My Inspirations: Demi Lovato.

I'm a prepared little bunny this month, even if that is by complete accident.

I was contemplating over who to write about for May's edition of these series of posts, and it was between two women who admire so much for different reasons. I know the one that I didn't write about this month, would definitely be featured next month. 

So I've been confused over which one is more inspirational at the present moment... But I read a quick little article that secured this girl a place as May's inspirational person immediately.

That girl is Demi Lovato.

Look at that photo and tell

me she is not beautiful!

As many of you know, Demi had a tough year last year. She had to deal a break up from her Boyfriend, the pressure of being a Disney star and role model to thousands, knowing all too well that she was under the constant watch of the paparazzi: all whilst dealing with under lying emotional and physical issues that have plagued her for years. She went into rehab to turn her life around after coping with these said issues last October, and was there for months.

Now, she's out of rehab with a new lease for life, and a new found dedication to help troubled teens overcome serious issues such as depression, cutting and eating disorders.

She's newly completed her first TV interview since her stint in rehab, announced that she's going back into the studio to record some new songs and has also been announced as Seventeen magazine's contributing editor. It's a nice reminder that things DO get better. 

She's so well known for that glorious grin

that never seem to be absent from her

face...

But in the past few years, the public appeared

to be more interested in the mysterious scars

that could be seen on her wrists.

Doesn't that just sum up society? Their not concerned for the person self harming themselves, but rather the possibility to spread more gossip. That's probably why Lovato's rep dismissed the claims of self mutilation and said:

 "Demi was wearing gummy bracelets just prior to her appearance on the red carpet and, because of how tight they were, they left indentations on her wrists"

With the world watching, wouldn't you lie?


I have so much respect for Demi, and for her bravery in facing these social faux pas head on, with such honesty. If you've ever kept a secret from the people that you've loved in your life, then you realise just how much of a daunting task it is to finally own up and say "Do you know what? I need some serious help." To share her tragic secret not only with her friends and family, but with the world, to help herself and to inspire those who are going through similar troubles? That is true courage, rivalled only by warriors.


It's not often that a celebrity opens up about truthful past experiences for a reason other than sympathy or a chance to prolong their time in the spotlight. I hate that this is the case, but it is.


As many of Demi's fans know, she was bullied pretty badly when she was at school. Pretty badly could be seen as understatement of the year, as it got so serious, she was pulled out of school and was taught at home. But home-schooling wasn't a solution to all of her problems, as the cruel taunts of Demi's classmates sparked an eating disorder that has plagued her from that moment onwards.


It's a painful reminder of just how much of an effect our words can have on the minds of others. An idea is like a virus, a single strand of one can multiply into a disease that infects an entire person's life. Bullying can lead to so many problems, from eating disorders to suicide, it's not an issue that can be taken lightly.


Demi knows this all too well, which is why she backs a campaign called "Love is louder", which supports people who have dealt with similar issues that the star has gone through herself. 


It's a beautiful sight to see, a gorgeous young pop-star, who has not only risen above the intense bullying that she has dealt with in her past and went to rehab under the glaring eyes of the world media to cope with an eating disorder, a mental disorder and the serious issue of self harm, but has been so open with us all after leaving the facility for the good of other young people going through the same problems as Demi was facing.


Self-harm, Bullemia and bi-polar disorder are becoming more and more common, but the social stigma that goes with them, and the lack of of understanding people have towards these issues, remains unchanged. In this celebrity obsessed culture we have now become, the only way to change the world is by becoming a celebrity and talking openly about your life experiences, or at least, it's beginning to feel like that. I adore what Demi has done.


Demi seems like a genuinely lovely person, and it truly pains me to learn about the horrible things she has been subjected to in her life. She's proved that she's a caring cutie, making a real difference in the field of philanthropy and charity, supporting names such as Love our children, City of hope, St. Jude Children's research hospital and Kids Wish Network. Any interview with her friends or work mates have had nothing but kind words to say about the girl, which only cements our initial impression of Demi's kindness. 


If you haven't watched the interview yet, then please, watch it. It's really tragic in some parts, but I doubt that you can truly appreciate the real Demi instead of Demi Lovato, the Disney princess, if you haven't watched it.

“I don't think that I was ever trying to kill myself, but I knew that if I had ever gone too far that I wouldn't care.

