LGBTQ Representation in Education

As it’s Pride Month, I’d like to take the opportunity to make the next post in this series ‘Diversity in Education’ about the LGBTQ experience of education and what we can do to better educate the next generations to build a more accepting, loving humanity. I’d like to mention that I know the BLM movement is not over, I am still compiling more research and resources to share in the future. This post could not be written without mentioning the brave Queer People of Colour who held riots in New York (1969) and San Francisco (1966) to fight for LGBTQ rights. Without them we would not be able to have Pride today. Unfortunately, there is still much more work to be done, and I again want to champion education as one of the crucial steps in continuing to further the Pride movement.

Despite a titanic shift in feelings and acceptance of LGBTQ people over the last ten years in some Western cultures, the Sex and Relationships Education available to children in the UK has been noted institutionally limited and partial (Corteen, 2006). This is because many children in both Faith Schools and others around the UK are not equipped with a truly reflective understanding of sexuality and the diversities which exist within it (Robinson and Davies, 2017). Children across the country are being given education which directly defies LGBTQ rights, which can have such damaging effects on their mental health and wellbeing (Pring, 2018). Putting students through a system that does not represent or educate about LGBTQ relationships, sexuality, and gender expression can cause them to suppress their emotions and desires later in life, as they often feel wrong and shameful about them. This process is called internalization, and it is known to be harmful to an individual’s mental health. As well as this, a more diverse education on this topic is needed to prevent bullying of LGBTQ students by building a more accepting environment for all pupils to experience education in (Chen and Keats, 2016).

Therefore, it is essential that we continue to grow and learn about these issues ourselves, so that we can begin to more diversely educate our pupils and children. I am once again sharing some resources with you that can be used to open up the minds of the next generations in relation to LGBTQ rights.

Educational Resources for Teachers, Parents, Governors:

http://www.barnardosrealloverocks.org.uk/dashboard/ – Barnado’s ‘All Love Rocks’ educational pack

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/inclusive_curriculum_guide.pdf Secondary School Guide to Creating LGBTQ Curriculum in variety of subjects (USA)

https://www.glsen.org/lgbtq-history LGBTQ History Resources- from Information Cards to Audio Clips of LGBTQ icons like Sylvia Rivera

Books for ages 0-4 years:

Daddy, Papa and Me by Leslea Newman

My Two Moms and Me by Michael Jooston

Books ages 5-10:

I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Stonewall: A Building, An Uprising, A Revolution by Rob Sanders

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Levy

When you Look out the Window: how Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Built a Community by Gayle Pitman

Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People who Changed the World by Sarah Prager

Books for ages 10-15:

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

The Whispers by Greg Howard

To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

The Book of Pride by Mason Funk

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

TV/Film:

The Bravest Knight (5+ years)

In a Heartbeat (8+)

Andi Mack (10+)

I am Jazz (12+)

The Danish Girl (12+)

Queer Eye (12+)

Coming Out (14+)

True Trans with Laura Jane Grace (15+)

I hope that this can shed some light on why we need a more diverse education in relation to LGBTQ History and Representation. It is important with every diverse group we will discuss in this series to represent them not just from the perspective of their struggles and plights, but as the ‘normal’ people they are and were. This way we let children know that anyone should be able to achieve their dreams, regardless of how different they might feel. Again, please leave a comment if you have resources that you would like to recommend too.

Thanks for reading, Kiayah.

References:

Chen, C. P. and Keats, A. (2016) ‘Career development and counselling needs of LGBTQ high school students.’ British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 44(5) pp.576-588.

Corteen, K. M. (2006) ‘Schools’ fulfilment of sex and relationship education documentation: three school‐based case studies.’ Sex Education, 6(1) pp. 77-99.

Pring, R. (2018) The future of publicly funded faith schools: a critical perspective. London: Routledge.

Robinson K. H. and Davies. C (2017) ‘Sexuality Education in Early Childhood.’ In Allen, L., and Rasmussen, M. (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Sexuality Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 217-242.

