lifestyle – Page 2 of 5

21Jun

By Max FlemingNo Comments

Lifestyle

Mummy’s Boys

What really defines a Mummy’s Boy? Reluctantly independent? Stupidly stubborn? The fact that mummy’s opinion trumps everything else? Can these qualities define YOU? The connection between mothers and their sons is possibly the strongest bond there is. So why aren’t all boys Mummy’s Boys? The answer changes from person to person, but the one element that is shared between all Mummy’s Boys is love. Who else are you going to gossip to about your latest love affairs, or run to when the other kids take your football off you at break? Mummy is the one that solves all your issues, whether it be with a hug or with a bowl of your favourite food made with an extra dollop of mummy’s pity. These are the foundations of what it means to be a Mummy’s Boy. If you’ve ever heard any of the following,...

21Jun

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Lifestyle

Body Dysmorphia

I was afraid to leave the house today and I am not the only one. Considering the issues in the world at the moment, this might seem trivial, and maybe it is, or at least I wish it was. This morning, I woke up, tried on a shirt that I’ve worn many times, looked in the mirror and felt disgusting. I won’t hide the way I felt. I gave myself the same look I would give a group of maggots on a rotten apple. If it were a friend looking at themselves that way, I would not encourage it. Carolyn Korsmeyer claimed that ‘it is the foul nature of the objects that trigger this emotion’. I saw myself as foul because I had a muffin top. The modern world is an incredible place, the connections we can make and maintain are wonderful, and our ability to influence each other is widely beneficial. After ...

An Honest Discussion About Queerness and Connection

21Jun

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Lifestyle

An Honest Discussion About Queerness and Connection

Relationships can be difficult to navigate for anyone, but finding your place as a Queer person can present quite the challenge. Not only can it be more difficult to meet a love interest, but it is also common for LGBTQ+ individuals to feel less comfortable discussing their romantic prospects with friends and family, even if they are confidently ‘out and proud’. It can be difficult not to feel like an outsider when friends are frequently discussing their heterosexual crushes and flings. Particularly for lesbian and gay students, the loneliness of being on a night out, surrounded by straight couples and afraid to approach someone of the same sex for fear of being seen as predatory (an insecurity ingrained into those who fall outside of ‘the norm’), is quite an upsetting experience. Not ...

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

21Jun

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

At six, I pledged to a girl named Isabel that she’d be my best friend forever. She was blonde. I was brunette. Despite this, Isabel always insisted on playing Gabriella when we re-enacted scenes from our beloved High School Musical. I started to hate her a tiny bit. At fourteen, we fell out over boys. When I was nine, I told myself my best friend was a girl called Aoife. She was a bitch in the making, and something about that drew me in. She had a strength that I didn’t. But, like any blossoming bitch, she wanted to surround herself with other bitches (and despite my efforts, I was just a bit too off-the-wall to fit the bitch criteria). I haven’t spoken to Aoife since I was twelve, when her parents shipped her off to boarding school. When I was thirteen, my best friend w...

From Oxfam to “oh dayum!”: the rise of thrifting

12May

By Jessica WattsNo Comments

Lifestyle

From Oxfam to “oh dayum!”: the rise of thrifting

Picture this… It’s 2013. Katy Perry’s “Roar” is blasting from your brand-new iPhone 5c and you’re getting ready for a shopping trip with friends. As you are yanking on some sexy mood rings and an edgy print New Look crop top, you get a message from a friend: “I really fancy going into the charity shops, can we?” You are stunned, offended even. Charity shops are for Grandmas, weirdos, losers…why would you ever want to step foot into those dusty antique collectors? Fast forward… It’s 2020. You’ve been in lockdown for four months and all you dream of is seeing the welcoming red sign of the British Heart Foundation. How you long to be browsing the aisles of Oxfam, arms brimming with treasures. What could be better than an afternoon of thrifting? A decade ago, buying clothes ...

