Digging the hole deeper

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8S5cBw3OZo 
"Alex G songs to dig the hole deeper"

I am digging myself deeper into this pit, deeper than the pit in my stomach that forms when I think about my feelings. It is more poisonous than the pit of a cherry. 

Is this youthfulness? Have I peaked already? I sure feel like it. 

My name's Sandy, I'm 14 years old
My insides are changing
And right now I just wanna grow up 

Sandy is how it feels to be a 14-year-old girl, and while I was 14 just 2 years ago now, I can't help but think that I will be sandy forever. Why does adolescence feel so alienating?
I think the reality of where I'm at in life is really hitting me right now. I previously posted about the Fig Tree Analogy, and I'm almost certain that the reason I'm being hit with all this again is that the reality of growing up and going to college in less than a year is really crashing down on me. I want to climb that tree and never come down because I cant look up at those figs from the bottom anymore. 

"Sometimes I just wanna be happy" (sometimes - Alex G)

Forever the angsty teenage girl that finds comfort in music and books and movies, completely lost and unsure of herself </3

Who am i?

 Do you ever feel like there's something wrong with you but you can't quite explain it or figure it out? Me too. I wish this could be a post where I help others going through the same thing but unfortunately, it's not because I don't even know how to help myself. Every day I feel like I'm different people in one body, my mood and personality feel so mercurial that I don't even know who I am. I can't figure myself out and don't feel understood by anybody. I don't feel like anyone gets me. I always feel like a problem, and I feel like there is a problem inside me, but I don't know what it is. I want to be normal- I said this to my old therapist and she answered with "What is normal?" and what I think normal is, but I can't put that into words. Normal is just normal, normal is not what I'm feeling, it's something else - it's just normal, you know? I don't know who I am and it's killing me, I want to know who I am. I want someone to understand me but I can never find them. I want to be left alone but I also want help, I can't face whatever this is that's inside of me - I don't have the guts to truly understand myself. So maybe that is my problem? Maybe it's because I can never face what makes me uncomfortable and do something challenging. I don't want to be a person, but I want to be every person, I want to understand every emotion - maybe to try and figure out my own. I want to be something else, anything but myself.

But I'm just a teenage girl, is this really what life is? Is this really what I will be forever, unsure of myself and of my life?

I want to go to bed and sleep through it all.

"hell is a teenage girl" - Jennifer's Body

The fig tree analogy - i want to be understood

 

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.” - The Bell Jar 

The fig tree is a metaphor used by Sylvia Plath in her novel 'The Bell Jar'. I hold this book dear to my heart and I love Sylvia Plath very much. She just gets me, maybe it is because she was once a teenage girl or maybe it's the mental illness that she also endured. This particular metaphor really resonates with me as I have NO clue where I want my life to lead, I have so many ideas and so many dreams that I can't live out. I'm unsure which fig to pick from my tree and which one is right for me. What if the fig I choose is rotten, or it's not sweet enough for me? I am the most indecisive person ever and I will admit I rely on others often to help me/ make decisions for me. It's a bad habit, I know but I don't know where to start. I cannot pick one fig from the tree, the sheer prospect of losing the others is daunting to me. This analogy is my Roman empire because this is truly all I can think of at the moment, the idea of having to pick A-levels for college and decide what I want to be doing in 10 years time is truly frightening. I fear that by the time I make this decision, all opportunities will be lost and all of my options gone. It is incredibly overwhelming and quite paralysing, I feel completely stuck and frozen. I can't face the things that I find difficult, I cannot do it. I always choose the easy way out and I fear that in this, there isn't one. 
I hate the idea of uncertainty and not knowing where I'm going to be in the future, I need it laid out for me, I need to know what is going to happen. I can't help but think I'd rather starve at the crotch of this tree than choose a fig to eat.

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”

Who am I, if I cannot be everything? 

I think that Sylvia and those much like her could be the only ones on the planet who TRULY understand, who really know how my brain works. I don't want my journal to be the only thing that understands me, because it can't reassure me, and tell me I'm okay.