"My mom was terrified of walking into my room in the mornings, sometimes because she didn't know what she would find, because it had become that serious"

“When I was 7 years old I started having, actual suicidal thoughts”

Can't even put into words the amount of respect I have for this girl.


I wish her all the best in her recovery, and on behalf of the people that have been influenced by her to go and get help for their problems? I thank Demi.


Lauren xxx

Forget the social stigma.

I've got my geeky thinking glasses on right now, so you know I mean business when I write this post.


I have never attempted to force my beliefs on you, my wonderful readers, I have never attempted to change someone's life with my words, I have never attempted to inspire someone to make a positive life choice, but I have always wanted you to learn something new, or understand a situation or illness that you were otherwise confused about. A thirst for knowledge is the thing that separates us humans from mere animals after all.


And I know, that as soon as I say what topic the post will be on, many of you will roll your eyes, or start speculating about my own involvement in the topic, or just skip this post entirely. You know what? I'm fine with that. But as said, A thirst for knowledge is the thing that separates us humans from animals, if you are content with being an animal, and judging others for the difficulties and hardships they are going through, then by all means, go ahead. Don't let me stop you. 


For the rest of you, I'd like to clear up a very sensitive and incredibly misunderstood issue that plagues so many in my generation: Self harm.


People really dislike self harm. Mostly, because they don't understand it. Pain is a terrible thing... clearly, it hurts. We have learnt to avoid anything that could result in us having to endure pain, be it thorns, electric shocks, intimidating people or sharp objects. We just avoid them. Pain is bad. Pain is very bad. Why would you inflict pain, an unpleasant experience that our race has been attempting to avoid for thousands of years, on themselves?


To put it simply? There's not really one correct answer. 


Self harm is a very individual thing. Each victim will have their own, specific, method of inflicting pain upon themselves. Most cut, some bite, others burn, and there are a few who will purposely throw limbs off of hard, inanimate objects in order to make themselves bruise. The location of self-harming is also an individual choice. Pop culture has set the false stereotype of self harm as depressed teenagers who cut their wrists for attention. The entire stereotype is focused on the minority of self-harmers. Most DO NOT want anyone to find out about their secret, so they don't cut themselves on their wrists, but self harm else-where on their bodies, where no-one can see. If they do cut their wrists, then they will tend to wear long sleeves constantly, to avoid being discovered.


It's really tragic once you think about it. The self harmers are going through so much trouble to prevent their loved ones seeing their scars because they are either:

• Ashamed of the mutilation they have carried out on their own body.
• Do not want their loved ones to worry about them.
• Do not want to appear as "attention seeking".
• Do not want to be classed as an "emo" and taunted for their problems.

It's the last point that I am most disgusted about. I cannot understand why this is the social norm, that people are genuinely so filled with hatred towards "emo's" and what they do to themselves. First off, they are clearly not aware of just how big a problem self harm is. 1 in 10 teenagers self harm. That's only the official number, the number that have went to receive help for their problems. The actual statistics are meant to be much higher. I can name seven people, easily, that I know have struggled with this issue. You'll know at least one person who goes through this battle with themselves on almost a daily basis, I guarantee you, even if you are not aware that they partake in such an "idiotic" act. 

Which bring us to our next point: Self harm is not a idiotic thing to do and it certainly isn't a suicide attempt. If you see a friend self harming, don't jump the gun and assume they are suicidal. Cutting, biting, burning and bruising are all coping techniques. Insanely self destructive? Yes. But a coping technique? Absolutely. Self harmers often do not want to die, but want to live, and not feel empty or as if they are merely existing. 

People who self harm are just like everyone else. They smile and laugh, they aim to not only live, but to live a good life, and unless you see their scars, you'd assume they were just "average people". And being "emo" certainly doesn't mean you can't be successful or live a good life. Celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Angelina Jolie, Mary Kate, Johnny Depp and Owen Wilson have all self harmed at one point in their life. They are not the "stereotypical self-harmers", but very few people are.

The main point to focus on is that they have now fully recovered. It's not an easy thing to do. You may wonder why your friend doesn't just "stop it", but so  many cannot fully understand the addictive nature of self injury. As said before, it is a coping technique, and allows the person to feel instant relief from the difficult to cope with emotions that he or she is feeling at the time. In fact, beta endorphins are released in the brain following S.I. In other words? Cutting yourself makes you feel good. It's hard to believe but look it up. It's true.

