Who Runs The World?

              "Take your broken heart, turn it into art." At this time of my life, never have the words of the amazing, brilliant Carrie Fisher resonated more with me. Heartbreak is a powerful thing and art, however it may come to you, is a ridiculously cathartic way to begin to heal. I've focused on myself, on writing, on painting, on projects I want to develop and while I may not feel strong enough to pursue everything head on right now, I find myself being more inspired every day. A big reason for that is Instagram. I have a strange relationship with social media, a relationship I see more people developing each day. You feel like you can't go without it, but at times it can be so toxic that it actually interferes with your mental health. That's why I deleted my Facebook page weeks ago, but find myself scrolling through Instagram on a daily basis.

            I've found that Instagram is a great platform for creatives, people looking to build communities or just searching for an outlet to express themselves. Especially for women, the amount of inspiration I've gotten from girls doing incredible things online is unreal. Women are taking Instagram and using a platform to create a space for themselves that might not have been there before, speak on what they feel is important, start businesses, become activists and most importantly, through all of this, empower other women.

             Obviously, Instagram is not perfect. There's a multitude of accounts promoting less than healthy lifestyles and building false ideas of what it's like to, simply, be alive. But those are not the accounts that I'm interested in. I'm interested in young women breaking boundaries and being real, doing it for themselves and being "go getters". There are a few women I have been particularly inspired by these past weeks. One of them is Simran - she is literally one of my major girl crushes right now and I kind of wish we could be best friends. She is a model and writer, who has been really open on social media about her struggles with her mental health all while also sharing the cool projects she's involved in. It's refreshing and inspiring to see that you can be struggling with your mental health but still be out there kicking butt and taking names. Another cool girl kicking butt and taking names is Liv Little, who founded an online magazine written by over 70 women of colour and she is only 23. She is everything I want to be when I grow up, even though we are essentially the same age and I cannot pull off a bald head nearly as well as she does. Another inspiration for getting more of my writing out there has been Rosalind Jana, who, even though she just recently graduated University is already a published author. From overseas, I've also been following Karina Padilla, an artist who has been struggling with a variety of personal issues and whose willingness to be vulnerable and share them with the interwebs I find truly beautiful. The Instagram babe known as bae.doe or Mina Mahmood is also someone I consistently turn to when I'm in need of some badass babe looks and body positivity. Not just for me, but also for some of my friends who are also really inspired by the fact that this girl who supposedly doesn't fit into "conventional beauty standards" - whatever that may mean nowadays - has garnered a huge online following and has people all over the world admiring her beauty. All of these women are not only making moves in their professional fields, but using their online platforms for activism, which only makes them more badass in general. 

                For so long, girls were thaught to compete against each other and hate each other, but now the tables have turned. Girls are not only revelling in their own power and unapologetically owning it, they are sharing that light with other women too. They create their spaces and invite other women in to lift them and helped them shine. Growing up surrounded by that kind of "girl hate" mentality, following these girls has been so uplifting and inspiring - for the first time I shared some of my most intimate writing on Instagram. Inspired by these girls and my own girl gang. Social media can be a place of hate and comparison, but it can also be a place for people to encourage and support each other and I am seeing that more every day and, honestly, I am absolutely in love with it.  

And also, shout out to my own girl gang without whom I would not have made it these past couple of months: Mattie, Bibs, Sóni - Your support throughout these past couple of months has been one of the few things keeping me sane and your encouragement when it comes to me putting myself out there gives me so much strenght. I love you so much and am grateful for you every damn day.