Folly Jolly Girl

I have a lot of issues with ‘s’ words. "Should", "success", "scared", "shame". They all, well, suck. They have baggage, a weight I can feel in my stomach, my soul.   I feel like my story is broken, wasting away like a faded receipt. Can I get a refund on my mid 20’s?

Two things to note here.  One, I am unemployed and trying be a journalist. Two, I am a feminist and persistent.

We compare and contrast our lives to total strangers and devalue ourselves for it. We compare ourselves to acquaintances and close friends, and devalue ourselves again. AND FOR WHAT FUCKING PURPOSE?

R U Ok Day is a great initiative. It can make someone feel not alone, it can start a conversation. But, as someone with generalised anxiety disorder and depression (and is prone to crying in public), I have some thoughts.

I decided to give bullet journaling a hot try. I’ve drawn up the last 3 weeks of 2016 (way to commit, Alison) and step backed and looked at what I value in myself.

Trigger warnings, refers to triggered media, anxiety, depression, sexual assault and domestic violence. Look at you. You're so strong and brave. I know life can be hard. Almost like it's not worth the effort. You're doing it though, you are here. I may not be able to meet you, hug you, pay for therapy, pay for a holiday, give you exactly what you need. But I can respect you enough to take a bit of care in what I put out on the Internet. I can take a few seconds to warn you and others about the content you may read.  Because you are worth that.  A persons life can be severely affected by content on anxiety, depression, sexual assault, domestic violence, anything that hurls them into a bad place.  If I can take a small action to avoid putting a person into a dark place, I will do my utmost to do so. Trigger warnings are about respect and understanding. 

I have wanted purple hair for about two years. Approximately. However, I am the most low maintenance, read lazy, person ever regarding hair. Dealing with roots and fading is not my jam.

You are a boss ass bitch You are a Queen. Goddess. You do not need to apologise Not for your existence Not for your flaws You don't need to be polite You don't need to be ladylike You can be epic You can be fierce Make them tremble before you Because you can You are no second class citizen Make them make room for you You deserve that space You do not need to earn space You are present and worthy I will shrink for no one.

Ask me to do a hilarious blog post about a twenty-something’s struggle to do, well, anything and I’m golden but ask me to do something that may be slightly out of my comfort zone or what might be considered an “achievement” and I’ve tapped out before you’ve said “portfolio.”

Meg Mac performing at The Corner Hotel For the 60 minutes (approximately) Meg Mac graced the stage at The Corner Hotel, I was in total awe. Her voice punctures through any thoughts I had about the sticky floor and perspiration on my neck. Meg Mac, who I now call a goddess, flips from sultry to quirky. Her eyes lowered from the audience to her backup singers (Hannah, her sis and Dani), crooning away like she belongs to another decade, or giggling how she had yet to play and sing on stage yet (she did last night and nailed it.) Macs talent ranges to her impressive skills at vocals and piano to her own “lucky” a Capella piece sung in French. Her voice is like butter and wine. It melts, it bites, it oozes and lingers. Her live performance penetrates the mind and soul.  If you get to hear Meg Mac’s “Oh My God” live, you will never forget it. Meg Mac is only going to get better, and I for one, am waiting impatiently for her full CD release...

Unexpected and ferocious, Tessa Waters’ Womanz is 55 minutes of self-love and Tessa-love. Waters’ wiggles her booty around stage, dancing and jumping, her energy and sheer joy of being of the stage has the audience ensnared in minutes, after the confusion with “the rock” clears up and we realise what we are in for.

Australians are drowning in unwanted and unworn clothing items. 104 items are left unworn in our wardrobes, costing $1.7 billion a year, according to The Clothing Exchange. A company who encourage us to swap our clothes when they are no longer worn or wanted. The Wardrobe Workshop and Swap/Style/Snap Shop hosted by The Clothing Exchange celebrates 10 years working with Melbourne Fashion Festival. From left to right: Linn Vikander, Mat Ekstrom, Fabia Pryor, Cheryl Lin, Sigrid McCarthy, Violette Snow and Kate Luckins. Photo by: Alison Foletta In this workshop we discuss sustainable fashion, to invest in our own style and to refine and develop our wardrobe into only what we love and really wear. Panellists for the Wardrobe Workshop include founder of The Clothing Exchange Kate Luckins with Linn Vikander, Cheryl Lin of Business Chic, founders of Hessian Magazine Violette Snow and Sigrid McCarthy, Fabia Pryor a sustainability consultant and slow fashion retailer Mats...

Warning: may contain triggers for those who suffer anxiety or depression. This title is misleading; I suffer from an anxiety disorder. I am constantly under the pressure that I am a total failure and cannot do anything. It’s hard to fight against something that is all in your mind. No one is telling me I can’t; no one is telling me I am a loser. I am telling me all this. All day, every day for the last 24 years. That is a very difficult pathway to come off of. Something I realised today. There will be no point in my life where I became a perfect human and it will be all gravy. I will constantly struggle. Life is damn hard. I had no idea I would fall this hard. I never saw this coming. I am not alone. We all face different struggles. We face pain we did not expect. It is okay. Not everything can be fixed. But we can adapt and change. I have grown in many ways the last 5 years. I have shrunk into a strange little dark thing but I also fought against it and became a...

"'What day is it today?' 'It's Today', squeaked Piglet. 'My favourite day' said Pooh." -A A Milne.

I am often perusing the interweb, I love kittehs and pugs and corgis and little baby goats. The Internet is so awesome. You can go to a farm/petting zoo without having to go to a farm/petting zoo. What, I’m scared of chickens. Them bitches are scary. Anyway, I finally saw a food picture/recipe meme I could actually do. Not like those seven layers rainbow cakes or cupcakes turned into a baby panda. A MICROWAVE BROWNIE!!!!! Being a massive dessert person, and having those ingredients in my pantry, I gave it the old college try. (I hate it when those recipes expect you to have like essence of newt in you kitchen, it’s like “yeah, I’ll pop down to Diagon Alley during my weekly shopping and grab some.” I hate life.) Holy CRAPOLA this was so easy to make!!!! It worked too.

"Life must be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward." Sören Kierkegaard, Journals and Papers (1843)

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  So I am perfectly aware that this is a YouTube thing however I think it is an awesome way to know whether or not you want this certain blogger or YouTuber in your life. It’s like a “first impressions” for social networking. Not that I condone judging person on first impressions or denouncing someone by the contents of their bag but it’s a fun “get-to-know-you-super-quick” thing and I don’t do videos so I’m going to attempt a blog post “What’s In my Bag”. My handbag is an Enzo Rossi black computer bag. I got it last year for my birthday. I don’t use it as much as I’d like but there isn’t that much space considering it’s size but it’s pretty, so who cares? I carry a lot around with me, much more than I need. I always have a massive bag. I simply cannot condense it; my anxiety-riddled mind won’t let me. I take out a lip balm and that voice whispers “you may need that and when you do, then what?” and back in it goes. Firstly, I have a large clutch whi...