Hello blog readers, merry Christmas to you all - I can't believe I'm blogging about this on Christmas eve (which incidentally is the day I celebrate Christmas because I am Swedish) but this had to be addressed immediately as this landed in my inbox from Cassie.
You may or may not know that I'm an avid reader of health and fitness blogs, and one of the perfect bloggers I am pretty much obsessed with is Cassie Ho of blogilates from Youtube. Combining the internet and fitness was pretty much a godsend for me as I would probably never have been inspired to do anything about my health or fitness had I not stumbled across fitspo blogs. HOWEVER. This email basically was sent by Cassie to all of her followers following comments made on her instagram about her thigh gap.
The thigh gap is such an exhausted topic that I won't go into my personal opinion on it, apart from to say that I majorly sit on the fence regarding such matters. I will however say, I understand the fascination with the thigh gap. I am from the magical and mysterious place of Tumblr, and I am ready to admit one of the first things I look at when passing other girls is often the thighs. It's instinct to me. As somebody who strove incredibly hard to achieve the thigh gap, and partially succeeded, it did not surprise me that such a debate has arisen surrounding it.
What people, especially young girls, need to understand, is that the thigh gap will not be as easily achieved if you work out like crazy and starve yourself. You are building up your muscles, not losing fat if you are doing resistance training and toning etc. You will achieve that thigh gap if your body is suited towards that body type, which includes your stature and your muscle build as well as your hip placement.
But I also want to point out that achieving the thigh gap is not an achievement at all. I "achieved" the thigh gap through months of misery and incredibly unhappy times limiting myself to less than a quarter of the recommended calorie intake spending the majority of my time miserable. I wasn't happier when I was thin as I didn't see I'd lost weight until someone said something about it negatively i.e friends and family who told me I looked "worse". That hurt. But they were right.
A friend at the time sat beside me and said "You don't look thin. You look ill." And that is not what I wanted to hear. I felt ugly and ashamed of myself, but she was right. I did look unwell. There was nothing beautiful about my grey pudgy skin or my over announced bones, and there was definitely nothing beautiful about the floods of tears that occurred every day at 3am when I felt overwhelmed by it all.
The meaning of this post isn't to be preachy, it's not to say I'm 100% right but from my own experience - the thigh gap shouldn't have a place on your fitness journey. Your hipbones, collarbones, ribs etc are not measurements of your beauty. The undeniable fact is that the picture you have in your head about how you should look is probably the most evil image you will encounter. It is that "should be" that eats away at you bit by bit. The "image" me was photoshopped and more tanned and fitter and happier, but reality me wasn't the same girl in the photos. "Anna's lost a lot of weight" and my friends telling me about things boys had said about me - compliments - merely encouraged me to continue with my struggle.
It scares me that past me probably would have thought the same as these girls - but my message to these girls who posted those comments on Instagram to Cassie is - don't let the thigh gap define you. It won't change your life drastically. You won't feel any more beautiful. Your body is not something that needs drastically changing merely for appearances. Be healthy for the body that you deserve, not the one you want to look like. What matters is that your body functions healthily and well, not that other people appreciate it for image wise.
This is a blog written by a first year Journalism student. My name is Anna-Karin Sager and this is my offloading place for all things creative and reflective.
Monday, 23 December 2013
Sunday, 22 December 2013
"All this technology is making us anti-social"
Well as if we haven't all heard this at least once in our lives. I realise this topic has already been covered by countless journalists, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for just one more - and I have a slightly different take on this to those that I have read around the subject.
It's not abnormal to hate change. This photo is powerful and resembles everything I love about the 20th century. This photograph is a catalyst for questions. Why do we choose to hone in on the fact that they aren't speaking to each other during the time this photo was taken? It is not the technology's fault that these people aren't speaking, rather, the people are genuinely interested in what they are reading and are therefore so immersed that they feel no need to converse.
Needless to say, it is also very possible that immediately after this photo was taken, one or two may have turned to each other to comment on what they had just read, but more to the point: what are they reading? We assume it is all the same newspaper, that they are all of the same background, class etc. These people are all on different journeys, literally speaking, and every single one of these people reading something that a journalist has documented for them will interpret their words differently.
This is a time when reading a newspaper was the equivalent of reading news on your iPad or smart phone, and simply because the form in which we do so has changed, we jump to the conclusion that it is a bad thing. This photo is proof that anti social doesn't exist. This is just a different time of socialising. The readers are socialising with the journalists in part, they are reading and accepting or denying the information they are provided with, which they can then share with the other people they meet after they get off the train, on the train or indeed in several years.