Black Lives Matter in Education

Black Lives Matter in Education

With everything going on, the best way to uproot, unlearn, relearn, and change is Education. Education is the catalyst for change and as an aspiring Educational Psychologist who has just finished a BSc in Psychology, I wanted to try to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and the practicalities of what each individual, and system, can actually do. I am one voice in many but we need as many as we can get. I’d like to preface this post by saying that I am a White Female, and I know that I don’t know everything about any of these topics. I want to always keep learning, and so I implore you to comment if you would like to help educate me on anything or start a discussion. Secondly, I am not trying to be a White Saviour, this is not about me. I just have a passion for people and education.

This post will be the start of a series focusing on how we can push the Western Education Curriculum to be more inclusive on topics such as Sexism, Homophobia, Islamophobia and many more, but I knew that I must start with the most poignant topic in today’s world- Racism. My other key aim within this series will be to provide researched recommendations on resources such as books, films, podcasts, documentaries, and more which you could watch with your children, depending on age etc.

The history of the world is not taught completely truthfully in Western cultures. As a white female growing up in Britain, I briefly remember learning about Slavery in Primary School, but not without the protective layers of bias and racism that seep through the systems of our country. Across the UK and North America, the inherent colonialism that the countries were built from are conveniently missed out of the majority of History Curriculum (Carr, 2016). To some this may seem obvious, ‘why would we want to expose our children to the terrible things our ancestors did?’ Because racism still exists today. Children who aren’t white don’t have the privilege not to be ‘exposed’ to these harsh truths. I’m sure many of you have seen the video of a young 4 year old girl pleading with her mother not to shout or swear any more, in case she is shot by American police. It may seem alarming that such a young child is educated enough to give such advice; this is because her father was just shot by American police. This is just one devastating example of desperation and the younger generations of our world deserve much, much more.

Researchers McLaren and Farahmandpur (2004) highlighted how important schools are in shaping society and culture stating that ‘school is a resolutely political and cultural enterprise’. Curriculum in the West is moulded by governmental rule, which then shapes society via the education of our youngest generations. As with so many other aspects right now, we must fight for truth and equality to be taught to our children in all areas of their lives. There are many resources we can share with our own children, which I will share further on in this post, but what can we do to change the information they are given systematically?

Petitions are a great start. There have been a wide variety of petitions set up recently in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, of which I will include some at the bottom of this post. Most relevant to this topic though are the petitions demanding change in the education systems.

http://chng.it/rJhwCYcNp7 – Battle Racism by Updating GCSE Reading Lists

http://chng.it/MPzJ5CZpQb – Teach British children about the realities of British Imperialism and Colonialism

http://chng.it/kXrgNv2rJR – Educating Our Children on Racism Through the School System (USA)

It may not seem like much, but signing these petitions allows your voice to be heard, and can make a real change if enough people sign. I understand that with Coronavirus and other external circumstances, not everyone is in a position to protest right now, but you can still make a difference. Another way to advocate for this change is to email your local MP, or contact the Department for Education, here-

https://form.education.gov.uk/en/AchieveForms/?form_uri=sandbox-publish://AF-Process-f1453496-7d8a-463f-9f33-1da2ac47ed76/AF-Stage-1e64d4cc-25fb-499a-a8d7-74e98203ac00/definition.json&redirectlink=%2Fen&cancelRedirectLink=%2Fen

You may even want to include suggestions of resources such as ‘Teaching For Black Lives’ or ‘Addressing Inclusion- Effectively Challenging Racism in Schools’.

Resources for Parents and Teachers

Books-

Firstly, here a few links to websites with lots of recommendations of which books to read with your children or have them read themselves-

 We Need Diverse Books—weneeddiversebooks.org

Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project—tfcbooks.org/best-recommended/booklist

Raising Race Conscious Children—raceconscious.org/childrens-books/

Specific books for children aged 5-10:

Malcom Little: The boy who became Malcom X– Ilyasah Shabazz

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her family’s fight for desegregation– Duncan Tonatiuh

The Day You Begin– Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez

Something Happened in Our Town– Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard

Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills– Renée Watson

When We Were Alone– David A Robertson

Specific Books for children aged 10-15:

Schomburg: The Man who Built a Library– Carole Boston Weatherford and Eric Velasquez