Sylvia Plath is someone who inspires me, not only because she truly assimilated things in incredible ways, but because I am so much like she was. I completely understand her. The alienation and self-destruction she describes in her work resonates with me in ways I simply cannot put into words. Sometimes I wonder if it's just a coincidence that I am so similar to her, or maybe I am connected to her somehow. It sounds silly, but I want to believe that there is some link there, even though I know it's not true. As much as I wish I was not born into this body and growing into this mind, I do sometimes enjoy being able to understand and feel such complex and deep things - even though it brings great pain. Because I want to understand everything, every emotion and idea. I need to understand it. I know I'm naive and unpragmatic.

Will I ever be understood?

Rotting (a poem)

Something is rotting deep inside of me,
something eating me,
consuming my marrow and ingurgitating my blood.

It sickens me to a painful extent,
It bludgeons my limbic system,
leaving it capricious and mercurial.

It is like an acid, different to the one I feel in my throat,
it mindlessly dissolves me,
It is a heaviness that pulverises my soul.

Surgery cannot remove it,
Neither can the endless slits of my fragile shell that I hope will drain the venom,
My rind is slowly peeled away, decorticated.
leaving me vulnerable and empty,
inside and out.

not yet a corpse
but still, I rot. 

How do I give this sickness a name?
What is my diagnosis?

Maybe it is girlhood,
maybe it is my hormones,
or maybe, just maybe
it's me.


Note- I wrote this poem about a deep sense of something inside myself that doesn't feel right. It seems to be common among teenage girls like myself, so maybe it is just girlhood and our emotions or maybe it's something deeper that we all seem to struggle with.

Give women the benefit of the doubt

 I never thought I'd be coming to Taylor Swift's defence about something, I have never been a fan of her music or her jet-setting tendencies but there has been a moment that has been the hallmark of something I've been trying to say but haven't until now.

Historically, women have always had the short end of the stick a lot of the time. It's not a crazy thing to say, but if you look at pretty much any career field or historical event, women do not get treated with much respect. Specifically, there is one privilege that men get that women just get denied over and over again that I never hear people talk about, and it is the benefit of the doubt. This is something I feel we're losing as a society, overall across the board, but specifically with women. When I say 'benefit of the doubt' what I mean is say, I am going for a walk at night and I walk past a garbage bag that looks slightly human-shaped, and I'm the only one that walks past it that night. There is a security camera that catches it and I'm the only one that walks past, so when they check the footage, they think that I killed the person because there's a body in the bag. I'm not the killer, but if I'm not given the benefit of the doubt, then it looks like I am. This comparison is dramatic compared to the situation but basically, it means just presuming that someone believes or did a certain thing based on a snippet or brief glimpse of them doesn't necessarily mean they did that thing or believe in something. 

So, Taylor Swift went to a football game and sat in her box where celebrities and important people sit. She was in the box and Britney Mahomes, an American soccer player, who recently endorsed Trump's presidency, was pictured hugging Taylor. People got incredibly mad, in a way I haven't seen before, with people saying that this is what will 'bring Taylor's empire down' and that she's 'really done it now' and called her a Trump supporter. I saw Instagram infographics, there is one creator who makes infographics any time something happens, just losing his mind over it. The infographic was calling Taylor Swift a disgusting person and people were freaking out because they were saying she's a Trump supporter and is disgusting for hanging out with supporters. So let me bring you back down to earth for a second, Taylor Swift probably has thousands of acquaintances in her life, the population of the United States is half Trump supporters and half Republicans. Out of those Trump supporters, there's going to be some Swifties. Out of all of her acquaintances, there are going to be some, regardless of even if 99% of her friends and acquaintances are people who support Kamala Harris or just don't support Trump, that do. I think that's natural if you live in America and you know more than 10 people who aren't online, you probably have an uncle or a friend from high school who supports Trump. You don't have to be friends with them, but it is so unrealistic to expect Taylor Swift to have a mystical trump supporter repellant on her at all times that makes them go away. It's one thing to expect her to immediately memorise everyone's political leanings, and give her the benefit of the doubt. This could be someone she's known for a long time and she just wants to say hi, this could be that she doesn't know that this woman endorsed Trump in any capacity. 

Literally, 2 nights ago, she endorsed Kamala Harris. Now, I will say I understand the implication after she went so hard for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. So she has a history of endorsing Democratic political candidates, but to just assume that she is all of a sudden a Republican just because she hugged a Trump Supporter is bonkers. Just touch the grass.