Friday, 20 December 2013
If buildings could speak, what stories would they tell?
I have always been interested in architecture. If I had been better at maths, and believe me I'd love to have been, I would have pursued a career into it without hesitation, apart from maybe interior design. However, my path led me elsewhere - into journalism - and it recently occurred to me, why not incorporate the two?
The granny in me loves nothing more than a night in with cups of tea and Grand Designs. It is my guilty pleasure, and upon reflection I don't feel that guilty about it. Buildings fascinate me. I understand that to a lot of people, a mere construction of wood and concrete isn't anything to fuss about, but to me, buildings are catalysts for conversation and the closest thing we have to a time machine.
This interest is embedded in my blood. My own home in Sweden was built in 1904, by a man named Oskar Svensson. My house was the first to be built on the street, and when my dad bought it in the 1980's, many of the tools and objects of the house were left in and around the garden. So as well as living in this wonderfully historic house, built during the First World War by a normal craftsman with a wife and two children, my family and I can share a part of their history.
To this day, the large vat in which the wife used to wash clothes with the local lake water sits beside the north facing balcony, which we now use as a plant pot. Both the workshed and the outhouse toilet were left up until a few years ago, until my father embarked on his own addition to this place.
For my fourteenth birthday, I was lucky enough to receive the best present I know of. My father renovated the work shed in my garden to be a bedroom for me. He did this almost single-handedly, with my brother and a few of his friends to help insulate and lay floorboards etc. The best part? The single glazed windows originally placed by Oskar remain. Single. Glazing. In Sweden. And due to my father's expertise in insulating well and skillfully, I rarely so much as shiver.
My bedroom was a combination of a workshed and outhouse, and I like to think romantically about how Oskar slaved away at building our dining table, liquor cupboard, even our staircase - when in reality along side that he and his family used one half of my bedroom - for other purposes.
But most interesting of all is how Oskar himself planned to heat the main house. Situated in the corner of my kitchen, is an original 1901 stove which has the ability to heat the entire house. Oskar's wife must have cooked several thousand meals every day, every season. But how did they keep the food cold? Simply put, the staircase in wintertime ranges anywhere from 0 degrees to -10. This was Oskar's family fridge freezer, where they kept food all wintertime to keep it from going off.
Everything about my home is so carefully planned out, so cleverly done it amazes me that architects today make mistakes that Oskar had already thought out the answers to - in the early 1900's. I am incredibly lucky to have such an abyss of history literally right on my doorstep. Buildings are of such high value with such incredible stories to hear about, if only you lend an ear or two to the stories they can tell.
The granny in me loves nothing more than a night in with cups of tea and Grand Designs. It is my guilty pleasure, and upon reflection I don't feel that guilty about it. Buildings fascinate me. I understand that to a lot of people, a mere construction of wood and concrete isn't anything to fuss about, but to me, buildings are catalysts for conversation and the closest thing we have to a time machine.
This interest is embedded in my blood. My own home in Sweden was built in 1904, by a man named Oskar Svensson. My house was the first to be built on the street, and when my dad bought it in the 1980's, many of the tools and objects of the house were left in and around the garden. So as well as living in this wonderfully historic house, built during the First World War by a normal craftsman with a wife and two children, my family and I can share a part of their history.
To this day, the large vat in which the wife used to wash clothes with the local lake water sits beside the north facing balcony, which we now use as a plant pot. Both the workshed and the outhouse toilet were left up until a few years ago, until my father embarked on his own addition to this place.
For my fourteenth birthday, I was lucky enough to receive the best present I know of. My father renovated the work shed in my garden to be a bedroom for me. He did this almost single-handedly, with my brother and a few of his friends to help insulate and lay floorboards etc. The best part? The single glazed windows originally placed by Oskar remain. Single. Glazing. In Sweden. And due to my father's expertise in insulating well and skillfully, I rarely so much as shiver.
My bedroom was a combination of a workshed and outhouse, and I like to think romantically about how Oskar slaved away at building our dining table, liquor cupboard, even our staircase - when in reality along side that he and his family used one half of my bedroom - for other purposes.
But most interesting of all is how Oskar himself planned to heat the main house. Situated in the corner of my kitchen, is an original 1901 stove which has the ability to heat the entire house. Oskar's wife must have cooked several thousand meals every day, every season. But how did they keep the food cold? Simply put, the staircase in wintertime ranges anywhere from 0 degrees to -10. This was Oskar's family fridge freezer, where they kept food all wintertime to keep it from going off.