Sports Supplements: The Good, The Mediocre and The Completely Useless

12May

By Sam BennettNo Comments

Lifestyle

Sports Supplements: The Good, The Mediocre and The Completely Useless

Every January, floods of people pile into gyms to work out for both the first and last time that year. If you’re one of the few people who made it through January and are still working out, you might be looking at getting some supplements to help you on your fitness journey. The problem is, however, that the quality of these supplements is incredibly varied, with some working well and others working to eat away at your student loan. The list below should help guide you through the jungle of supplements, based on the experience of myself and friends, who have spent a lot of money on these plastic tubs of sports powder! The Good Creatine monohydrate is the best supplement you can buy. It’s cheap, well researched, and very effective at improving strength, stamina, recovery, and even se...

Class and Disability: Disconnected or Intertwined?

12May

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Lifestyle

Class and Disability: Disconnected or Intertwined?

According to the Government’s 2020 Family Resources Survey, there are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK. It has recently become more apparent than ever that even in the 21st Century, social class is still a defining factor in people’s lives. But how these classes affect disabled people, and why they might be more vulnerable to falling victim to these systems and the prejudices surrounding them, are not often discussed. Scope’s Disability Perception Gap report found that 1 in 3 people see disabled people as being less productive. Attitudes such as these lead the disabled community to become isolated and often viewed as inferior citizens. There is a lot to unpack here, since unfortunately ableism is ingrained in so much of the way our world functions. Disability does not neces...

Mistreated, Misunderstood: The Illness Affecting Millions of Women, Many of Whom Don’t Even Know It Yet.

14Nov

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Lifestyle, News

Mistreated, Misunderstood: The Illness Affecting Millions of Women, Many of Whom Don’t Even Know It Yet.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places. It can cause severe pain, bleeding, scar tissue, nausea, infertility and more. 1 in 9 people born with a uterus (I like to call us womb wielders!) live with it, and there’s currently no definitive cure. Despite how common it is, the cause of the disease is not yet clear. The diagnostic process is long and complex, with the average person waiting 6 to 8 years from the onset of symptoms to find out that it’s endo. It can impact every aspect of people’s lives, and that’s why it’s so important that we raise awareness and push for change. Endometriosis is frequently referred to as a ‘women’s disease’. Whilst it primarily affects those with female reproductive organs, it is im...

The appeal of autumn: Reasons to Fall in Love with Autumn

16Oct

By Jessica WattsNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

The appeal of autumn: Reasons to Fall in Love with Autumn

It’s that time of year again: the earth applies her sepia filter and autumn arrives. It’s the season that calls for dad jumpers, thick socks, and hot chocolate on tap. Scarves, bobble hats and fingerless gloves seep into everyday outfits and you start pondering over your boot collection, wondering whether last year’s Chelsea boots are still ‘in’. It sounds so romantic that it’s easy to forget the correlation between the fall in temperature and the rise in mental illness. Autumn and winter are largely polled as people’s least favourite seasons. The latter half of the year isn’t as romantic as it might seem, but is there a way to rekindle our love for autumn this year? S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a condition which affects up to three in a hundred people in the UK. A somewhat ...

18Feb

By Annabel McCarthyNo Comments

Lifestyle

Staying Fit in February

January is like a 31-day long hangover of the previous year. Everybody is on a comedown from Christmas but has made it their resolution that this year is the year to get fit. This means that, for this month at least, the gym is an overcrowded hangout of people forcing themselves to be motivated, fighting the masses to get their turn on the equipment. Fortunately for regulars, this soon fizzles out by mid-January when the cold sets in and the summer body is put on hold because summer seems a long, long, long way away. This shouldn’t be the case. Being healthy and fit doesn’t happen over-night and takes time and motivation. And I’m here to motivate you with my 5 fitness top tips! Firstly, think about why you started your fitness journey, whether it was to lose weight or become healthier...