The Hate U Give– Angie Thomas

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement– Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship- Irene Latham, Shaun Qualls and Charles Waters

Ghost Boys– Jewell Parker Rhodes

One Crazy Summer– Rita Williams Garcia

To Kill a Mockingbird– Harper Lee

TV/Film–

For children aged 5-10:

Mira, Royal Detective

Nella the Princess Knight

Motown Magic

Akeelah and the Bee

For children aged 10-15:

Liberty’s Kids

The Hate U Give

Invictus

The Secret Life of Bees

Remember the Titans

Hidden Figures

And the Children Shall Lead

Ferguson (2012) found that exposure to positive media can undo negative effects caused by oppression and harm in children. None of us are perfect, but these are just some of the many steps we can take to build a brighter, more loving world. If you have any other good resource suggestions, do let others know down in the comments, as this is obviously not an exhaustive list. It is our responsibility to educate the generations below us.

Thanks for reading, Kiayah.

Links-

Justice for George Floyd-  https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery- https://www.change.org/p/district-attorney-tom-durden-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery-i-run-with-maud?signed=true

Justice for Belly Mujinga- https://www.change.org/p/govia-thameslink-justice-for-belly-mujinga-justiceforbellymujinga?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_22128388_en-GB%3Av1&recruited_by_id=2b2b0700-a1c9-11ea-b32e-29e86ebe33c3&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial

Black Lives Matter- https://blacklivesmatter.com/petitions/

References

Carr, P.R. (2017) ‘Whiteness and white privilege: Problematizing race and racism in a “color-blind” world and in education.’ In Fereidooni, K., and Mera, E. (eds) Rassismuskritik und Widerstandsformen. Springer VS: Wiesbaden, pp. 871-889.

 Ferguson, C. J. (2012) ‘Positive female role-models eliminate negative effects of sexually violent media.’ Journal of Communication, 62(5) pp.888-899.

McLaren, P. and Farahmandpur, R. (2004) Teaching against global capitalism and the new imperialism: A critical pedagogy. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Xasan S. (2017) ‘Race and Racism in Education.’ In Abdulle, A., and Obeyesekere, A. N. (eds) New Framings on Anti-Racism and Resistance. Rotterdam: SensePublishers.

A love letter to my education

In the next week I finish my degree completely. Coming to the end of my educational journey is quite a big deal to me, as academia has always been of high value to me. I have put so much effort into studying that it will be strange not to have this constant task filling up my life. At this time, I wanted to pay thanks for all of the things Education has taught me.

Thank you for giving me the stepping stones towards building self-esteem and confidence. I started school as the youngest and smallest person in the whole school, with a myriad of attachment issues strapped to my back that gave me a bit of a rocky start. But as my thirst for learning grew and grew, school became an opportunistic place to learn everything from facts about hurricanes to how to socially interact (the latter of which took me a lot longer to pick up😋). As I learned more and more I became more confident in myself and my ability to learn. Once I got to university level I found myself confident enough to be one of the only people in a room of 200 with the confidence to put my hand up and give my opinion in lectures. Some of my favourite uni memories are when lecturers opened up academic discussions for us to all speak as the intellectual adults we were becoming. I never, ever would have thought I would be confident enough to speak like this, but in an educational setting, my confidence was highest.

Thank you for teaching me to fail. As a perfectionist who has always cared about learning, I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself, always striving for A’s etc. But education taught me that perfectionism isn’t real, and everyone will fail at some point. This was a key lesson for me to learn in reference to life outside of academia, but I think learning it through something I cared about so much truly taught me the value in being able to fail. It has allowed me to expect less of myself in wider areas of life too.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work as hard as I physically could. From practicing each spelling 10 times a day in Primary School to working myself ill and having panic attacks at A Level, education has shown me that I can work through adversity and given me a base of belief in myself. Those might sound like drastic measures to many of you but I truly enjoy working hard and looking back on my results knowing I did the best I could. My A Level results will always hold a special place in my heart because I know I really put the shifts in. I’d recommend learning how to do it without the panic attacks though😜which I thankfully did in university.