Everything about my home is so carefully planned out, so cleverly done it amazes me that architects today make mistakes that Oskar had already thought out the answers to - in the early 1900's. I am incredibly lucky to have such an abyss of history literally right on my doorstep. Buildings are of such high value with such incredible stories to hear about, if only you lend an ear or two to the stories they can tell.
Friday, 13 December 2013
What's in a name?
So I often get asked why my online blog name is trueatfirstlight... and the answer is actually a lot simpler than you think. When I first started out blogging, my username was always saager2. You can still find me on most things under that name, but when I began to think about privacy away from school friends and classmates, I came up with trueatfirstlight. The title of a book by one of my all time favourite authors, Ernest Hemingway.
This blog post is literary propaganda, and I urge you all to read. And here's why:
I know it's hardly a cool thing to do anymore, people don't crave the paper-cuts and the musty smell of books anymore when they can be doing other things, but books give you a depth of knowledge that cannot be mined anywhere else.
Although films provide us with a visual aid to characters, plot lines etc, there is a need to read. Books allow the brain to absorb information and then process it. Gone are the days when I would dedicate whole afternoons to reading, but when I get the time I can be found at approximately 3am with eyes wide open lost in a book.
Not only do books give you a somewhat more interesting personality, they also set you apart from people who don't. Books are an abyss of knowledge, where you can "plunder the hallowed heights of Troy" or go to Hogwarts with Harry, as cliche as it may seem, reading is a journey which never costs more than ten pounds.
A book is a vessel of humanity, and it should be treated as such. Dog-eared, tattered, warn, yellowed out pages - those are books who have truly lived. The pristine pages of a shelf full of textbooks have nothing on a thumbed through copy of Jane Eyre or even The Bell Jar.
There is a book for everybody. I like to think of reading the same way I think about dating - don't think me weird. If you read a book and you don't like it, doesn't mean you won't read anything ever again. It teaches you what you do or don't like about the book, the author, the writing style etc, so you know what to look for next time. Bad reads are just as important as good reads in making you a successful and mindful person.
1.) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald:
My all time favourite book, set in the prohibition era in America, the story reveals true insights into personalities, disappointment, history and the dangers of success.
2.) The Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger
Another of my all time favourites, though completely different in style, The Catcher In The Rye is a tale of loneliness, finding oneself, aimless travelling... don't give up on this book. Although slow to get stuck into, a worthy piece of literature.
3.) Ham On Rye - Charles Bukowski
A masterpiece by my favourite poet, the almoost biographical story depicts the life of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego in his novels. Heartbreaking, subtle and yet scrupulously detailed, this book is an insight to a low life drunk, tramp and heartbroken man burdened with the unease of his upbringing.
4.) Anne Frank's Diary, The Diary Of A Young Girl - Anne Frank.
Almost self explanatory, if you haven't already, read this book. A scarily personal portrayal of a young girl's thoughts as she hides in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation. Unique, enriching and incredibly heartbreaking, this story needs to be read by all. Besides which, it's extremely quotable.
5.) Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
Although primarily a children's book, this is the first book I wept my heart out to by Morpurgo. If this book were food, it would be a homemade soup made on a fire. It warms the heart, tears it in two, and then mends it. A tale of family, first world war and love, this story shouldn't be put aside for the mere fact it was intended for a younger audience.
6.) Anna Karinina - Leo Tolstoy
Stealthy, hearty, sometimes irritating, Tolstoy recreates late 19th century Russia as it was for the elite. Adultery, mental illness, false imagery and the like, a story from Tolstoy not to be missed.
*Not reccommended if you have a short attention span, this book makes a very good paperweight as it probably weighs the same as a small child.
7.) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
My second favourite book, and also incidentally the book I studied for my GCSE's, this is a story that changed lives. I mean literally. Not a civil rights book as such, but Lee paints the innocent picture of a childhood in Alabama in 40s. Crime, childhood and innocence put together the puzzle of protagonist Scout's father, Atticus, a lawyer in Maycombe County. This is something everyone should read, if only to understand humanity a little better - and also to smile at how adorable Dill and Scout are.
8.) Lucky - Alice Sebold.
This story kept me up all night. An entirely true story based on the authors life, this story had me writhing with anger and sadness but suspense and relief too. Incredibly explicit but will turn the feminist cogs in anybody, even if they're a little rusty or indeed haven't ever been used. This is a story about justice, not rape.