If you know someone who is a self harmer, do not confront them aggressively, demanding to know why they are doing it, because the likelihood is, they couldn't answer that even if they wanted to. That being said, do not avoid the subject fully. Let your friend know that you are there if they want someone to talk to, and that if you don't bring the subject up again, it is because you respect their privacy, and not because you are avoiding the issue altogether.
Be a distraction. Depression and self injury is something often felt/done in the privacy of someone's own room. If you take them out for a movie, or even a walk, it's likely that the urge to self harm will be dramatically decreased. Pressure, family issues, sexuality conflicts, grief and low self esteem don't seem to dominate your life when you are out, having fun with friends. 


Just don't judge. It's a horrible thing, but I know how many people make fun of self harmers. They call them "emo's", as an insult. There's just so many wrong things about that...

• Emo is a culture. 
• You do no have to self harm to be emo, and you do not have to be emo to self harm.
• Self harm is a coping technique and is often a sign for extreme personal issues. Tormenting a self harmer out of their coping technique by bullying them until they stop could result in them taking their own life.
• Insulting someone in such a delicate mental state is beneath moral beings such as ourselves. If you've ever called someone an "emo", in an attempt to wound them emotionally, then you should be deeply ashamed of yourself.

Do I expect anything to change because of this post? Most certainly not. It'll be forgotten quicker than it was written. But maybe, just maybe, you've learnt something about this scarily common issue and will know how to re-act if you find out about your friends own self-injury... or perhaps you've realized that you are not alone.

Forget the social stigma. 

Support your friends.

Stop the hatred.

Lauren xxx

He'll Save Everyone of Us

This afternoon I sat down and watched the 80s Flash Gordon movie on Blu-ray, I've had the disc for a while, I picked it up in a two for the price of one sale but I kind of assumed it wouldn't look all that great in High Definition.

Well it seems I was wrong, it looks fantastic for a movie of it's age and it's audio mix was pretty impressive as well, obviously some restoration work has been done for this version of the movie as it's the cleanest print I've seen but there wasn't any detail loss that I noticed caused by using excessive Digital Noise Reduction on the picture, there were a few scenes where some of the actors looked a bit odd but I think that was because of excessive makeup rather than excessive DNR.

It was a little disappointing to see the commentaries that were done for some of the DVD releases weren't included on the Blu-ray so this isn't the definitive release but I doubt much more can be done with the movie in terms of picture and sound quality so if you are just interested in the movie and not extras then the current Blu-ray is the version to get.

Things then make ne go Hmmm

Apparently there is a royal wedding tonight and personally I couldn't care less, don't get me wrong I have nothing against the couple in question but it seems to me a lot on money is being wasted on this event and I imagine that it's mostly if not entirely publicly funded, I hope the unemployed, the sick and the homeless in the UK all feel better about themselves and their situations tonight, it just seems to me that all the money could be put to much better use.

Australia's Prime Minister is attending, the same Prime Minister who doesn't believe in marriage and is Republican, so she doesn't support the Monarchy or support marriage which begs the question Why is she there ?, a lot of people will no doubt say that Australia should be represented at such an event and I guess as a matter of international relations we should be but perhaps we should have sent the Deputy Prime Minister or the Governor General instead, at least that wouldn't seem quite as hypocritical.

I play electric triangle for the Suicidal pirates.

If Jack is a suicidal pirate...

He should NOT be holding a gun.

Naaah. "Suicidal pirates" is the name of me and Laura's death-core metal band. 

If you know Laura, then you'd laugh at this, because she's without a doubt the most optimistic person I have EVER met. She can't frown. Seriously. She tried to frown and she looked like a three year old attempting to scowl.

Imagine a female version of this.

That is Laura's frown. So forced! She's too much of a cutie to be pessimstic.

That's Laura... Just so you know what she

 looks like

So... imagine Laura in one of theses bands...

...

Actually, I hope she DOES get into Bring me the

horizon... Oli is pretty damn hot.

...

Why do I have such a thing for Emo boys?! 

STUDY

Attempted to study for my Psychology NAB (and failed to study for my psychology NAB) but I did see one of the best sights ever... 

 <= Fast forward to 3.40.

