Body image | stylenua

Hey everyone,

Today I felt the need to talk about something very topical, and that is body image. A “comedy” YouTuber recently made a video that went pretty much viral, entitled “Dear Fat People”, in which she shamed overweight people and made some extremely cruel remarks while calling it comedy. This sparked a thought process in me about body image, specifically for people in similar situations to me: doing serious exams, starting university, moving out of your parents house, etc. These things can throw your system off course and you may find your body reacting to that, leading to you maybe being more sensitive about your body image, which is perfectly natural.

I feel extremely embarrassed that our society constantly shames people, women especially, for being overweight, even if they are only slightly overweight. Although there are not as many stick thin celebrities around these days, the desire to be thin is still a horrific reality in most aspects of teenagers minds. Teenagers are extremely impressionable, whether we want to admit that or not, and when we see nothing but slender, tall, beautiful people in the media, and a constant stream of criticism for anyone who doesn’t fit that mould (see any tabloid magazine on the shelf of your local shop), we can’t help but feel as though we need to fit into that skinny person profile.

It takes a long time to break away from that mentality, and for me I was stuck in it every day for years upon years, definitely up to six months ago. Even still, I have days where I look in the mirror and want to go back to bed and never look at myself again. I have learned over the years to look seriously at myself in the mirror and tell myself one thing that I like about myself, just one little thing. It can be the way my hair has fallen that day, or how clear my skin is, or how nice and healthy my legs must be to carry me around all the time, for my entire life! Honestly, you may not think these things can work - I certainly didn’t believe that I’d love my body more by doing such a small thing, but I did, and I cannot even express how amazing that is.

Don’t let anyone tell you that your body type is wrong, because they can’t speak for you. Only you can speak for you, and as long as you feel healthy and happy, you shouldn’t change that just to please someone else. You are the one living in your body, and you only have one in this lifetime, so you need to love it and look after it.

I’m not really sure if I made any sense, but seeing people shaming others just for being a different, “less desirable” body type makes me really frustrated. As a parting note: if you saw protruding ribs on a dog you’d be concerned for their wellbeing, so why is that acceptable for humans? Let me know what your opinions on body image are on any of my social media platforms.

Much love,

JMG, stylenua.

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Halsey - BADLANDS review | stylenua

Hey everyone,

If you didn’t know, I’m a huge music fan, and recently one of my favourite artists, Halsey, released her first full length album, BADLANDS. I had been looking forward to this album for a long time, so I felt as though I had to write a little something about it to share it with you all. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to purchase it on iTunes yet, so the release of the album (and the deluxe version!!) on Spotify has practically saved my life.

Where to start with BADLANDS? First let me say that to people who had heard of Halsey before now, some of the songs on the album are familiar- some being from her Room 93 EP: such as Ghost and Hurricane, and some others being songs that she has performed live many times before. The previously unheard (by me, at least) songs, though, are also phenomenal.

The album opens with the captivating Castle, and lead into a world of mystery and sensual beats, the deluxe version ending with a haunting cover of I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash. Halsey’s unforgettable vocals lead you through the “Badlands” on a gritty journey of self-discovery and turmoil.  Albums like this have an addictive quality to them, you find yourself craving the deep beats that power the songs, and it’s one of the best feelings in the world, just behind the feeling of live music.

Halsey has some extremely powerful messages in her songs: especially so in New Americana and Strange Love. If you have listened to Strange Love, you may be wondering what kind of powerful messages I got from it. You have a point, it doesn’t seem like the type of song to teach a brilliantly moral message, but it does if you think about the lyrics: they reflect modern society’s obsession with the lives of public figures and the very personal information that people want to find out about these public figures. The way she expresses this may be a bit unusual, but that is the message I got from the song, regardless.

If you are going to buy any album this month, it should be this one. I honestly cannot express how much I adore this album, and I am desperately hoping Halsey plays a show in Ireland in the near future because I can only imagine how thrilling the songs from this album must be to hear live. In case you were wondering what my favourite songs from the album are, they are Colors (and Colors pt. II) and Strange Love. If you’re apprehensive about buying an album from an artist you may not have heard of, check out Halsey on YouTube. I hope you enjoyed this little review, I really enjoy reviewing music and books, so let me know if you want to see more of that!

Much love,

JMG, stylenua.