A lot of people are coming to her defence saying how two people despite political differences can still be friends. Then the infographic I mentioned says that's not possible. Well, here's the thing, it may be a little controversial but you can still be friends with people that you disagree with and I think you should if you're comfortable with it. You should still be friends with people you disagree with because you can offer them different perspectives on things. I have friends with completely different political views to my own and have had horrible beliefs on things and I have been able to show them a different perspective that has changed their mind.

To look at half of the population of the US and write the millions of people off as evil demons because they have, albeit, horrible and disgusting, evil beliefs. But to write them off the way you would write off a car, to never deal with them again is crazy to me. I understand it Is not for everyone, not everyone wants to get into political debates especially if it's something about your identity, like a racist then I'm not going near those people. But you can work with people to make their beliefs not as horrible, and that's something I enjoy a bit, it makes me happy to change people's toxic beliefs. I'm not saying that's what Taylor Swift was doing, I doubt she hugged Britney Mahomes and tried to convert her into different beliefs. 


So that was one example of giving women the benefit of the doubt, my next example is Chappell Roan at the VMAS last night. Chappell Roan has set her boundaries as a normal human in her position would do and people are losing their minds over it. Last night at the VMAs she was doing the red carpet and there was a photographer. First I need to mention, there was a TikTok of her pointing to a photographer, telling them to 'shut the f** up', right off the bat people were like 'Here she goes again', not even questioning what happened or why she was saying that. With people just saying she's got an attitude or she's ungrateful, once again no benefit of the doubt was given. People didn't even care and wanted to think about what happened, they just saw her screaming. A bunch of other perspectives came out and another video came out and the photographer apparently yelled first at her which prompted her to yell his words back to him. He was also apparently being rude to other photographers. So it was warranted.

But if you're one of those people who are like 'Why are you saying it's just women who get that', look at what male artists can get away with! Beloved male artists can go on Joe Rogan TWICE and not get a single tweet about it. (not saying Joe Rogan is the be-all and end-all of being a trump support, he's not even a supporter but you get me, right? maybe you don't) But imagine if instead of Post Malone going on the Joe Rogan podcast twice, it was someone like Chappell Roan. People would tear her to shreds, but you don't see that with male celebrities. They have a sort of armour, they have so much more leniency and can get away with so much more, hopefully, you've already realised this.

I want to talk about the psychology of why people hate giving the benefit of the doubt these days, why I think we see less and less of it and why I think it's important. If you think about it, it's so much easier to, if there's a potentially complex situation that there are not all of the answers to and you don't know people's intentions yet, just create something and then that's the running truth in your mind. It's easier in your brain to think that because Taylor Swift hugged a Trump supporter, that means she is also one. Rather than thinking maybe Taylor has a lot of friends, a few of whom might be a Trump supporter, and maybe she's not really friends with her, just saying hi. It takes more gears turning and I realise that a lot of people who are chronically online don't have a lot of those gears, they're putting WD-40 on them and it's not budging.

There's a difference between being completely ignorant and giving the benefit of the doubt. It's not like you should always turn a blind eye, for example, if Taylor Swift all of a sudden started only hanging out with Trump supporters, that would be concerning and we'd pull back a bit on the benefit of the doubt. I think it's rational and human to give people the benefit of the doubt and if they start abusing it then you stop. But to not give it at all, is a very nasty thing to do because then you're subjecting people to those facts you've created in your mind. To think of someone based, not on fact but on the facts you've created in your mind that's not real, is evil. 

So in general, as a rule of thumb, try not to assume things about people. There's a saying I've heard, that assuming means making an 'ass of u and me'. It's true, you embarrass yourself when you assume. In life, don't assume things - it's easier, but don't because you can't jump to conclusions if you don't have facts and you can't create them in your head. 