Chris was shuffling in Study.

Sorry... Chris was shuffling like a boss in Study.

He was really going for it, then a teacher walked past our room and had a little giggle to themselves. They must think that half of us are on drugs...

Wait... half of us are on drugs...

They must think we are all on drugs.

Then Chris started to talk gangsta.... it all went down hill from there.

MATHS

I've said it so many times, but I've only got three more blog posts to complain how terrible maths is because I've only got Thursday, Friday and Tuesday to go and then boom. Finished maths.

Forever.

It's an amazing feeling. However, I can't begin to describe how much I am going to miss Sophie, Calum and Dougal.

I'll see Dougal from time to time, he'll be in my English class next year, but I don't know if I'll be sitting next to him sooo *sad face*.

And Calum and Sophie are leaving for good in such a short amount of time! Makes me very upset...

DOUBLE PSYCHOLOGY

We were told that next week is the last week we will ever see Dod...

Do you think that sounds sinister? I think that sounds really sinister.

This is a live feed from a cupboard in

Aberdeen college. Poor Dod.

We had Sue though, and Sue is awesome. We were doing some "focused" revision (i.e. Sue told us what is in the test) on Memory:

SUE: What are the different types of influence?

DANIELLE: I can't remember...

How ironic, people seem to have difficulty remembering memory.


Speaking to Hannah and Emma again, they are so sweet. It really annoys me that we've only started chatting to them and now? Boom. End of term.


Why does that always happen?

SCOTT: I was in Hospital for appendicitis.

HANNAH: Why didn't you die?

Haha, as said, so sweet!


Spent the entire lunchtime talking to Sam. She's one cool kiddie. But our conversations always go wrong...

ME: Who needs men anyways?

SAM: We need penis to make babies.

ME: No. We need semen to make babies.

SAM: But we need p...

ME: How did we get onto this?! 

Also, we were talking about Euphemisms:

SAM: My Gran said: "I'm going to kick the bucket", so I was like "No Grandma, you're not going to die!". She then walked over to the bin and kicked it.

ME: I'm going to kick the bucket...

SAM: Go on.

Yeah. I went and kicked the bucket. I am a zombie. Fear me.

Or... go "Awww! at me.

Whichever.

Back to the "Suicidal Pirates".

SAM: Can I join?

ME: Sure.

SAM: What can I do?

ME: I don't know... what can you play? 

SAM: Only singing or triangle.

ME: ... ELECTRIC triangle?

Boo. Freaking. Yah.

FREE

Not much was done. Just chilled on the hill really. Good fun!

ART

We were meant to be revising for the writing exam... but instead?


Me and Kelly played the google auto-fill game.

Some of them are brilliant. Love this game!


Lauren xxx

Celebles.

Oh Dr Robertson, what a sweetie pie he is.


First up? Mood today has vastly improved. I still need to blog for yesterday, not that much happened yesterday and besides, I was in a really bad place. 


But it's all good now. So don't you worry your pretty little head.


Kincorth pupils got a fancy coach to take us to school again today...


First bus must have us confused with school that can actually afford comfy seats and air-con...

I am fairly disturbed, when I googled 

"Posh schools", this photo came up...

You know those Playboy bunnies, world renowned

 for their intellectual abilities.

Stepped off of the bus feeling like a plastic bag... I mean, feeling like P Diddy, I mean feeling like a G6....

No. But I'm feeling

a little like an idiot.

I stepped off of the bus feeling like a pimp. Not that I would know what It feels like to be a pimp...

But I presume that all you need to do is

use the word "ho" in every sentence,

perfect your smug "sexy duck" face

and wear lots of animal prints/bling

Unless the life of a pimp is deceptively hard...

MOVING ON.

P.E.

Back to the good old days of doing nothing.

Lauren got annoyed cause she waved to us all and got ignored by everyone... So I went over and gave her a hug.

Is there anything that a hug can't fix?

Okay, it can't fix that.

 

Or that.

We've discovered that a hug

cannot fix everything. Move On.

ART

Sticking masking tape to a template.

So busy.

This folio has genuinely been giving me trouble.

Hopefully, I can blitz it at the weekend.

Fun times lie ahead.

DOUBLE ENGLISH

Fullo banter was replaced with Geddes banter.

Well... Geddes/McGlynn/Murray banter. 