As an aspiring Educational Psychologist, I am likely to spend the rest of my life working in schools. The jobs I have lined up for after university are all in schools. So thank you, education, not only for giving me a great journey from 3-21 years old, but for inspiring the rest of my life’s journey too. This will also involve a Master’s along the way, so it is only farewell for now, not goodbye.

To the class of 2020, I am truly heartbroken that we don’t get to graduate in the ways we thought we would. I have dreamt of that moment for many many years. My heart is with us all. But here’s to us🥂and the crazy journey we’ve had along the way. I have met some of my most favourite people through education, so cheers to that too.

Sending hugs, Kiayah xxx

Tory Landslide- what can we do now?

Well then. Watching the exit polls at 10pm last night was truly devastating. I was so shocked, so angry, so disappointed. To anyone who thinks I’m being dramatic- I have seen first hand the real life affects that government has, and if you think I’m being dramatic, you clearly haven’t. Or you just don’t care… But I don’t want to think about that. This is the biggest Tory majority since Margaret Thatcher. Hearing her name made me feel sick last night. My family lived through the worst of those times, Liverpool suffered the brunt (JFT96❤️), and I will not pretend it’s not scary.

But there is a certain amount of ‘we have to get on with it’ that I agree with. I know it feels hard to carry on in a country that feels as though it has chosen austerity, selfishness, and seclusion over equality, love, and care. But it’s happened. And we have to carry on. Manchester was a sad place this morning, the feeling of disappointment tangible in the atmosphere. But the bees do keep on buzzing. Firstly, if you’re from the North West, or London, take some solace in the like minded people around you. I am so, so proud of Liverpool, of my family, of everyone who chose to vote for the many. Thank you❤️

Now more than ever, we have to choose love. Use the anger, hurt, and disappointment, to fuel the help others so desperately need. Give to foodbanks, look the homeless in the eyes (at least), volunteer, recycle, support people’s mental health, love without exceptions, fight against hate, smile at one another; be the change you want to see in the world. Living with love is the biggest way we can keep this country sane.

We can also take comfort in the student/young people votes. This map shows how drastically different things would be if our voices were the only ones heard. And I’m not saying that we’re definitely right. But it gives me hope that as we grow, we will encourage a culture of like-minded care, and a country that is united. Please, please, if you’re a student, do not let this election result discourage you from voting next time. We have to continue to try to use our voices, it will eventually work.

I’m not claiming to be right in any way, I’m certainly not the number 1 educated person on politics, but I do have a lot of experience with vulnerable people, and I grew up in a place where social injustice was palpable. So I’m sharing my opinions in the hopes it will comfort some people. I don’t hate anyone who voted Tory, I honestly truly hope that you prove us wrong. As our beloved Beatles once sang,

‘all you need is love’

Please keep loving. Please look out for people. Don’t let them harden you, don’t let them change you. Live with love.

Sending hugs, Kiayah xxx

Living with 8 people

For the past year I have lived in a shared house with 8 other students. It has been…testing, but also a great learning experience that has given us some hilarious memories and lifelong friends. I wanted to take some time to reflect on this experience and tell you all about it!

When I first heard about the idea, I was anxious to say the least. I was a shy introvert who was terrified of social situations. But my boyfriend calmed me down (as usual, thanks Leon😜) and we moved in. From the very first day there were disagreements to deal with, but we all became quite close very quickly. We spent the first two weeks hardly leaving the house, just taking the time to properly get to know each other; as we were all of from a few different groups of friends previously. It was an amazing but weird experience, because it almost felt like Groundhog Day for two weeks straight. I’m really glad we did it because it meant that we got comfortable around each other pretty quickly.

It took me a little while to feel less anxious, but after about a month it felt like a home. I got used to how many people were around, and through practice became much more comfortable socially. This is the thing I am most grateful for surrounding this year. I have completely transformed from someone who was extremely socially anxious, to a much more adaptable, confident gal who loves to be around her friends. Before we moved in I genuinely couldn’t see a world where I didn’t feel awful going into social situations. And this year has truly shown me that I should try to push through anxieties; because it is definitely possible. Being more sociable has helped me professionally and academically- I even managed to achieve 95% for my presentation skills in university!