Hoarder Heaven

 

We've seen people doing the absolute most in terms of organising their kitchens on TikTok. From buying food that comes in plastic packaging and putting it in even more plastic, to now what is known as "fridgescaping".  I had no clue what this was and honestly thought it was very ridiculous. Maybe it's because we don't have pockets as deep as the people who are now aestheticising their fridges? You're probably sitting there thinking well, what gives? Why would you waste time doing something like this? Jokes aside, fridgescaping is a practice in which you put plenty of random decor inside of your fridge to make the food inside look more appealing, more aesthetically pleasing so you actually eat all of the fruit you bought last week. (talking to those like me with rotting strawberries at the back of the fridge...promise I'll get to them soon!).

It's weirdly enough, putting food on a pedestal with some even taking it as far as adding flowers, picture frames and fairy lights. Fridges are not necessarily supposed to be aesthetically pleasing. Clean and organised, of course! However, I'm not sold on consuming more stuff just to put In my fridge, not food but random junk. You're not even seeing the inside of your fridge most of the time, that's why to me fridgescaping is dumb and ridiculous.

Fridgescapers are now a genre of influencer on TikTok, many creators are filling up this niche with some even creating weekly themes for their fridges. One creator did a Bridgerton theme, calling it "fridgerton". What timeline are we living in? Did the big sea combined with being in lockdown just push us into a completely different parallel universe? I don't understand putting junk in your fridge and calling it fridgescaping. Dementia patients are treated for this kind of behaviour, yet it's glorified on the internet. I think if you have the time to decant your milk into a pretty pink jug you are rich and out of touch and an overconsumer. Framing photos too? The amount of decor is honestly giving off hoarder vibes. It doesn't make sense, it is absolutely not practical whatsoever to have flowers, picture frames and fairy lights in front of your eggs. 
Where does all of this decor go once it's all said and done? Constant themes every week must rack up somewhere in the house and in price too. It cannot be cheap at all to do this. These kinds of aesthetics encourage the masses to go out and play pretend and repeat and do exactly the same thing these influencers are doing, which doesn't make sense to me. I feel like that Is one of the places in your house that you do not need to decorate, you don't need every single part of your life to be aesthetic.

Overconsumption has been such a wide topic as of late, and for good reason. It's one thing to have multiple aesthetics in terms of your clothing style, but you're going to wear those clothes. But you can't exactly eat that framed picture of a horse that is sitting in front of your juice carton. Those flowers should be out where you can see them and admire them not rotting in the fridge. Let's be honest, you're not going to be fridgescaping all year round. There is a generational crash out coming...




So why do fridgescapers do this, what's the motive? A TikToker said "1. It helps me keep better track of my produce". I have to ask how it helps, there's so much junk that you have to shuffle around when you want to get to the lettuce. Moving the picture frame when you want milk, nobody is actually doing that. It's funny to me when influencers promote this lifestyle because they can only do this because they have the time and the money, the average person can't do it. "2. it encourages me to try new foods". This intrigues me, as the person admits that they buy aesthetically pleasing foods for the sake of it matching the aesthetic of the fridge. At this point, you're only buying food to match what's inside of the fridge. But I guess if it's encouraging them to try new foods then I'll shut up. "3. I cook more than ever". You have to, you have to put all that food to good use. "4. I have less food waste". I refuse to believe that putting tonnes of TK Maxx decor inside of your fridge creates less food waste, if you had a lot of food wastage prior to fridgescaping then that's not the fridge's problem, that's a you problem.

It doesn't stop there, the general practicalness of fridgescaping is quite low. If someone has money pumping through their veins and all the time in the world then they can go ahead and do it. There is often more decor in their fridge than actual food, it's no longer a fridge but a cold display case, that after the tiktok is filmed and finished, is going to be taken out. It kind of paints a picture as to why I think some of these people are partaking in this trend because unfortunately, inflation is so rampant. The cost of living is abysmal at the moment, to say the least. People are having to go home with not as many groceries as they used to be getting. So when it's time to put these away, there's not much to put away. It is sad, its scary to see that your fridge or pantry is not stocked with enough food. So, what if the people who are partaking in this trend are filling up their fridges with useless junk because it makes them feel better about having a fuller fridge as opposed to the fridge being empty with just milk and cheese or some other mere basics. Fridgescaping takes them away from the reality that lies ahead of us, it's not the entire reason fridgescaping exists and is a thing on TikTok because a lot if not most of the fridgescapers you see on tiktok are rich, very very rich. This level of consumerism is dangerous in my opinion, especially because we know companies are moving incredibly quickly nowadays when it comes to pumping out 'what's new', 'what's trending' and things 'as seen on tiktok'. Such as when the 'very cutesy, very demure and mindful' trend came about a few weeks ago, brands were quick to start sending out emails using this phrase with a '5% off' sale, to try to entice people to buy from them because they know what is trending at the moment. 
For example, the conversation around Shein mass producing every single microtrend on TikTok is an old discussion as we are very much aware of that today. But any and every trend you see on TikTok, you will see that product the very next day. There will come a time when we start seeing fridgescaping collections and decor, specifically made for fridges, that to be honest don't need to be produced. As human beings we are already producing so much waste, especially at the moment we are encouraged to consume products constantly. If none of these decorations look aesthetic, pretty or trending then people would be called hoarders and told to get help for it. Yet just because there are cute little mushrooms and pretty bowls and fairy lights, it's okay. 

