know her from the film, 'Juno') admits to being a feminist. Page talks about the issue of women in the media.

“...And everybody is so critical of women. If there's a movie starring a man that tanks, then I don’t see an article about the fact that the movie starred a man and that must be why it bombed. Then a film comes out where a woman is in the lead, or a movie comes out where a bunch of girls are roller derbying, and it doesn't make much money and you see articles about how women can’t carry a film.”

Funnily enough, the movie Ellen Page starred in, Whip it (2009), was only able to achieve $16 million worldwide. Why though? If you look at a film lead by male actors, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, 'The Hangover' (2009), made a whopping $299 million – Wow! Now if we look at this way, two movies, both have a 'funny' theme or genre attached to them and both came out in 2009, although one of them does better then the other... and in this case, 'The Hangover' was more successful. This just raises the question of whether a movie being too based on female drama and girl power is considered “boring” or “not interesting” by the audience, specifically the male population. These certain ideas that are currently flowing around, raise the issue of how leading actresses (particularly in the famous “Hollywood”) are being treated quite differently to actors. 

NEVERTHELESS, the negativeness stops there. The most popular, classic movie of all time... 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious' – yep you guessed it right, Mary Poppins!!! Film led by a female actress, Julie Andrews made $629, 363, 600 million in 1964. Incredible. I say, girl power all the way.

Article:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/apr/04/ellen-page-interview


Caroline Lazar

Smile, over anything and everything

Since July 2011, as quoted in body and soul, I think there has been changed statistics. The article states that 97% of women are thinking more negatively about themselves than positive, but with the group of ladies I surround myself with I disagree. Although yes, negative thoughts can damage our self-esteem, however it is not healthy to dwell on it. 
Affected memory, sleep disturbances and emotional upsets can be the results of negative thinking, due to the impedance of impulses being transmitted between the central nervous system and the brain. The immune system can also be affection, resulting in flus and colds.
Even so, it can affect oneself in social situations and with workplace, as with low self-esteem comes withdrawal and solitude. However, with time and support it can be overcome. Find someone who boosts you up and spend time with them. Do things that make you smile. Smile. Smile over anything and everything.
Spend a day in a grassy hill watching the clouds go by.
Watch a movie and cry until your mascara runs down your face.
Catch a train, go somewhere new.
Be new, cut your hair differently.
Pierce your nose, rebel against everyone else.
Smile.
And most of all, believe in yourself.
Because at the end of the day, that’s all that does matter. 

-laura

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/soul+happiness/wellbeing/10+steps+to+thinking+positive+,12909
http://www.naturalnews.com/029850_negativity_thinking.html

Male Perspective on Female Body Image

Article: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Men-talk-about-female-body-image/

Women are constantly worried about how they look ranging from their face, stomach, thighs and arms.

In the article, it states “Almost two-thirds of men believe that women spend far too much time worrying about their appearance”. In my opinion, women (especially teens) have a hard time believing they are attractive based on who they are, what they stand for and their inner beauty. Society in this century portrays a particular type of appearance to classify beauty. The image represented in magazines, fashion runways and famous celebrities is idealistic and impacts girls of all ages in both positive but specifically negative ways.

Females feel without having this perfect appearance of skinny body, perfect bum and boobs, beautiful hair, perfect skin and impeccable fashion sense they are somewhat uglier than other girls and therefore do not attract the opposite sex. They lose their self- esteem, confidence and essentially become less comfortable in their own skin which can lead to bad decisions such as:

• Binge eating
• Starving themselves to lose weight
• Not being able to leave the house without make up
• Relying on people to compliment but then not accepting it
• Not following their dreams because they have lost belief in themselves

Reading this article, the punch shows the perspective from a guy and what they see in women. From several of the comments, a comment from the men that really spoke volumes to me even if it was cheesy was “I could tick every box for their physical qualities but the greatest physical attraction of all is being in love with someone”. In my opinion women need to start being confident in who they are and what they stand for.

• If you want to lose weight, EXERCISE for yourself. Do it because you want to do it to improve your health or be comfortable with your body, not to be like somebody on a magazine or impress a guy
• If you want to dress nicely and be up to date with the latest fashion trends. Do it because it interests you and you like the piece of clothing and you feel comfortable wearing it, not because you want to blend in with other people or you feel like you have to. Especially people struggling financially

    Ruth Getachew

Welcome to our blog!

Need a bit of inspiration? A confidence boost? A new positive outlook?
Welcome to our blog! It's new and in the process of development, but we will strive to make it the best we can and hopefully share some positive vibes and get you thinking about who YOU are and why you are beautiful inside and out! As well as maybe telling you about something we found interesting that we thought you would too!
We're a group of Macquarie University students (in Australia) posting this for IT & Society. Our group consists of; Caroline Lazar, Emmalie Hayes, Laura McCann, Ruth Getachew, Srisha Sritharan.

To give you guys a bit of an idea about our future design plans, we've started off using some pastel feminine formatting, because, well, it's super pretty, but also because it relates to the vibe we want you guys to get when reading our blog posts! Our twitter follows the same peachey pink colour scheme with an awesome floral background. If you have any suggestions for how you think our blog should look, or what we should write our posts on, PLEASE comment them below! We'd love to hear your feedback :)

Enjoy, subscribe, contribute, and most of all LOVE YOURSELF!
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Below is an image of our blog storyboard plan, and below that is a pimped out version showing off our skillz ;)