I know. It’s been awhile since I posted anything on my site.
One of my goals for the new year was to continue blogging and keep writing posts regularly. Seriously over the past few weeks, I haven’t even wanted to.
I, like many others, have been disheartened by our society. What we’ve seen happening to our world in the last two weeks alone is shocking, it’s abhorrent, it’s heartbreaking.
It’s outrageous.
Genuinely, I think we were all blindsided by the social media bubbles that we live in. We surround ourselves with like-minded people, we follow them on Twitter, on Instagram. We watch the television programmes that we like and we read books that we want. We make our own choices while believing that everyone shares our views and opinions.
It’s obvious now that that’s not the case. There has been an unprecedented rise in hatred over the course of the past year. It’s steadily growing.
To be honest you guys, it really sucks. It sucks that people in our lives who we thought we knew well are pretty terrible humans. It sucks that people really don’t value other human lives equally. They just don’t. It’s mind-boggling. It’s fucked up.
Has going onto Facebook ever been worse? I used to think it was one of those places where everyone casually stalked the past of the people they started seeing, a place to watch adorable puppy videos and fun memes. Now? It’s a breeding ground for hate.
That said, the internet is also a fantastic source of how to get involved in the resistance towards this backwards slide that our countries are falling into. People are an awesome source of information for calling your local offices and demanding change. It’s a rallying place, it’s a leading source for protests, for organising marches and for getting involved.
I used to say, I don’t want to get political. I wanted to avoid arguments. I didn’t want to rock the boat. Now? The year is 2017 and I will shout it from the rooftops. I disagree with what’s happening right now in our world and hey, if my tiny little sparkly platform on the internet can make some impact, demand some change, then I’m going to go for it.
I’ve noticed bloggers becoming more political in their posts, tweets and across all their platforms. THANK YOU. It’s what we need to be doing. Use your voice for good. I see so many amazing examples on social media right of kick ass woman: @superlativelyLJ, @GraceFVictory, @nicolettemason, @gabifresh, @MissKatyEnglish – and the rise of the revolution itself @TeenVogue.
Hell, @chrissyteigen is the queen of shutting down hate while making you laugh. Follow them all for your daily reminders that we can be absolute queens of lifestyle, of writing, of beauty, of fashion, but also have a powerful voice in our society for change.
It’s about balance. I love what I do, I love writing about food, travel, fashion and lifestyle. That doesn’t change. We need to be able to have outlets that keep us sane. Netflix binges. Buying that top you’ve had your eye on for ages. Wine nights with your best friends.
The other night I had a conversation with my cousin on this. It’s a nightmare to wake up to a BBC notification on yet another Executive Order signed by the new President (hurts my soul to much to say ‘our’ President so I’m rolling with ‘the’). She asked how we’re supposed to cope with seeing it. Every. Single. Day.
Lucky for her (and me – and now you!), I read an article about this the other day, How to #StayOutraged Without Losing Your Mind.
It’s a good reminder of what we can do to help and what we need to do to stay ourselves. Read it. It’ll help more than this rant that I’m in the midst of.
What I’m trying to say in a roundabout angry way, is stay informed. Get out of your bubble. Be active, but have a Netflix marathon. Call your local office but also go out for wine with your pals. We can make the change we want to see, while also doing other things that we love. We can #StayOutraged while enjoying frivolous things too, like Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement.
I’m ready to get back into blogging. I have a lot planned for 2017… it just now involves more activism than ever before. I’m ready to #StayOutraged AND watch a Harry Potter marathon this weekend. And that’s OK.
Kelly xoxo
This echos so much of what I’ve been feeling over the last few weeks <3 Much love xx