One of the most popular fridgescapers on Tiktok was just featured on Inside Edition. "the most popular fridgescaper" shouldn't even be a sentence. It's getting quite dystopian now, first people were buying "trashcan covers" to aestheticise their trash because they didn't want an 'ugly wheely bin'. To now people trying to aestheticise what is inside of their fridge. 

The main issue I have with this trend is that it is going to die out very quickly and people will move on. All of this stuff people are buying is going to very quickly end back up at flooded thrift stores and will end up at the tip. And nobody who does these things seems to be aware or care about that, and there is some sort of nihilism in it, where people are like 'We're not going to be alive forever, so oh well'. But the more this happens, the faster our planet is going to be destroyed. Unfortunately, we are going to be seeing the consequences of it even quicker, so while we won't live forever, we will probably face those consequences in our lifetime. A lot of these people think it's just going to affect future generations and not us, but they shouldn't have to suffer that just because we don't know them. Those future generations are our children and so on, so we should be doing everything we can to make sure they don't suffer.

In conclusion, whilst yes, the fridgescaping fridges are pretty it is just not real life. It is not practical, long-lasting or sustainable. It is simply just a microtrend that people are running through. Look at Stanley Cups, another overconsumption trend, nobody is really talking or raving about them anymore because they were also just another trend. Nobody is lining up for hours outside of a store in the freezing cold and fighting over cups anymore because nobody cares anymore. 

So, put your food in the fridge and just eat!

How Anakin Skywalker became a tragic hero

 

Anakin Skywalker - also known as Darth Vader is a popular character who embraces the archetype of a tragic hero. His hamartia caused his downfall. 
George Lucas - director and creator of Star Wars did an incredible job with how he has written Skywalker and shown how greed and hatred can lead to downfall. This essay will explore Anakin's downfall and the concept of a tragic hero.











What is a tragic hero?

In Aristotle's 'Poetics', he suggests that a hero of a tragedy must elicit 'a sense of pity and fear within the audience'. He stated that "the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity". Au fond, the focus of the hero should not be the loss of his virtue. He argues that we should feel pity for a character who suffers unfairly due to their own actions. At the same time, we should experience fear when we consider that such misfortune could happen to us in a similar situation. Aristotle explained that such a change of fortune should be from "good to bad" instead of "bad to good". This change of fortune happens to the tragic hero, not because of "depravity or vice" but of an error in judgment, this error is described as hamartia or the fatal flaw. The hero is both highly moral and capable and it is these exact qualities that lead the hero into tragedy. Many of the most famous tragic heroes appear in Greek literature, such as Sophocles and Euripides. Oedipus is a famous example of a tragic hero in Greek mythology. 

Nietzsche's 'The Birth of Tragedy..' presents a unique perspective on tragic heroism. In this work, Nietzsche argues that the tragic hero is a product of two opposing forces: the Apollonian and the Dionysian. The Apollonian side is associated with the Greek god Apollo, who is known for beauty, rationality, and harmony. It represents order, reason, and the individual. The Dionysian side is associated with the Greek god Dionysus, who is the god of wine, revelry, and ecstasy/pleasure.  
Key points from Nietzsche's view include: the hero's downfall is inevitable - they are destined from the start despite their efforts. The audience's experience of the hero's suffering is a form of catharsis. Lastly, the hero represents the human condition, the hero's struggle mirrors the universal experience of suffering and mortality. According to Nietzsche, the tragic hero is a manifestation of the tension between these two forces.