Actually... Geddes/McGlynn/Murray/Armstrong/Clark banter with a silent conversation with Billy added in for the giggles.

But that hardly rolls off the tongue...

Why didn't I just say epic banter to begin with?

Great. Now I've over-used the word banter and it sounds weird now.

I laugh everytime Megan does an impersonations of someone. It's uncanny how well she manages to portray their mannerisms, even their tone of voice. 

Everyone's got their leaver's hoodies just now, which rock. They remind me of the American varsity jackets, purely because of their colours. They look so good, but the sizes are messed up.

CALUM: This is a medium, but look *displays all the room he has in the hoodie*

CAITLIN: That's a medium?! I thought you would have taken the large...

Poor Calum!


Megan was speaking about her typing problems too, saying that she went to "shit" in someone's car. Instead of "sit" in someone's car.


The simple things in life make me giggle.


Mrs McKay was trying to dampen the mood though, it's alright, I just asked her about Loch Nagar and she mellowed out.


Just kidding! But that woman seriously has an obsession with those mountains.

CAITLIN: Ms, are you going to prom?

MRS MCKAY: Yes, I am.

CAITLIN: What are you wearing

MRS MCKAY: A dress.

CAITLIN: What kind of dress?

MRS MCKAY: A plain black one, sleeveless.

Riveting conversation. 


Talked to Sam at lunch, she tattooed herself accidentally yesterday.


I know what you are thinking "What? How can you possibly tattoo yourself accidentally?" (Unless you are thinking "Why am I reading this shit?" then, clearly, I need to take more 'How to be psychic' classes)


But the reason she tattooed herself accidentally was because she had the tattoo gun switched off (don't ask why she has a tattoo gun), assumed there was no ink left (don't ask why she only assumed this) and began jabbing the shape of a smiley face into her skin (Just... don't ask.)


So now, she's got a smiley face tattoo. For life. What a numpty.


To understand the origins of the next conversation, allow me to take you back to last week's tweet:

From now on, I'm going to break awkward silences by saying, in a low, husky voice: "I'm Batmaaaaaaan."

Which brought us to:

ME: I'm Batmaaaaaaaan.

SAM: I want Batman to molest me.

ME: I left my bedroom window open last Summer at night so Batman could swoop in and molest me.

SAM: *laughs*

ME: ... I don't lie.

SAM: You're being serious, aren't you?

Yes. I did this.


Not even for comic effect, I. DID. THIS.

DOUBLE BIOLOGY

And back to "Dr Robertson is such a sweetie"


We had a NAB today. And Dr Robertson basically gave us the upcoming questions.


Boo yah!


Although he did have major trouble with the word "celebs".


Celebles
To 
Celebs'
To
Celeb's
To (eventually)
Celebs.


He may have a doctorate, but typing isn't his strong suit.


Next period was just spent doing the NAB. It wasn't too bad, because we knew most of the answers and Abie kept me amused.


She was waving her ruler around everywhere to get people's attentions and then she showed me a magic trick.

ABIE: *moving lips but not speaking* Watch this!

Abie then covers up the calculator with the ruler, and because it's solar powered?


The calculator went off...


Then she removed it and, PRESTO!


It went back on again.


What can I say? Abie is easily amused magic.


Lauren xxx


P.S. Had this in my head all day. 

"And he waddled away *waddle waddle*"

Thought I'd share.

They're Here: The Poltergeist Trilogy on Blu-ray

I guess it must be nearly a couple of months ago that I picked up, Poltergeist on Blu-ray, it's one of those movies I seem to see every three or four years on TV, I did buy the 25th Anniversary Edition when it was released on DVD, I have to admit that for some time I was hesitant about getting the movie on Blu-ray, for whatever reason I was convinced the movie would probably look pretty bad in High Definition but was I ever wrong, it looked great, sure a couple of the special effects sequences looked a bit dated but overall I was pretty impressed.

As much as I've always enjoyed Poltergeist I can only remember renting the sequels once ( on VHS ) so if you pressed me for details I honestly couldn't have told you much about them, well yesterday I saw a Poltergeist Blu-ray double pack on sale containing both sequels and on the spur of the moment I picked it up and I spent a lazy few hours watching them today.