9.) Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
A prequel to Jane Eyre, one of the most popular pieces of literature in Britain, Rhys provides readers with the story of Bertha, the mad women in the attic. Incredible in its venture to reverse prejudices towards white Jamaican women. This book is a must read if you read Jane Eyre - which you should because it's equally good, but this book contests Victorian attitudes - and the notion that readers simply swallow whatever they have read.
10.) Försvunnen (Vanished Eng. translation) - Liza Marklund
Last but not least, an author from my hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, an ex investigative journalist, Marklund is one of the most well respected authors in Scandinavia. This book, pacy and gripping will keep you up all night if you like Nordic Noir, and tells the raw but frighteningly true story of abusive relationships and women who are forced into hiding. A must read.
So there we are. If there are any books that anybody would like to reccommend to me, I would be more than grateful.
xo
This blog post is literary propaganda, and I urge you all to read. And here's why:
I know it's hardly a cool thing to do anymore, people don't crave the paper-cuts and the musty smell of books anymore when they can be doing other things, but books give you a depth of knowledge that cannot be mined anywhere else.
Although films provide us with a visual aid to characters, plot lines etc, there is a need to read. Books allow the brain to absorb information and then process it. Gone are the days when I would dedicate whole afternoons to reading, but when I get the time I can be found at approximately 3am with eyes wide open lost in a book.
Not only do books give you a somewhat more interesting personality, they also set you apart from people who don't. Books are an abyss of knowledge, where you can "plunder the hallowed heights of Troy" or go to Hogwarts with Harry, as cliche as it may seem, reading is a journey which never costs more than ten pounds.
A book is a vessel of humanity, and it should be treated as such. Dog-eared, tattered, warn, yellowed out pages - those are books who have truly lived. The pristine pages of a shelf full of textbooks have nothing on a thumbed through copy of Jane Eyre or even The Bell Jar.
There is a book for everybody. I like to think of reading the same way I think about dating - don't think me weird. If you read a book and you don't like it, doesn't mean you won't read anything ever again. It teaches you what you do or don't like about the book, the author, the writing style etc, so you know what to look for next time. Bad reads are just as important as good reads in making you a successful and mindful person.
10 books I think everyone should read:
1.) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald:
My all time favourite book, set in the prohibition era in America, the story reveals true insights into personalities, disappointment, history and the dangers of success.
2.) The Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger
Another of my all time favourites, though completely different in style, The Catcher In The Rye is a tale of loneliness, finding oneself, aimless travelling... don't give up on this book. Although slow to get stuck into, a worthy piece of literature.
3.) Ham On Rye - Charles Bukowski
A masterpiece by my favourite poet, the almoost biographical story depicts the life of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego in his novels. Heartbreaking, subtle and yet scrupulously detailed, this book is an insight to a low life drunk, tramp and heartbroken man burdened with the unease of his upbringing.
4.) Anne Frank's Diary, The Diary Of A Young Girl - Anne Frank.
Almost self explanatory, if you haven't already, read this book. A scarily personal portrayal of a young girl's thoughts as she hides in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation. Unique, enriching and incredibly heartbreaking, this story needs to be read by all. Besides which, it's extremely quotable.
5.) Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo
Although primarily a children's book, this is the first book I wept my heart out to by Morpurgo. If this book were food, it would be a homemade soup made on a fire. It warms the heart, tears it in two, and then mends it. A tale of family, first world war and love, this story shouldn't be put aside for the mere fact it was intended for a younger audience.
6.) Anna Karinina - Leo Tolstoy
Stealthy, hearty, sometimes irritating, Tolstoy recreates late 19th century Russia as it was for the elite. Adultery, mental illness, false imagery and the like, a story from Tolstoy not to be missed.
*Not reccommended if you have a short attention span, this book makes a very good paperweight as it probably weighs the same as a small child.
7.) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
My second favourite book, and also incidentally the book I studied for my GCSE's, this is a story that changed lives. I mean literally. Not a civil rights book as such, but Lee paints the innocent picture of a childhood in Alabama in 40s. Crime, childhood and innocence put together the puzzle of protagonist Scout's father, Atticus, a lawyer in Maycombe County. This is something everyone should read, if only to understand humanity a little better - and also to smile at how adorable Dill and Scout are.
8.) Lucky - Alice Sebold.
This story kept me up all night. An entirely true story based on the authors life, this story had me writhing with anger and sadness but suspense and relief too. Incredibly explicit but will turn the feminist cogs in anybody, even if they're a little rusty or indeed haven't ever been used. This is a story about justice, not rape.