What makes Anakin a tragic hero?

Anakin was gifted, he had many powerful qualities about himself. There was the possibility of Anakin being the chosen one of an ancient Jedi prophecy, who was destined to bring balance to the force. He had exceptional skills with the force and believed he should progress faster in his learning as a padawan, an early sign of his arrogance. Anakin was seen as the hope for the future of the Jedi Order. 
We see Anakin develop from a sweet, intelligent young boy with huge potential and a future ahead of him, to a young man with the same qualities, becoming a stronger and greater Jedi, to a power-hungry tragic hero who seeks more power and more control. This makes his story all the more heartbreaking for the audience as we see the development of his character.

Anakin's fatal flaw was his fear of loss and his greed - his need for more power. His fear of loss and refusal to accept mortality was particular to his wife, Padme Amidala, whom he dreamt would die in childbirth. This fear clouded his judgment and made him susceptible to the dark side of the force. He was lured into the dark side by Chancellor Palpatine (Darth Sidious), who promised him the power to save people from death, including his wife. You can pick up subtle clues throughout all 3 of the prequel movies of this eventual luring in things Palpatine says to Anakin. This foreshadowing is subtle yet very effective.

His hubris was his belief that he could prevent Padme's death, even if it meant defying the Jedi Order. He also believed in his infallibility, often that he was above the rules and his actions were justified. His ambition turned into an overwhelming desire and greed for power, to become the most powerful Jedi and protect those he loved. He also believed the Jedi Order was corrupt (maybe because they didn't give him the rank of master - haha) and that he could do better on his own - he told Padme that they could rule the galaxy together if she joined him. 

The audience experiences a sense of catharsis as they witness Anakin's transformation from hero to villain, the catharsis comes from the realization that even the most noble and righteous individuals can be corrupted by their own flaws.

Anakin also bears resemblance in several scenes, to a painting called 'The Fallen Angel' by Alexandre Cabanel. This painting depicts the devil after his fall from grace and his loss of divine power. The anguished expression of the fallen angel and the way his body is positioned convey the pain and suffering, the landscape behind him representing the dark despair and desolation of his fall.

Anakin's story can also be comparable to the story of Lucifer, the fallen angel - satan. A quote from Ezekiel 28:12–17, "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" can be applied to Anakin, whom before his destructive behavior was seen as the chosen one and held great power (and beauty).  
Lucifer was not satisfied with worshipping God and instead, he wanted to be worshipped. This is similar to how Anakin believed the Jedi Order was corrupt and he believed that he could rule the galaxy with his own empire, holding all power and being looked up to.
Lucifer was believed to have once been a beautiful angel ("the star of the morning") but he defied God and fell from grace. He was fallen due to his pride, ("I will make myself most high") he was 'perfect' until unrighteousness was found in him. He was destined from the start to have this fate, just as Anakin was.


"And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker. That it was all you. Is you. Only you. You did it. It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith- Because now your self is all you will ever have. And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame. This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker...Forever..."

#WordsOftheWild

 The Scottish Wildlife Trust are doing a writing competition where you can write a short story, poem, song lyrics or other creative piece of writing relating to the native wildlife of Scotland. I decided to enter into the Junior section with a short description of a Scottish moor at dawn. While it isn't my absolute best piece of work, it has plenty of descriptions of the setting and some fancy adjectives which make it fairly decent. 

My entry

Over the moor as the vernal mist from the dawn turns to mizzle, the mountain hares bound and fleet. Disturbed from their grazing on heather and sedges, they zig-zag through the moor to the heath towards their serene shelters in the shallow forms. A mother and father lead their leverets to shelter, ushering them into the forms as the early bucolic sun kisses the moorland.  

A shepherd emerges over a hill, herding his sheep onto the verdant moor. The docile lambs are led to patches of lush vegetation by the ewes. As the flock ruminates, the shepherd observantly monitors them. He sets himself down on a stump, taking a moment to rest and to eat. The grouses whirr and whistle, crossbills chirp and sing out into the placid stretch of the moor.