Of course, having nine different personalities under one roof has had its testing times. But once again it has taught us all so much. I feel like I have learned more about people than ever before (although the psychology degree might have helped that along😜). It has opened my mind to always consider others’ perspectives, and made me think so much more about how my actions may be perceived by others. Before this year I was petrified of any kind of disagreement; conflict felt like my worst enemy. But after working through the many small disagreements that have occurred this year; we all understand each other so much more and I feel like I have learned how to more calmly get my point across.

This has also led to a huge plethora of philosophical, existential conversations in which I have learned so much. It feels as though there’s nothing we haven’t discussed; and yet simultaneously like the topic possibilities are endless. There have been so many times where two of us have had completely opposite ideas, but through discussion and listening have come up with new ideas even better than what we all originally thought. Once again another mind opening experience, that has happened almost daily since we moved in.

Learning about myself and others has been an interesting ride throughout this year, but the best parts about it are the friendships and memories we have made along the way. I have laughed more than ever- at my boyfriend spilling perinaise all over himself, at our multiple cinema hosts bringing ridiculously huge posters home, at the stress ball being flung off all four walls of the room and then landing in a shoe, at the boys scaring each other to death chasing each other around the house, and even playing hide and seek in every nook and cranny we could find.

It’s been an amazing time, thank you pals…

p.s. who left their welly boot there?

most memorable weekend

We love you Liverpool, we do! And the 750,000 reds who lined the city’s streets this Sunday really proved that. This weekend just gone has been one of my most favourite, and memorable weekends in the 20 years I have been living. Here’s why…

timesdaily.com

It started with the build up. As soon as we woke up, my boyfriend and I stuck LFCTV on and got more and more excited for the game. The coverage by this channel was particularly outstanding all weekend in my opinion; as we got to hear from Liverpool players new and old. What better way to get excited than listening to the true legends of LFC and how excited they are!? Then after a few hours of that we travelled away from Manchester and into Liverpool for a family BBQ. Seeing my most favourite person surrounded by people he loves, embracing his culture and everything natural to him, made it a very special afternoon that I’ll never forget- and that’s before the game had even started!

We were treated to some beautiful flamenco guitar and fire building with the family. Moments I’ll always hold dearly in my heart.

As the day went on I’m ashamed to admit I started to feel uncharacteristically nervous. After last year in Kiev I just couldn’t face defeat, but my belief that we would win stayed true, especially with the help of my mum’s constant belief ‘We’re going to win this, I promise’ texts from her holiday in Cyprus throughout the day. Soaking up all of the social media highlights is one of my favourite parts- especially the footage of the Fan Park in Madrid. I think Jamie Webster is incredible and have watched him build his career with pride. Seeing him cry on stage in awe of the 50,000 Liverpool fans stood in front of him set me off. The noise of so many scousers singing songs for our players and our club, a sea of red passion, was incredible. More than enough to wipe the nerves away.

When the kick off whistle blew, none of us expected to be screaming ‘PENALTY’ within the first 20 seconds. But that’s exactly what happened. Exclamations of ‘yessssss’ rang around the living room whilst my hands came together at my heart and I whispered ‘come on Salah, you can do it, please’ repeatedly. Deep down, I really did believe that he would score. As you can imagine, the room erupted when the ball hit the back of the net. Without thinking I stood up on the couch screaming and then jumped off it to bear hug my boyfriend, still screaming. (I later apologised for standing on his family’s couch… woops :P). The exhilaration felt wonderful, and then we realised we had 88 minutes of football to keep a lead and win the Champions League.

The rest of the first half was… weird? To say the least. Neither team seemed like they knew what to do with such an early goal, and there were some really frustrating sloppy passes being played. But when that half time whistle went I knew Klopp would have a stern talk with them and they would come back out fighting. Alisson made some incredible saves in the second half and kept our nerves at bay. Every time it happened we all clapped and screamed ‘Yesss, you’re not getting past the best goal keeper in the world!’ About two minutes before the substitutions, I told my boyfriend that I thought Klopp should bring Origi on for Firmino, as he didn’t look fully fit. I wasn’t expecting Klopp to react so quickly but was very pleased to see both Milner and Origi come on. I couldn’t resist shouting ‘DIVOCK ORIGI’ as Big Man Div strolled on, confident as ever.