To my surprise I rather enjoyed Poltergeist 2: The Other Side, I sort of remembered the priest when I saw him onscreen and I thought it was a decent sequel to Poltergeist, I thought it continued and expanded the story nicely, sure the ending was a little cheesy but I can forgive  that.

Poltergeist 3 however sucked, I guess they tired to do something a little different with this sequel but honestly if they couldn't get back all of the original cast they probably shouldn't have bothered, add to that a story that made little sense and you have a pretty bad movie, maybe with a better writer / director this movie could have been salvaged, it did contain a couple of interesting ideas but nothing much was done with them and I found that frustrating.

I can't be sure but I don't imagine any restoration work was done on the Poltergeist sequels so keeping that in mind they both looked and sounded great on Blu-ray but as it's been proven many times before a great looking movie isn't the same as a great movie.

Given the chance I'd recommend picking up Poltergeist and Poltergeist 2 but I wouldn't bother with the third film unless it was dirt cheap.

Jumbo jet landing area, please, back away.

They look so small in the pictures...

...

Moving on.

Redgy this morning was hilarious, mainly because of the tension between Mrs Talboys and Caitlin.

Clearly, Mrs Talboys hates Caitlin for some reason. I don't know why, Caitlin's a lovely girl, but, If I was guessing, I'd say that Mrs Talboys was jealous of Caitlin's wig on Friday.

It looked like that.

Tell me that isn't something

to be jealous of.

MRS TALBOYS: We were just saying that people who take Thursday afternoon off to prepare for Prom will not be allowed to go to prom.

CAITLIN: Seriously?!

MRS TALBOYS: Yes.

CAITLIN: But that's not enough time to get ready!

MRS TALBOYS: How isn't it?! The Prom isn't until 7.

CAITLIN: But I get picked up at 5!

MRS TALBOYS: Well you won't be going if you're missing the last two periods...

CAITLIN: I'm not going to be skivving!!

MRS TALBOYS: Are you planning on staying on next year?

CAITLIN: Yes!

MRS TALBOYS: Where's your tie?

She's been harping on about this tie for ages. 

CAITLIN: It's not my fault If I can't get one!

MRS TALBOYS: This sheet goes to Guidance...

At this point, I must recite a twitter convo me and Lily had two days ago...

LILY: Need a 1B1 reunion haha

ME: We totally do!! Mrs Talboys is getting...annoying though... no invite for her! 

So what does Caitlin turn around and say?

CAITLIN: You were right about the 1B1 re-union!!  

DOUBLE ENGLISH

Mrs Fulton... what a legend.


She was talking about last weeks Prelim and Mrs Davies (the invigilator)

MRS FULTON: All the hand signals... I thought that she was trying to land a Jumbo Jet! * imitates her*. Then I looked at Ewan and I got the giggles... she turned to me and said "You're just as bad as the children!"

Turns out, Calum is wearing Caitlin's tie.


There was actually a big arguement that went on during our English class today, even Mrs Fulton joined in!

MRS FULTON: You really can't keep the tie if she's going to get in trouble...

CALUM: Are we really having a conversation about a tie?!

Having a conversation about ties is only socially acceptable if

the tie is as awesome as this.

The fact that it was the school's tie mean that the conversation wasn't socially acceptable.

Turn around from the mind-f*ck that was the tie conversation and what do I see?

Megan sprawled out across the table, hanging over the edge.

MRS FULTON: Megan, what ar... *sees that she is reaching for a piece of paper on the ground* Oh.

Ahhh dear, what a cool teacher that woman is.

We don't get her on Wednesday though! She's being forced into doing something for the Firstyears...

Greeeaaaat.

DOUBLE BIOLOGY

I'm not even going to lie to you, I just chatted away to Abie, Claire and Linzie all period.

Biology banter = the best banter.

I finally got to buy Hayley William's cosmo!!

I was shocked Hayley's admission that her b...

I mean...

Lady MacBeth's suicide. Yeah.

That and the price of Cosmo. £4.70? Ridiculous. I only bought it because my idol is on the front cover...

Haha, I'm such a fan girl, it's unreal.

Lauren xxx

P.S. I said on LJ that I would make a drinking game out of Cosmo. Anytime you see the word "sex", take a shot. Hayley replied, saying that it would be dangerous. Upon buying the issue, I see what she means...

DON'T PLAY THAT DRINKING GAME. Or your liver will die. Seriously.