9.) Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
A prequel to Jane Eyre, one of the most popular pieces of literature in Britain, Rhys provides readers with the story of Bertha, the mad women in the attic. Incredible in its venture to reverse prejudices towards white Jamaican women. This book is a must read if you read Jane Eyre - which you should because it's equally good, but this book contests Victorian attitudes - and the notion that readers simply swallow whatever they have read.
10.) Försvunnen (Vanished Eng. translation) - Liza Marklund
Last but not least, an author from my hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, an ex investigative journalist, Marklund is one of the most well respected authors in Scandinavia. This book, pacy and gripping will keep you up all night if you like Nordic Noir, and tells the raw but frighteningly true story of abusive relationships and women who are forced into hiding. A must read.
So there we are. If there are any books that anybody would like to reccommend to me, I would be more than grateful.
xo
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
When writing a story...
Reading a story in a newspaper, it is easy to overlook how simple the language is. Accessible and easy to follow, the language flows more easily than a novel or piece of prose.
But after years of being told to avoid plain language, to show not tell, to elaborate on simpler finer points, writing a news story is not as easy as reading one.
Creating a news story takes a lot of patience and practice. Refining language and selecting key points is more of a skill than first thought. Particularly when writing stories I have found myself over elaborating on details that aren't necessary to the story.
Luckily, my blog is where I'm allowed to off-load my abundance of thoughts. It was in fact my writing an awful lot that gained me the some 2,000 followers I had on my previous blog. Although personal and often rant-style posts, it amazed me that people were interested in what I had to say, and in a world where people are prepared only to listen when it suits them, blogging fills a void in our social sphere that I fear would be totally lost had blogging not become so popular.
But after years of being told to avoid plain language, to show not tell, to elaborate on simpler finer points, writing a news story is not as easy as reading one.
Creating a news story takes a lot of patience and practice. Refining language and selecting key points is more of a skill than first thought. Particularly when writing stories I have found myself over elaborating on details that aren't necessary to the story.
Luckily, my blog is where I'm allowed to off-load my abundance of thoughts. It was in fact my writing an awful lot that gained me the some 2,000 followers I had on my previous blog. Although personal and often rant-style posts, it amazed me that people were interested in what I had to say, and in a world where people are prepared only to listen when it suits them, blogging fills a void in our social sphere that I fear would be totally lost had blogging not become so popular.
Democracy in Journalism: Snowden, Rusbridger [thoughts]
Today Alan Rusbridger stood before MP's to defend the right to release intelligence leaks in The Guardian Newspaper. A key component in writing my stories for my degree is choosing a story.
News is everywhere. Sifting through what is relevant, what is interesting and what is ethical to write about is a whole different ball game. Yesterday, crime correspondent Sandra Laville gave a guest lecture about Journalism post the Leveson enquiry. She stressed the difficulty journalists face in making quick decisions about what to write about and how these decisions are usually made.
Although being a student journalist means I don't have to decide whether or not to release names or identities about people involved in my stories (or even more serious issues) it does create a difficulty in what to cover and what to leave out.
A strength of mine when it comes to writing is varying my work. I rarely like to stay on the same topic, and each of my self generated stories had originality and I stayed well away from soft stories, which I avoided because from a personal point of view, I often find them tedious to read, let alone write.
Upon reflection, the slow but steady progress made from my first story has improved greatly, they have more depth and certainly tell the story in a more concise manner.
The main thing I learned from my experience of writing news stories: there is no room in Journalism for shyness. Being shy won't get you the story, the quotes or the confidence to write well.
News is everywhere. Sifting through what is relevant, what is interesting and what is ethical to write about is a whole different ball game. Yesterday, crime correspondent Sandra Laville gave a guest lecture about Journalism post the Leveson enquiry. She stressed the difficulty journalists face in making quick decisions about what to write about and how these decisions are usually made.
Although being a student journalist means I don't have to decide whether or not to release names or identities about people involved in my stories (or even more serious issues) it does create a difficulty in what to cover and what to leave out.
A strength of mine when it comes to writing is varying my work. I rarely like to stay on the same topic, and each of my self generated stories had originality and I stayed well away from soft stories, which I avoided because from a personal point of view, I often find them tedious to read, let alone write.
Upon reflection, the slow but steady progress made from my first story has improved greatly, they have more depth and certainly tell the story in a more concise manner.
The main thing I learned from my experience of writing news stories: there is no room in Journalism for shyness. Being shy won't get you the story, the quotes or the confidence to write well.
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