When he superbly slotted that second goal in, it felt like the happiest time of my life. I made noises I didn’t know were possible and jumped around the room once more. This time I turned to ‘Abuelo’ the grandad of the family, and as we met eyes and cheered, I couldn’t resist giving him a big hug of celebration. His beaming smiles said it all and once again, these are moments I will never forget. It felt like smooth sailing from then on, and I felt high on life until the final whistle. After a quick scream of celebration I rang my mum immediately, and we cried happy tears and shouts of ‘I can’t believe it, we did it!’ down the phone to each other until I realised how much it was probably costing me to call her in Cyprus. I also rang my dad, who lost his phone in the happy madness of celebrating his most favourite thing in the world.

Watching our Rock, Virgil Van Dijk, give in to the tears as soon as the whistle blew was a heart warming addition to the madness of full-time. I love all of the Liverpool players because they have given us so much joy, but even more than that I love them as people. Each and every one of them are so down to earth; such genuinely wonderful men, it’s impossible not to adore them. The redemption for Henderson was beautiful to watch, and the same goes for Klopp. It’s all down to him, and the legacy he has brought back to place this club back where it belongs- on top of the world. I for once found myself too elated even to happy-cry, and instead sat there beaming for hours after the match. Liverpool Football Club, Champions of Europe, for the SIXTH time!

dailytrust.com

The Parade the next day was nothing short of magical. I couldn’t stop crying as we drove into the city, as we encountered so many fans to cheer with and so many houses covered in that glorious red. The sense of community and belonging is something that I strive for constantly, and this day is the most I have ever felt it. There was only a slight tinge of sadness in that I wasn’t with my mum and dad- the reasons I support the club in the first place. But I was in communication with them all day which made it much easier.

We held our flags and scarves and sang our hearts out. The comradarie with all of the other fans rang true to scouse form- as there was laughter, kindness and love shown everywhere we turned. There were tiny babies and elderly grandparents around us- and  it made it feel so special that EVERYONE wanted to be there. As the bus drove towards us, good old Milner started a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Allez Allez Allez’ and we sang at the tops of our voices, flags and scarves held high and proud. The tears were streaming down my face as the players passed us, it felt so good to sing ‘AND WE COME FROM LIVERPOOL’ to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was closest to us on the bus. He actually looked quite overwhelmed himself, with a dreamy look in his eyes. His is one of my favourite stories; as he’s a true LFC fan himself, and I can’t imagine how good it must feel to play such an important part in making us all so happy, at such a young age. It was a beautiful experience… and then there was a treat at the end.

The man, the legend, Jurgen Klopp, was sat at the back of the bus. My boyfriend noticed and we all turned to him. As I stood there with both arms raised, crying my eyes out, singing ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ, Jurgen looked into my eyes, saw how much it all meant, and gave me a grateful nod, a cheeky smile, and a little wave! I screamed ‘THANK YOU KLOPP’ for bringing this team back to glory, and we continued to cheer as they drove further into the city centre. My boyfriend even got the whole thing recorded on his phone!

The amount of Liverpool fans that streamed the streets of our beautiful city is one of the greatest displays of culture I have seen for a long time. I knew I had to get a picture like this one above, as there is one very similar to it of a really young Kiayah at the 2005 parade, waving the flag just like this one. It is my dad’s most prized possession, and now I can give him another one! I feel so lucky to have already been to two Champions League Parade Days in my short 20 years of life, and I can only imagine how many more the future holds.

To all of the players, staff, and fans- thank you. Thank you for one of the best 24 hours of my life. For being accepting, loving, kind-hearted, genuine, passionate. For everything the club stands for- peace, justice, love, equality. For NEVER giving up. We, are Liverpool. THIS. MEANS. MORE.

And with this many fans, all over the world. We can truly say- YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE. 

 

 

Avengers, Assemble.