In the loch, a romp of otters slide down the river banks and feed on the perch and pikes. Herons wade through the diaphanous water, hunting for fish and squawking. A symphony of nature's instruments bridge together like the verses of a song, creating a healing balm. The screams of the sliding otters creates a cacophony of noise, but it is soon drowned out by the dancing of the wind in the willow trees and the swishing of its branches. The dendrites of the willow reach over the loch's water like a viridescent blanket. 

As the shepherd leaves the moor and the sheep baa and bleat, the mizzle dies down and the mist returns to envelope the expanse of the moor. Once the disturbance of noise fades and the light shower vanishes, the hares return to the heath to graze on the heather, the delicate and dense flowers sway gently in the soothing spring breeze. The leverets squeak and bound as they nibble on the grass.

The matutinal sun ascends in the sky, bathing the moor in a tepid and tender glow and the creatures begin to amble along the moor.

I wasn't sure what to name it so i settled on quite a basic name, 'the moor at dawn'. It took me some time and the use of a thesaurus to settle on some nice adjectives. I'm quite proud of it though!

The competition closes at midnight on 31st of August 2024, which as i'm writing this, will be tomorrow.

coke, sweet coke

 This afternoon a friend of mine offered me a can of cherry coca-cola which was full sugar, i looked at the calories and sugar content and was mortified. A single can (330ml) is 152kcals, with 39 grams of sugar and a 500ml bottle has 210kcals and 54 grams of sugar!! 

Health risks
 Did you know that one or two cans of coca-cola a day can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by over 20%? The daily recommended amount of free sugars for an adult in the UK is 30 grams, so if you are consuming a can or several cans of coke a day along with your usual diet, where you may also be consuming free sugars, you'd be over the daily recommended amount. This poses several severe health risks, not just weight gain and sugar addiction, but metabolic syndromes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, tooth decay and gout. 

So what are the alternatives?
While it isn't necessary to cut soda out of your diet entirely, it is better to cut down and consume alternatives instead. The best alternative is obviously water, it is proven to have many health benefits and will not cause any of the risks mentioned.

Diet and low sugar/calorie drinks are better than full sugar, but less is better. Cutting down gradually from sugary to diet sodas is a good way to go. 
Water is the safest option of them all, and while it seems boring and flavourless it helps the body in many ways. If water seems to boring for you then try adding a slice of lemon or cucumber or maybe some frozen fruit. Non-caloric flavourings also work well. 
green tea or black tea is a healthy alternative to plain water for people who prefer flavoured drinks. Tea doesnt have any calories and green tea contains an antioxidant called EGCG. Caffeine free teas can also be found in stores if you are looking to cut back on caffeine. 
coffee can be calorie free - if you take it without milk or creamer. They can be low calorie if you use skimmed milk or nut milk such as almond milk. You can also find low-caffeine coffees.
fruit/vegetable juice contain plenty of calories but also contain essential nutrients. each portion contains a serving of fruit or veg, allowing you to get 1 of your 5 a day. 

What should be done about the sale of sugary drinks?
Im not afraid to say that i think sugary drinks such as coca-cola should be banned from stores for several reasons. It should be illegal for a store to sell drinks such as coke and pepsi. Not only do drinks such as these have several risks to someones health, but they can be addictive. Some of the same parts of the brain that are involved in drug addiction are also involved when you eat, allowing the creation of signals similar to those in addiction, when you consume certain foods.

references - https://www.webmd.com/diet/drinking-cola-good-for-you
 

First blog post!

 First post in my new blog!

Im Jeannie :)

I'm excited to have somewhere to just write about what I want and talk about things that interest me. I love to go on and on about things, so there'll be plentyyy of that. I'm pretty unserious about things - but I can be serious when I want to be. 
i also get really sad sometimes and start writing to help myself get through it - so every so often you'll probably see me talking about Sylvia Plath or my internal crisis (after all, I'm just a teenage girl :p)

The name of my blog- Dream of Jeannie - comes from the 60s TV show, I Dream of Jeannie. Considering my pen name is Jeannie, I thought it was pretty cute so I went with it. Honestly, I think one of the hardest things about starting a blog is coming up with a name for it! 

Enjoy!!!