Ahh, change. It scares me. Everytime. But lately I’m trying to cope with big changes more effectively so that I don’t have to deal with long periods of anxiety outbursts.

It’s understandable; it’s built into us as humans to be guarded when things change. And it is normal to be a little bit fearful of it. But I have experienced enough instances of small changes that have caused me heightened anxiety to know that I need to do something about it. A wise man once told me that you have to subvert your own expectations.

SPOILER ALERT, AVENGERS:ENDGAME

giphy:

You know when Thor finally goes for the head and we all thought the movie was over in the first ten minutes? Impressive, right? You have to do this to yourself. If you are a naturally fearful or anxious person you are likely to believe that the worst case scenario will happen each and every time. But the thing to remember is- there’s just as much chance that the best case scenario could be the outcome. It can fall anywhere in between.

Wouldn’t you rather just accept that you can’t know? And until the change happens, you might as well enjoy right now. Worrying about it will NOT change anything. That we can be certain of. Remind yourself that whatever life throws at you, you can deal with it. And with that piece of magic sitting in the back pocket of your brain you can confidently enjoy the build up to your change!

And, let’s be honest, you’re very unlikely to end up entangled in the mess of the worst case scenario. Not when you have pym particles and portals on your side.

Sending hugs, Kiayah xxx

Tomorrow isn’t Promised

I never met my Nana Bernie, but her legacy has been passed down through the stories and actions of the wonderful children she had who were my role models growing up. Specifically my mamma, in the way she makes the best of everything she has, the way her house and heart are open to everyone, and the way she throws the BEST parties. It’s great that these things can be passed down, but there’s another lesson we can all learn from this story. My Nana died young, unexpectedly. This could happen to any of us.

So please, try to live everyday to the fullest. Be grateful for each day, each spot of sunshine, each hug, each time you laugh. If you haven’t spoken to someone you love for a while, take this opportunity to ring them and ask about how they are. I know it’s easier said than done, and I know life can seem hard, but try to remind yourself to smile. Hope you’re having a good party up there Nana, love you.

Sending hugs, Kiayah xxx

carry on

Just a short post this week. It’s been a hard one to get through. But we have to carry on.

Carry on for-

the feeling of the sun on your face

to cuddle your dog again

to hear your favourite songs again

to laugh with your friends

to reread your favourite book

to adventure to new places

to feel the comfort of bed again after a long day

to taste your favourite meal again

to hug your loved ones

to hear the waves of the sea crash onto the sand

to feel the heat as you step off a plane in a new country

to see a stranger smile back at you.

There are so many reasons to carry on. Sometimes it really doesn’t feel worth it. But it is. Keep going, I believe in you.

Sending hugs, (so many hugs), Kiayah xxx

fingertips

Fingertips. It’s all about the fingertips. Pulsing through my body and to the very edge of my being. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, perfection. Hair, make up, costume, shoes, not a strand out of place; enough to hide the blemishes, but not too much; perfectly fitted to every part of my body; broken in, laced around my legs in perfect symphony. 2 minutes. Enough time for a brief run through in my head, then my good luck ritual. Eyes closed, feet in 1^st, head back, breathe. Breathe in for 4, out for 6, 3 times. I am worthy. I am strong. I am beautiful.

My feet are leading the way. 8 steps, light as a feather, quick. As I turn to face the wonderous faces, the familiar feelings of amazement, excitement, and passion whirl together in my heart and wait to be released.  The music quickens, time for the fun. Arms alternating, sweeping through the air as the rest of my body follows my feet once more. Right foot up en pointe, and turn, and step. This is the only time I feel truly satisfied. Each movement satisfies something deep within my heart, this is when I am living my truth, my authenticity. Every part of my body feels truly alive, tingling with love and pride. Especially during the parts where I get to fly. Soaring through the air my entire being is transformed into a beautiful swan, and I am free. This is when joy steps up. Bursts from my stomach and ripples from within me, outwards, to settle upon the faces of those who can see.

More slowly now, returning to the centre. Standing in 3^rd, arms rising perfectly in time to the music, slowly making their way above me. Finally, settling. Intertwined slightly, strong but supple, my final statement of the love that surges through me. Fingertips.